“Leave the past in the past,” advises the Warehouse Mission’s Cpt Ron Farr (right), here with Mike Semchyshyn, a graduate of Maxwell Meighen
Maxwell Meighen graduate Kevin Murphy found a home at North Toronto CC
clients graduated from the Turning Point program, found a place to live and asked Major Birt if he could drive him there. As it happened, his new apartment was situated near Bloor Central Corps, where Major Douglas Hammond serves as corps officer with his wife, Major Karen Hammond. “It’s just down the street,” Major Birt told the client. “You have to go on Sunday.” And to make sure that he actually did, he texted him the Saturday before and told a few of the other clients at the centre, “Tomorrow we’re not going to North Toronto, we’re going to Bloor.” “So we arrived Sunday morning and our friend was standing outside the door hesitating about whether to go in or not,” Major Birt continues. “We got out of the van and we all paraded in.” To Major Douglas Hammond’s surprise, he saw new faces all across the front row that morning. “One strength of Bloor Central is our ability to make visitors feel welcome,” says Major Hammond, “and that certainly includes those visiting from Salvation Army shelters in the area. There are occasions when these individuals will find low-cost housing in our area and maintain contact with Bloor Central after they have left the
shelter. Many end up taking part in our recovery Bible study, community meals or Sunday services. We consider our corps a resource where residents can find support in the community.” Not only has the man become a part of the corps but he and Major Hammond play squash on a regular basis. “So that integration has successfully taken place and again, as at North Toronto, the people have welcomed him,” says Major Birt. Neighbourhood Support One Sunday, the Birts could not attend North Toronto to worship with the clients as they planned to be away. “We’d recently been the guests of Captain Ron and Aux-Captain Linda Farr at the Warehouse Mission’s Good Friday services in downtown Toronto,” Major Birt says, “so we told the men, ‘Just walk up the street.’ They did, and now a number of them not only attend on a regular basis but also volunteer their services. “ ‘It’s a great way to spend the Sunday, the whole Sunday there,’ they report.” Byron Scott, a graduate of Turning Point, asked his counsellor what else he could do to aid his recovery and avoid a relapse. The counsellor suggested volunteering. As a result, Scott arrives at the Warehouse Mission early Sunday morning and cooks and serves the clients their noontime meal. “It’s the first time I have given something back in my life without expecting anything,” he says. “One of our mottos at the Warehouse is ‘Leave the past in the past,’ and this translates into an accepting and open environment,” says Captain Ron Farr. “Because many of the Warehouse
Mission’s members have been institutionalized, have addictions, mental health or street involvement in their past, Maxwell Meighen’s clients are immediately accepted as part of the community, and we provide long-term neighbourhood support.” Ordained Appointment How does news of the Army services spread at Maxwell Meighen? Word of mouth, replies Major Birt. “The guys talk among themselves when they return to Maxwell Meighen. They’ll mention it during their journalizing sessions on Monday, and you can be sure that if something’s happened at North Toronto the day before—a baby dedication or an enrolment, for example—it’ll get talked about the next day. These are exciting moments for these guys and they really love it. “We often talk about integrated mission but these folks are living it, here at Maxwell Meighen and outside these walls, at Bloor Central, North Toronto and the Warehouse Mission,” explains Major Birt. “They’re attending church, they’re feeling welcomed and giving back. And the congregation, in turn, gets its own sense of mission. This is what integrated mission is all about. “Being a chauffeur was never a part of my job description as chaplain,” he laughs, “but nothing is an accident where God is concerned, and it humbles me to think that he would use my wife and me in our ministry here to reach men for him and the kingdom, to encourage them and to help them on their spiritual journey. That God would use us this way certainly confirms that we are in the right place at the right time. This is a God-ordained appointment.”
Maxwell Meighen helps clients find new life in the greater community Salvationist I December 2013 I 19