Linwood House Ministries

Have Coffee, Will Travel

It's time to offer our heartfelt thanks to two BC companies who have partnered with us in our work in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

First, the good people at Karma Coffee now donate their fine product for use at Linwood House and the Great Room. We've never tracked the coffee consumption at those two locations, but if we did we're confidant it would involve some kind of a world record. Our friends can drink coffee! And now they'll be drinking the good stuff, from Karma's fair, organic product line.

Karma is a wonderful company located on Vancouver Island. The next question, then, was a practical one: How do we get this great coffee over to this side of the Georgia Straight?!

That's where our friends at Westcoast Air come in. They put the coffee on one of their convenient flights whenever needed! They're carbon neutral, which is important to us, and these friends couldn't have been more helpful and enthusiastic.

At Linwood we're very grateful and proud to count Karma Coffee and Westcoast Air among our friends. They're both Grade A and First Class!

 

A Community Forum on Violence against Women (Dec. 5)

Public Inquiry - Community Response

Date: Sunday, December 5, 2010
Time: 12:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Place: Simon Baker Room, Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre
1607 E. Hastings at Commercial

Hosted by:

Libby Davies, MP Vancouver East
Jenny Kwan, MLA Vancouver - Mount Pleasant
Ellen Woodsworth, Vancouver City Councillor

"We invite you to speak out about critical issues on violence facing women in the Downtown Eastside. As your elected representatives at three levels of government, we want to hear your concerns, and take action."

Download a flyer for the event here

 

Wish Someone a Merry Christmas, and... (UPDATED)

Support Linwood at the same time!

We’re very pleased to announce a fun program just in time for Christmas. Are you tired of all the accumulated “stuff” in our lives? Do you have people on your list who are impossible to buy for? Would you like to do some good on someone else’s behalf? All of the above?! You can make a tribute donation to Linwood House in someone else's honour and they'll receive a Christmas card from us letting them know what you have done in their name. (They will get the card, but as the donor you will receive the tax receipt.)

And when you do this online, our partners at CanadaHelps.org make this easy.

First, click here. Then, click the "Donate Now" button. Under the “Dedications and Gift Options” section you will be asked, “Would you like to dedicate this donation?” Just select "Yes, as a gift in honour/on behalf of someone" and you'll be prompted for further information. If you would prefer to mail your donation directly to us please be sure to include the postal details of your honorees.

You can always opt for the free e-card to be sent directly from CanadaHelps… but don’t! Instead, select “Request that the charity send a card by postal mail” and we will send that special someone a beautiful card. And there’s no need to wait. Make your donations at your convenience, and we’ll hold the cards until approximately ten days before Christmas.

What could be easier?! Suggested minimum donation for this fun Christmas program is $25 per card.

(Click on the images to see larger versions)

 

UPDATE: Some have asked about having the cards sent to them so they can distribute them to their friends themselves. We can do that! Just make a single donation for the total amount, and tell us how many cards to send you in the message field CanadaHelps provides.

Walk to a Victorian Christmas

A Thought on Justice

I suspect that one reason we have lost interest in the virtue of justice is because the word itself has been so corrupted, and also because we who can read know that it will ask something of us. It is comfortable people, not the poor, who fear the word justice.

The concept of justice has been corrupted by often being a cover word for angry people, people who want rights but not corresponding responsibilities, and most especially, people who want vengeance—instead of the healing of both sides, both perpetrator and victim. This is a Gospel perspective that few rise to, which we call “restorative justice.”

Fr. Richard Rohr

Diminish

As we gathered one morning in the Great Room for our women's circle, we were inspired by this poem by Marianne Williamson and used in the inaugural speech of Nelson Mandela.

Your Playing Small Does Not Serve the World

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure
It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?
Actually who are you not to be?
You are a child of God

Your playing small does not serve the world
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other
people won’t feel insecure around you
We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us

It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone
And as we let our own light shine we unconsciously give
other people the right to do the same
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence
automatically liberates others.

It is a poem that challenges each of us to not diminish our beauty, our power, our gifts, ourselves. Nothing and no one is served when we diminish ourselves or each other.

It was a wonderful conversation, and it inspired our friend Carol to write this beautiful poem, "Diminish".

With her permission, we wanted to share it with you.

