· On July 14, 2015, 30 representatives of the church congregation, gathered to design an action plan for the Parish with regard to the Mission & Outreach Ministry. The focus was to identify activities where the Parish could get involved, in accordance with the community needs identified by Living SJ and Vibrant Communities.

 

· The purpose was to link the Parish’s Mission Statement to Mission & Outreach activities. The identified Mission was “Reaching out with the love of Christ to maximize the use of our current facilities to serve the surrounding community.”

 

· The categories identified by Living SJ and Vibrant Communities were: Poverty, Education and Health.

 

· Over the past few years, we have been in contact with various individuals and groups who have approached us with several ideas and/or requests with regard to Mission & Outreach. Our biggest challenges with a lot of the proposals were having adequate facilities and finding available people to run the programs. A lot of our present congregation are involved in church ministries to their maximum personal limit. While the moral and spiritual support is there, the human resource component could not be met, especially for anything that required a regular, on-going commitment, in these areas.

 

· We were continually looking at where we could fit in meeting community needs, keeping in mind our challenges. We held several meetings with several stakeholders of the past few years. One of the main items that always came up, was in the area of “food security.”

 

· In 2018, we became aware that the former rectory at 648 Westmoreland Road would be coming up for sale.

 

· We consulted with members of the congregation and Vestry prayerfully considered whether we should consider purchasing the property for future parish ministry. It was decided, after much thought and prayer, that we would not proceed, as we had no immediate needs or plans for the property.

 

· The property went up for sale and it did not sell.

 

· In January, 2019, we were assembling a team with the idea of how we could develop the previously acquired property behind the church. Since seniors and affordable housing were identified as a community need, we began looking at how we could do something. However, it would be at least a five-year project and would be VERY costly, just to develop the property and get it ready for buildings.

 

· In January, 2019, we became aware that the Saint John East Food Bank would be looking for new accommodations, as the lease on their present location at 105 Wilton Street, would not be renewed.

 

· Accordingly, Vestry, the Mission and Outreach Ministry and the Property Development Team decided that if the Food Bank was interested in moving to our location, we would try and find ways to see if this could happen.

 

· We made a proposal to the Food Bank, that IF we were able to provide suitable accommodations for them, would they be interested. They were.

 

· After identifying their needs and what we could reasonably provide, it was determined by the Property Development Team that the former rectory, with an addition added, would be able to house the Food Bank.

 

· Architectural plans were drawn up by Brendan Bates of Toss Solutions, presented and approved by the Food Bank and Vestry.

 

· We were able to line up a building contractor, Chappel Renovations.

 

· Thanks to a generous recent bequest, we were able to purchase the former rectory at 648 Westmoreland Road, to house the East Saint John Food Bank. This took place on May 1, 2019. We were able to secure financing for the addition via a loan form St. Andrew’s Church in St. Andrews. Thanks be to God.

 

· Re-zoning had to be applied for and go before the Planning Advisory Committee and City Council. This was done on June 18, July 8 and July 22. The Mayor and City Council are fully behind us. However, we will not be able to have a building permit before the 26th of July at the earliest.

 

· Accordingly, things have progressed rather quickly. The Food Bank has to leave their current premises on July 31st and will be moving to the former rectory on August 1st. A lot of organizational work has taken place to get this project and move in place.

 

· The Food Bank plans to be operational, on a limited scale, until renovations are complete.

 

· Construction is planned to begin on the addition and then the renovations on August 1st.

 

· The Food Bank will be using both levels of the former rectory until the additions and renovations are complete. At that time, they will be leasing the area comprising of the addition and the top floor of the existing building. We are now landlords!

 

· After much prayer and deliberation, taking costs and everything else into consideration, it was decided by Vestry not to utilize the existing garage situated on the property and it is currently being deconstructed, getting things ready for excavation and construction.

 

· A Capital Campaign Committee has been established, with an anticipated launch after mid-October. Stay tuned for more details.

 

· After construction and renovations are complete, the plan is for the bottom level of 648 Westmoreland Rd, to be a Mission and Outreach Centre, providing space for community groups that may want to provide such services as cooking classes, health services, reading programs, etc. We also plan to move the Clothes Closet to the lower level of the new building, expanding availability to Food Bank and other clientele, in addition to our Saturday Supper patrons