“Abraham’s Plate” serves Strathmore

Sabrina Kooistra
Times Junior Contributor

 

Harvest Healing Centre Church, located in Strathmore with a mission to serve, opened the soup-sandwich ministry “Abraham’s Plate,” on Jan. 2nd of this year.
The goal of this project is to serve people in the inter-Strathmore area who have been forced into homelessness or are suffering from general financial trouble.
From noon to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, soup and sandwiches are served in the foyer of the church. The bread that is served with the lunches is from the Harvest Healing bread program which has served an average of 50-75 families each week.
The eventual goal is to be serving up to 40 people per day, separate of the bread and frozen meal project, and currently, the message about the soup kitchen is spreading.
The outreach, though designed for those in need, is open to anyone, and anyone seeking fellowship is encouraged to congregate in the building.
The ultimate goal of Abraham’s Plate is to reach beyond the church to become a community effort, and Strathmore has already jumped to the challenge.
“The soup kitchen was part of the original vision of building this building … we had a benefactor who basically supplied everything so that the kitchen could ultimately be used as a community kitchen [or] soup kitchen,” said Susan Ruzek, Abraham’s Plate overseer.
The community has proven active in supporting individuals who have been living outside by welcoming them into homes.
“People out of the graciousness of their hearts, have adopted them and taken them off the street,” said Ruzek. “We had one homeless guy that was taken in by a family for the last two and a half weeks because it got too cold and they just couldn’t see him sitting outside. The stories we are getting from people are just great about how they’re helping out.”
To assist the project, volunteers from the church and community have offered their Saturday morning to prepare the meals and to conduct regular household duties associated with the project. Among these volunteers are many interested students.
Approximately 20-25 students have contacted coordinators about serving the mission and many have vowed to volunteer in the coming semester. Other churches and youth groups have been contacted, in addition.
Due to the brisk reduction of the price of oil, coordinators are expecting the number of clients to gradually increase over the course of the coming year, possibly up to capacity.
“We estimate that there are 13 homeless people in town and those are 13 people who are not living in a trailer or their cars or on somebody’s couch.” Ruzek said.
This has called for action from the town.
Addressing the concern of space for those who are in need of a place to spend the night, Harvest Healing Church has also addressed the lack of temporary living quarters for those in need.
On the second floor, construction is underway to have a men’s and women’s dorm and separate washrooms, which will be accessible for any disabled clients, along with kitchen and laundry facilities.
The approximate capacity for this space will be 10 people. Community members have also been extremely generous with clothing donations, and the plan is to provide new clothes for those who are seeking employment.
“The important part right now is that Calgary is full … they can’t take any more. So what we would normally pick up and take to Calgary, Calgary can’t take … I know at my mom’s church, there were times when they had 50 people sleeping on their gymnasium floor. So that’s 50 people that [a Calgary shelter] couldn’t take.” Ruzek said.
In addition to the plans to have living spaces, Harvest Healing has created a room designated for outreach education in auto-mechanics. The garage is equipped with necessary tools, a vehicle lift, and a truck that was donated by a community member.
“The mandate of the church in James is to care for the widows and orphans. REAL – relational (part of the church’s mission): to let people know that God loves them” said Pastor Elizabeth Karp of Harvest Healing Church.
Ruzek, who has witnessed the generosity of people in Strathmore, concluded, “this is the beauty; people are excited in this town about the soup kitchen and the shelter so they’re really coming out and supporting us, which is just awesome.”
The grand opening of Abraham’s Plate is scheduled for Feb. 27 and will showcase the work and impact of Abraham’s Plate. Everyone is welcome.