Dear friends and supporters of Sanctuary London, Many of you will already know that on Friday (Nov. 7, 2015) I received a phone call from Sanctuary’s banker. A cheque that we wrote was being cashed, for which we had insufficient funds to pay for. For the first time in five years, Sanctuary was out of […]
Author Archives: Darryl Reckman
A Taste of Home – A Fundraiser!
As you probably already know, at Sanctuary London, we’ve always got a pot of coffee brewing, or a warm kettle ready to make some tea. We believe there’s really no better way to connect with another person than welcoming them with a fresh warm mug of their favorite beverage. A warm drink also helps to […]
Seek Asylum at Sanctuary
Beside 513 Talbot Street sits a very special place called Sanctuary. It makes use of an addition to the main church building called ‘the atrium’. Two churches working together, sharing the same space. One Church. Often, the ‘Church-outside-the-church’. The people who come here are looking for something; food for the most part, as there are two meals provided each week. There are others who come looking for something more than physical sustenance. They come early, before the supper for fellowship, cards and coffee. Spiritual needs are taken care of.
I have been attending all of the functions at Sanctuary for nearly four years and have the others neatly divided into two camps: those who have had their lives destroyed, and those who are questioning their faith. Of course i’m sitting on the fence between the two. Many are lonely and looking for fellowship. Some can be alone for short periods in solitude; but few can endure isolation for any length of time and remain healthy. I believe that we are social creatures. The food may seem like it is the only thing drawing the folks in, but the fellowship, such as it is, keeps them coming back. It may not be as close-knit as some other churches, but it does welcome outsiders, many of whom have no where else to go because of drugs, alcohol, and mental health. They don’t get neatly dressed for the Bible study and they don’t put on their Sunday best for the circle meeting, possibly because they don’t own any fine and fancy clothing for such a purpose.
Paul talked about the social gospel and the scum of the earth congregation in the first century. It still exists, and will probably continue into the future if prophecy can be relied upon. It’s just that these days rent is offered free.
By Dan Lenart
New Office Space!
For the first time ever, Sanctuary London has found some designated space to call ‘HOME’. As of February 2015, we will be renting space on the main floor of 531 Talbot Street. We are so thankful for all the people who have helped to make this possible, and are extremely excited about the increased ministry opportunities this space will provide. Please come by to say hi and see our space soon!
Special thanks to:
Talbot Street Church
Rodney Lover from Lover’s AtWork Office Furniture
Tom Miles
Eldon and Lena Clelland
Gary and Helen Nash
Bob and Marie Spindler
Bill and Marg Reckman
Eric St. Pierre
Keith and Eithne Griffiths
Adam Mackey
Derek Gwynn
Canoe Raffle
Congratulations to Mr. Al Miller who won the Canoe Raffle.
Al shared with us that he is extremely excited about being able to take the canoe up to the cottage to teach his 9 grandchildren how to paddle.
Huge thank you to everyone for your support!
Interested in winning this cedar strip canoe? Only two weeks left!
Albert DeVries built this with a great team from our faith community, Sanctuary London, and our partner Talbot Street Church. Tickets are $10 each. 500 tickets total. Canoe is valued at $3500. 16 foot Prospector.
All funds raised will of coarse be split between Sanctuary and Talbot Street to pay for our programming. Thanks for your support!
Draw is on January 21/15. Please contact Darryl at 519-280-8895 or darryl@sanctuarylondon.ca
Family Christmas
“John, I’m surprised to see you here tonight. I thought you had said you wouldn’t be able to make it to our Christmas Eve dinner because you would be over at your parent’s place?”
John has been hanging out with the Sanctuary community for a number of years. Living in a geared to income apartment now, he was new to the streets when we first met him. He was pushed out of his family home at a young age as a result of deep conflict between he and his father. Christmas was the one time of year they would get together and attempt to put their differences aside.
“Don’t you remember last year?” John asked.
…And I do remember chatting with John last year the day after his family Christmas gathering. John told me that he may have eaten, and definitely drank way too much. It was all he could do to cope with the family berating him with questions: His dad, ‘got a job yet?’, Uncle Bill, ‘got a job yet?’, Uncle Fred, ‘got a job yet?’ The last thing John said really stuck out in my mind. “Just once I would like to be able to come and relax and enjoy myself and to have people happy to see me, just for me, and not be reminded of the fact that I am a complete failure in life.”…
“Ya, I remember what happened,” I told him, “But this is the one time in the entire year you get to see them, and you told me on Monday that I wouldn’t see you till after Christmas.”
I know, that was my plan, but I asked my mom if we could change our plans so that I could be here tonight to have Christmas dinner with my real family.
Body & Soul Collective
Please join us for this free concert, An incredible two evenings expressing the cooperation and collaboration of two communities becoming ONE.
Watch the promo video HERE
100 Miles for HOME
“Darryl, I need you to come with me….. Like Now!” Today, just as we were cleaning up from drop-in, one of our younger friends crashed into the atrium and begged me to come with him. His eyes were desperate enough that I knew this might just be one of those ‘God-ordained interruptions’, and that I had better drop what I was doing and go. I gave Gil one of those looks as if to say, “You good here if I leave for a bit?”, and he gave one of his, “I got this, you better go” looks in return.
“We just found out that my girlfriend is pregnant a few weeks ago, and now she’s sitting on the toilet bleeding like crazy and I don’t know what to do.” Skippy is relatively new to our community, and honestly I don’t feel like I know him very well (not to mention I hadn’t even met his girlfriend at this point!). It always amazes me when one of our friends is so filled with humility that they have the strength to share their brokenness with us. And so together we walked a few blocks over to the building where he lives.
At the very heart of poverty, at least at the heart of most of North American poverty, is a lack of connection. A lack of relationship with other human beings. This is often the pain that cuts so deep that when things begin to go wrong, there is no one left to call. This is why Gil and I are cycling/running 100 Miles on September 20th. Not only are we trying to raise awareness and funds to allow the work of Sanctuary London to continue, but we also want to experience a day of potentially painful endurance so that we can relate to and stand in solidarity with so many of our friends whose daily lives are battles of endurance.
