“It was God’s plan for the party to be held at the church.”

Craig Macartney
Spur Ottawa Writer

Britannia Baptist Church has taken over the staff Christmas party of a local business and turned it into a gospel outreach to a struggling immigrant neighbourhood.

“It is a Christmas party that was started several years ago. We were invited to participate with the staff Christmas party that was operated by the Masha Krupp Translation Group,” explains Terry Orchard, the pastor of Britannia Baptist. “They were able to provide food and gifts for the children who were coming from the mainly single-mother African families that we minister to.”

For five years, a team from Britannia Baptist provided music at the party and were able to participate, along with community members they were supporting. This October, however, Orchard learned that the business had changed ownership and the party had been cancelled. With barely a month to plan, they decided to carry on the party’s community legacy on their own.

“We decided to completely reorganize the event, not have as much focus on fine food and very expensive gifts, but to focus more on the real reason for the season: the birth of Jesus Christ. We organized the whole event ourselves, provided food, but also for the first time had an international potluck banquet, where people brought dishes from their home countries.”

The church provided every family with at least one bag of non-perishable food. Photo courtesy of Britannia Baptist Church.

The party was held November 30, in the gym of Dr. F J McDonald Catholic School, where the church meets. Despite the cold weather, more than 100 people attended from a local community housing area.

“It was really nice to see people coming and dressing up in the clothes from their own culture and bringing their own food,” says Consolata Kisang. “I think everyone who attended felt like they were being included in the Christmas party.”

Kisang has attended the event in the past and appreciated the food and gifts given to her children. After recently joining Britannia Baptist, she helped organize the event this year.

“I was surprised when I heard we were doing this. I wondered, ‘Are we going to be able to pull it off?’ We are a small church, but what impressed me was seeing everybody getting involved. It didn’t matter if you are a member of the church or a guest, everybody came together.”

The church donated six turkeys toward the international pot-luck banquet and, although they could not afford lavish gifts for the kids, they provided every family with at least one bag of non-perishable food.

Grey Cup Champion Gerry Organ speaks to guests at the Christmas banquet. Photo courtesy of Britannia Baptist Church.

The event featured music, a prize draw, a Christmas play, and food from countries as diverse as Kenya, Lebanon, Jamaica, and the Philippines. The church also invited local football hero Gerry Organ to speak at the event with his wife, Lore.

“He and his wife are very down to earth. They talked about what Christ has done in their lives and what Christ can do in the lives of people listening. We see this not just as a time of fellowship, but also as a time when those there can be challenged with the message that the true gift of Christmas is the gift of God’s son, Jesus Christ.”

Kisang says events like this make a real difference to new Canadians, whether they are Christians or not. Many newcomers find Western culture to be isolating. Back in her native Kenya, Kisang says people visit far more frequently and there is more of a daily community dynamic.

“It can be lonely at Christmas time, especially when you are a newcomer to another country. From my experience, people are looking for a place to go and be with other people and to talk. The donor might have dropped out at the last minute, but I think it was God’s plan for the party to be held at the church. There was a lot of laughing, there was singing, everyone was sitting and talking to each other and eating. It was so nice.”