“Before the pandemic, we were a ministry of presence. The most important thing we did was get to know people and listen to their stories.”

Janet Mabie
Special to Spur Ottawa

Thanks to livestreaming and pre-recorded services, the Church is alive and well despite the restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many mid-week ministries and gatherings, though, have become casualties of the lockdown. Ministries and initiatives focused on fostering relationship have especially struggled. One such initiative is a drop-in ministry called “A Place to Go”, hosted by St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s Anglican Church.

The ministry began in the 1970s as a Friday-evening gathering for local university students and young adults.

“Eventually it morphed into a drop-in centre,” shares Michelle Terwilleger, Vicar of St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s. “I have been told that it is the longest-running drop-in in Ottawa.”

Those attending came from a mix of backgrounds, life situations, and ages. The drop-in was run by a group of parish volunteers divided into four teams, each taking one Friday every four weeks. The teams prepared coffee, tea and food, and prayed for those attending.

“Throughout the evening, we would come around to the tables serving fresh vegetables, potato chips, sandwiches, and soup,” Terwilleger explains. “Later on in the evening we would provide fresh fruit and dessert, which was usually ice cream sandwiches or ice cream bars, the biggest hit of the night!”

“A Place to Worship” offers an informal worship service to those attending “A Place to Go”. Photo by David Lancaster.

The first Friday of every month, people who attended A Place to Go were also invited to join “A Place to Worship”, an informal service held in a separate room.

“Many came who hadn’t been to church in years and told us how meaningful it was to them,” says Terwilleger. “Food is not really the main part of the ministry. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, lived out in friendship and community over tables of food. It is a place to go on Friday nights, where people hopefully feel welcomed, safe, heard, and loved. There are always people available to pray with those who desire prayer.”

Yet, the COVID-19 restrictions forced what Terwilleger calls “radical changes”. From 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., the teams hand out bagged meals at the front door of the church, while encouraging masks and social distancing to those waiting outside. The changes led to the ministry sometimes being called “Meals to Go”.

“It has been a huge personal challenge for me to keep A Place to Go running during the pandemic,” says Kate Sanderson, the ministry leader. “Before the pandemic, we were a ministry of presence. Yes, we feed people, but the most important thing we did was to just get to know people and listen to their stories. It is an enormous privilege when someone who has nothing but his or her own story trusts me with it.”

The changes led to the ministry sometimes being called “Meals to Go”. Photo by Karen Stiller.

The pandemic has profoundly disrupted the lives of the Place to Go community and Sanderson looks forward to the time when private conversations can begin taking place again.

“We would appreciate prayers for our Place to Go community,” says Terwilleger. “The pandemic has disrupted their lives, like everyone else’s. Drop-ins and feeding centres were the primary social outlets and sources of food for some of them, and a number of those places are now closed. Please also pray for discernment for Place To Go leadership as we make decisions concerning what the future of this ministry will look like.”

Terwilleger underscores that, in this unusual time, it is difficult to have the same impact as before, but she trusts God for whatever the ministry will look like going forward.

“I think about in the Gospel of John, when some of John the Baptist’s followers wanted to know about Jesus and where He was staying, and Jesus said to them, ‘Come and see.’ I would like to think that, at its best, A Place to Go is a place where people can come and encounter Jesus.”