Linwood House Ministries

Unto Us...

Merry Christmas from our new Development Officer, Sherri Coulthard

My husband Vic and I moved to Roberts Creek a little over three years ago to open “The Artist and the Quiltmaker” – a Victorian B&B. Our four children are mostly launched although they love to visit. I had been a guest at Linwood House while at a Stephen Ministry Retreat. I was happy to attend “Happy Hour” (not what it sounds like! – more of a women’s support group) on Monday afternoons and begin learning about the many facets of LHM. This past September, led by God I was very excited to become the Development Officer for LHM. My past career choices, entrepreneurial efforts, and volunteer work have been preparing me for this position of fundraiser and event planner.

We have begun Investment Club dinners to be held once a month – the idea being that someone hosts a fabulous dinner, invites friends, someone from LHM speaks, friends donate and everyone leaves happy. Two have taken place so far with rave reviews. We’d love to have one on the coast and one on the mainland every month.

The Great Room Gala was held in November to raise funds for the relocation and renovation of the Great Room to a fantastic new location with huge potential. This is a big project and we are seeking volunteers, supplies and financial support.

Walk to a Victorian Christmas was held on the first Saturday in December and will be an annual event. The carol evening at Linwood House had become so popular no one could move. This event offers the community the opportunity to meander up the driveway visiting Santa, the craft shack, story shack, live animals (a huge hit!), Victorian carolers, and the Nativity Scene. They also can roast nuts and marshmallows. Inside the beautifully decorated Great Room they can listen to music and learn about LHM. Cookies and hot apple cider complete the tour. Admission was requested but no one was turned away.

qualify for some grants a large base of support in the form of monthly donors is required. The number of donors is more important than the size of the donations. Please consider if you can help in this way. We are always looking for volunteers at Linwood House and at the Great Room in Vancouver. I would also love to hear ideas for retreats or fundraising events.

I am enjoying working with and getting to know the many people involved with the work of Linwood. It is also a great experience to see how God is blessing LHM and to look forward to His future leading.

Merry Christmas!
Sherri Coulthard

Christmas Candles

(The following post is taken from our most recent newsletter, and ties the series together.)

Will it ever arrive? To children or to some of us, it always seems as the date of the special day draws nearer, time gets slower. But the anticipation and the hope is what makes Christmas Day so special. It is the season of Advent, a season of preparation as we ponder the good news of Jesus - great joy, love, hope and peace to each one of us. Traditionally Christians celebrate the season of Advent by lighting one candle each week prior to Christmas Day, the first week the candle of hope, the second week the candle of love, the third week the candle of joy and the fourth week the candle of peace. It is a symbolic and profound tradition.

Everyday through Linwood House Ministries we seek to bring hope, love, joy and peace to the women of the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver and people everywhere. Will you participate with us and light a candle this season by making a gift to Linwood House Ministries? Make the light glow brighter at the corner of Abbot and Hastings through the odors, the garbage, the drugs and the despair. Brighten the life of a woman by bringing her to Linwood House for the Christmas Journey, our 3 day retreat in December. Allow us to walk the journey of freedom with our friends who need to know that the good news of Christmas is for them.

Traditionally our friends from the DTES also light candles and pray both at the Great Room, our sacred space in the DTES and at Linwood House during the Journey. This year as each donation is received they will remember you by name with thanksgiving in their hearts, light a candle and say a prayer that you will experience the hope, love, joy and peace of Christmas this year.

Celebrate with us as you read the stories of hope, love, joy and peace and light a candle with us:

• The Candle of Hope

• The Candle of Love

• The Candle of Joy

• The Candle of Peace

Blessings,
Gwen McVicker, and the team at Linwood House Ministries

The Candle of Peace

This season as I reflect on the candle of peace, I can’t help but think about my friend, Lou. Her life here on this earth has been far from peaceful. Her journey has been one of pain, abuse, addiction, abandonment and struggle to find even the smallest measure of peace in her life of chaos. Our friend, Lou, passed away on October 20th. I was privileged to be with her in the final days of her life and I know despite her struggles, Lou has made peace with herself, her family and her God. One of her wishes was to have part of her ashes scattered at Linwood House. Linwood House was a place where she experienced family, peace and God’s unconditional love. What an honor it was to have Lou’s mother and two of her aunts come this past week to share in a celebration for our dear friend. What a comfort to know the deep peace she has been given.

Light the candle of peace...

Deep peace of the running wave to you;
Deep Peace of the flowing air to you;
Deep Peace of the quiet earth to you;
Deep Peace of the shining stars to you;
Deep Peace of the gentle night to you.

And for each of you this Christmas season…

Deep Peace of Christ the light of the world to you
Deep Peace of Christ to you.

The Candle of Joy

In spite of many hardships, our friends find many reasons to laugh. This past year has been filled with memories of joy. One memory is a group of our friends stuffed into a tube speeding through Porpoise Bay on the back of a speedboat, laughing and playing and enjoying the summer free from the worries of the DTES. To see our friends curled up on a chesterfield watching a movie, eating popcorn around the fireplace at Linwood always brings joy to my heart. These memories do light the candle of joy in the hearts of our friends.

The Candle of Love

Love came down at Christmas, a tiny, vulnerable baby who lived and died as the complete picture of love. That was two thousand years ago. Today, love is embodied all around. Tianna has come back into our lives. She is a young woman, only 21 years old, with a story of addiction and abuse. She left to go into treatment in August, finished her program, relapsed, went back into treatment, relapsed and relapsed again. Today she is waiting to go back into treatment because she knows her life depends on it. Right now she is being surrounded by a circle of love and support, friends who are hoping with her, believing for her and walking her journey beside her. Last week she said this, “My friends at the Linwood and the Salvation Army are the only ones who have ever loved me no matter what….they’re the people I need to be around right now.” This is only a small glimpse into love, but love is all around. It believes, hopes, trusts, perseveres, never gives up and never fails. Please join us in lighting the candle of love this Christmas and in the coming year.

The Candle of Hope

This year the candle of hope is lit as we anticipate the permanent space for our new Great Room in the DTES. The location has been secured but it is raw space and needs a complete makeover. We anticipate a beautiful space that will nurture the lives of every women in the DTES, a place where they can be loved and built up and be released to be Hope Givers in the community where they live.