Outreach

Community
Meal
Creating a safe, friendly and
welcoming atmosphere in which to share a meal with children, youth and adults.
St. Alban's prepares
an evening meal for anyone who would like to come on Tuesdays at 17:30 pm.
A dinner is provided every Tuesday from September to
June for anyone who wishes to come. An average of 100 people per week are
warmly welcomed and a wholesome meal with hot vegetables, salad, buns, meat or
chicken and dessert is provided at no charge. Many of the guests are street
people, single parents and their children, immigrants, seniors and
parishioners. The meal has been funded in the past by donations from St. Alban’s
and individual parishioners and also from Stewards in Action (Diocese of New
Westminster). However, the Stewards in Action (S.I.A.) donations have ceased
and the Community Meal committee accepts further donations from the Richmond
community. Volunteers are from both inside and outside the parish.
St. Alban's provides a home for many
small groups needing support: for instance, our kitchen is used by two groups
who come for cooking.
Members of the Parish are active in Primate's World Relief and
Development Fund (P.W.R.D.F.) and the Fair Trade
movement. Donations are made annually to Camp Artaban, the Vancouver School of
Theology, and others.
A committed Social Justice Group of St. Alban's parishioners has
joined together to focus on the issue of poverty and affordable housing in
Richmond. Anyone interested in joining the group, please contact the
office. The group is working in conjunction with the Poverty
Response Committee of Richmond and other interested groups.
The Richmond Food Bank was started by St. Alban's. Although it is
now autonomous, many St. Alban's parishioners still support the Food Bank both
with their donations and volunteer hours.
St. Alban’s is a friendly Parish.
Active participation and social contact are encouraged at the coffee hour
following the 10:00 service. Volunteers organize and rotate serving at these
occasions.
You are warmly invited to join the ‘Circle
of Prayer’ wherever you are. A group of us will meet in the Margaret Morgan
Lounge at St. Alban’s each Wednesday from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Every
week - same day, same time - we’ll bow our heads, drink in silence, and become
the body of Christ together. No matter where we are – the Lounge, at work, at
home, in hospital, or at school. We will be calling our ‘Senior Seniors’ a
half-hour before beginning our prayer to remind them of this opportunity to be
together in prayer, to deepen our spiritual lives and support one another and
the needs of others within our parish and our world. For more information,
contact the church office.
After much discussion and brain-storming, the Group has discerned a way that
will bring people of all ages together, including our ‘Senior Seniors’ - those
shut-in or in hospital or nursing homes. On a regular basis, we put on a
Seniors' Tea, usually on Friday afternoons, complete with entertainment provided
by church members.
A second group has undertaken to keep in touch with housebound seniors,
providing transportation and making visits on a regular basis.
When the City of Richmond decides
that the weather is too extreme for people to be outside all night, one or more
of the following shelters will be opened:
To find out if a shelter is open,
please contact:
|
Salvation Army's Richmond House |
604-276-2490 |
|
Richmond Hospital Emergency Room -
Social Workers |
604-278-9711 or 604-660-4927
(after hours) |
|
Chimo Crisis Services |
604-279-7070 |
|
Touchstone Family Association |
604-279-5599 |
|
Vancouver Airport Chaplaincy |
604-303-3010 |
|
RCMP |
604-278-1212 |
Extreme Weather Shelters are available generally between 21:00 and 7:00 am.