Diminish

What does it mean? To lessen, to make smaller,
Decrease in importance! (Terms from a dictionary!)
Yes we all do it to ourselves sometimes,
‘Cause of the burdens we carry!
So ladies, let’s stop and be heard now!
We got neat stuff to say – Wow!
Let’s take a stand and look up and all around!
Let’s take our eyes off the ground!
Let’s stand with others in a circle!
Then we will soon feel cool!
Let’s stop being diminishable!
Let’s go out and show the world we are able!
Let’s get our strength and courage from others!
Then we can go out and help our sisters and brothers!
Don’t mean nothing to me this word diminish!
I’m going to the end of the race to finish!
Remember in God’s eyes we are not small!
So let’s show others our true colours and stand tall!
Let’s forget to diminish!
Let’s enjoy our journey to the finish

Carol C. Cardinal

 

Are you Coming to Bangkok With Us in 2011?

Many of you have journeyed with us on our adventures in Thailand over the past several years. If there is one thing we have learned, it is that relationship is everything. We are so grateful for our partnership with Home for New Beginnings (HNB) in Bangkok, and each year that we go, we get to experience the deepening relationships that exist between us. And we see the difference that is made to our friends there when we return year after year. It speaks a message of love, value, and worth like nothing else can.

We are so excited to share with you the dates for our 2011 trip.

When: March 5 - 20, 2011, departing from Vancouver International Airport

Cost: $3000 CDN (Additional fundraising will be encouraged to raise money for outreach while in Bangkok)

The trip will be focused on work and support at HNB, participation in their outreach program to the surrounding red light districts, and facilitating an English camp to many of the vulnerable, women at risk that HNB are in relationship with.

If you are interested, here is additional information regarding financial commitments and timeline:

• December 1st - firm commitment with a minimum of $500 raised and made payable to Linwood House Ministries
• January 15th - second $1000 installment due
• February 15th - remaining $1500 due

If you would like more information or to confirm your interest, please contact me by email (sue at linwoodhouseministries dot org) or by phone at 604-505-5809. The size of the team we are planning to take will be small, and these spots will go quickly, so don't delay! This is going to be an amazing, life-changing journey and we hope you will consider taking it with us!

For the Linwood Team,
Sue Todd

 

Special Guests at the Great Room

On Friday October 29 we were delighted to welcome The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister for Status of Women, to our Women’s Circle in The Great Room.

Gathered in that circle were our friends from the Downtown Eastside (DTES), who eloquently shared with the Minister their relationship to Linwood House Ministries through both the Great Room and Linwood House. They shared with her how the ministry provides them with safe places to think, make decisions, build friendships with other women, eat good food, laugh and heal. Each woman had a different story to share. Two of the women shared their excitement about the opportunity to work and receive a salary at the Clean the World Project, operated in partnership with Mission Possible and Linwood House Ministries. The women were excited to share with the Minister how this keeps the soap from the landfills and saves the lives of children in developing countries.

Minister Ambrose and John Weston, the Member of Parliament for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, were deeply moved as they listened to the women. As the women’s circle came to a close, one friend asked Minister Ambrose the question, “You have listened to our stories and heard how important this ministry is to us. May I ask you what you are going to do with our stories and how can you help to keep this ministry here?” The Minister acknowledged that it was an excellent question and pledged her commitment to take seriously the issues of the women of the community, and to find ways to partner and support the work being done. She also expressed her desire to see a community that honored, valued and empowered it’s women, and pledged the commitment of her government to work to that end.

Our afternoon together was a time of encouragement, challenge and inspiration to all who were there.

Following her visit to the Great Room the Minister issued this news release.

The Minister was also in Vancouver to announce a $10-million program aimed at curbing violence against aboriginal women, an issue of deep concern in the Downtown Eastside.

Check out coverage of the announcement from The Province and CTV.ca. In conjunction with the Minister's visit, the Vancouver Police Department also announced an inititative to address violence against women in the Downtown Eastside.

See more of our photos of the day on our Flickr site here or click on the image below.

 

Do You Want to Help Make Change?

Remember the old days when we used to pay for things with money?!

In the "go ahead and swipe your card" world that we find ourselves in, we're probably not using cash as much as we used to. But it's still around, and it can still do a lot of good when put to work.

Here at Linwood House we've just taken delivery of an order of "coin cans", and several of our friends are already collecting their change for us. If you would like to participate, please leave a comment or send an email to [email protected] and we'll be happy to get one to you. Once the can is full, you can return it to us with your name on it. We will take care of the sorting, the counting and the rolling, and even issue you a tax receipt for your donation! What could be easier?

Well, that's our 2 cents worth. As always, thanks for your support.