The Bear Facts
Renovation
ministry grows
a few years ago, a member of the anglican Church of the ascen- sion in port perry, ont., read a
story in Faith Today about a Toronto
church engaged in an outreach called
the Unextreme Home makeover. The
Toronto church redecorated the bedroom of a single mother in its neighbourhood as a gift of love and service.
inspired by the idea, Church of the
ascension began its own Unextreme
Home makeover ministry. it became an
annual event and has culminated in an
agreement with north House, an organization that helps provide housing solutions for the “invisible homeless” in this
southern ontario region.
“The challenge we have faced since
launching Unextreme Home makeover
has been finding someone every year
who would allow us to help,” explains
Cathy Cooper, chair of the church’s outreach and missions committee. “since
its inception we’ve renovated a kitchen
for one single mom, put in a recreation
room for another and done landscaping and home organization for a visually
impaired man in our community.”
“But there seemed to be a hesitation we had to overcome. i think people
couldn’t believe there was a church
group that wanted to help with no hidden agenda and no strings attached.”
Through discussion and a recognition of a common goal of helping
those in need in the durham region
with housing-related issues, Church of
the ascension offered to be the go-to
team for simple home renovation projects to make north House clients more
comfortable in the housing solutions
provided for them.
“if a north House client is living in
a subsidized situation where we can
step in and paint a room or install some
kitchen cupboards, then we have a team
of handy men and women ready to do
that,” says Cooper. “it’s very cool to be
able to partner with a non-church organization to reach out into our community. it’s good for everyone.” n
–KAREN STILLER
The Hug-a-Bear ministry comforts children and families in crisis. inset: a close-up
of one of the 30,000 bears that were created in the past 10 years.
Ten years ago, searching for a meaningful ministry in retire- ment, Boband Marilyn Pharoah
got excited about a Florida friend’s
project – sewing fabric bears for children in crisis. Calvary Baptist Church
in Guelph, Ont., expressed interest
as the Pharoahs conducted a survey
of the needs of local agencies serving
children.
Soon Hug-a-Bear launched, comforting children and families in crisis
and occasionally sharing love with
adults. A shirt factory that was going
out of business donated three carts of
fabric and thread, and the first bears
were delivered to Guelph General Hospital in September 1999.
One hundred volunteers, teens
to seniors, created 30,000 bears in
the past 10 years, with teams of cutters, assemblers, sewers, painters and
stuffers. About 275 bears are distributed monthly. Each bear carries a prayer
that Jesus’ love will be conveyed.
At the Hug-a-Bear reunion picnic,
a clinic is open for bear checkups and
some stop by the nursing station for
