DHUC Outreach
Outreach work at Dunbar Heights is an expression of our Christian commitment to caring for those in our congregation, our neighbourhood, our city and the world.
Ongoing programs care for those in our congregation and reach out to Vancouver communities and through projects overseas. A generous anonymous gift to the Outreach Committee enables Dunbar members to fulfil many of our Outreach dreams. Dunbar Heights is represented by Ross and Marnee Connal on the Community of Churches, giving us the chance to work with other west-side church Outreach Committees.Ways we care for our own congregation and keep ourselves informed are:
- coffee time in the gym following every Sunday worship;
- monthly Soup Sundays during which a speaker from the outreach committee talks about one project;
- name tags for the congregation;
- a Women's Book Club;
- plans to make the side entrance more welcoming;
- selling Fair Trade Coffee. The project is going very well with members donating all the coffee for Sunday mornings and keeping sales steady.
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Monthly Soup Sundays feed the body and feed the soul. There's hot homemade soups and time for conversation. Some people give up sitting in church in favour of making tasty biscuits to feed friends.
On Camping Sunday, the youth prepared three tasty soups to feed the congregation. Youth leader, Christine Boyle, talked about her work with young people here at DHUC and in the schools.
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Take a bowl of soup, a hot biscuit and find a spot at a table.
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Coffee, tea, juice—and often cake or cookies, too—are important times for conversation following every Sunday morning worship.
Each year, Outreach committee supports the Interfaith Calendar produced and distributed by the Affiliation of Multidultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC (AMSSA). DHUC member, Sabrina Harpe is a member of AMSSA responsible for assembling and chosing the art for the calendar. Sabina gave a talk about the contributing artists for the calendar and its multifaith features.
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DHUC Outreach Service to the community takes the form of:
- Support for St. Elizabeth House, a shelter for women and children:
- Assistance to the Mental Patients Association in the form of deliveries of food to the MPA Resource Centre on 4th Avenue;
- Contributions to the Coat Fund which buys warm coats for Vancouver children;
- Preparing and serving dinners (turkey, casseroles and cold meats) prepared and served by Dunbar youth and adult members to 300 people at First United.
- Collecing pop can tabs, the proceeds go to support Valley Therapeutic Equestrian Centre, which assists people with a variety of impairments
- Saving used stamps which are collected by the Eastern Star and then sold to purchase cancer dressings provided at no cost
- Sales of AROUND THE WORLD IN SANDALS and TIMBUKTU, WHERE ARE YOU?, two books written by our congregation's Russel and Penny Jennings, generate money for M&S.
For our overseas outreach we:
- brought a family to Canada 10 years ago, a refugee in 2006 and are working to bring others to Canada.
- sent money to contribute to an eye operation for a Burmese man in a refugee camp in Thailand who was going blind;
- contributed to a refugee hospital on the Burmese border in Thailand.
Many in the congregation volunteer for quilting and the Refugee Committee.
Meetings are held the first Wednesday of every month — all are welcome to attend.
Visit these Outreach project pages:
First United,
Mental Patients Association,
Refugee Committee
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