Last spring, we wrote about how Vancouver churches are responding to the physical and spiritual hunger that COVID-19 is highlighting through community food programs, and through growing food. As the infection rate increases, we continue to feverishly figure out how… Read more →
Four years ago, I was laying on the street in the Downtown Eastside, about to try heroin for the first time. But then, I turned over and saw the UGM sign. If it weren’t for that, I believe I’d be… Read more →
Three local groups have developed an important new resource for churches that want to support their neighbours. A Table for All is a 90-page “toolkit for community meals in a framework of food justice.” Karen Giesbrecht and Winston Green of… Read more →
City in Focus sent out this request for support May 25 and I felt it was worth running it just as it is. Money raised will go to six reliable and well-established Christian ministries and 10 long-term care facilities, all… Read more →
Pastor Peter (Jonghuen) Yang has been spending much of his time at Oppenheimer Park in the Downtown Eastside for more than a year, offering Sunday services and providing food, along with masks and sanitizer to protect against coronavirus. Now orders… Read more →
Union Gospel Mission (UGM) and The Salvation Army have joined forces to create a COVID Relief Together initiative – and their goal is to raise $2 million in two weeks. Speaking on CTV News last week, UGM spokesperson Jeremy Hunka… Read more →
Last week I posted a powerful comment by Darrell Johnson: Praying Boldly: coronavirus 2020. I will repeat a portion of his conclusion, as it leads into the Easter weekend so well: So, where do we go? I can only speak… Read more →
Jenny Hawkinson is a longtime resident of the Downtown Eastside (DTES) who works for 24-7 Prayer Vancouver and does pastoral street outreach and advocacy in the neighborhood. She sent out an email March 24 under this heading: ‘URGENT! DTES response… Read more →
Restrictions, closures and social distancing affect all of us – but none more than vulnerable populations clustered in the Downtown Eastside but increasingly found throughout Metro Vancouver. Groups like The Salvation Army, Union Gospel Mission and community meal hosts are… Read more →
Unaddressed, hidden barriers can silently trap someone in poverty, homelessness or addiction. But every day, Union Gospel Mission (UGM) support offers people resources to triumph over these complex challenges, moving them towards transformation. Following are four of those stories, re-posted… Read more →
