Jennifer Mains

Seeking Beauty

Jennifer Mains December 1, 2012

Many ask us why we do this work. People fill the often awkward silences that entail with such comments as “it must be so rewarding, gratifying etc.” These comments are well meant but are somewhat perplexing as we tend not to think in this way. Obviously there are aspects of the work that are most appealing: work that involves a disenfranchised but vital and passionate demographic group, work that is relationship based with few policies and procedures that inhibit the agility required and work that is challenging but renewing, frequently changing and reinventing itself. All these are possible answers. Another response we have given reflects a core philosophy of The Working Centre: that all work is good work and we are just doing our work.

The Meaning of Hospitality

Jennifer Mains December 1, 2006

This talk was given by Jennifer Mains, coordinator of St. John’s Kitchen, to the congregation of St. John’s Anglican Church on Sunday, June 25th, celebrating over 20 years of serving meals at St. John’s Kitchen. This special mass was followed by a walk from St. John’s Church to the new St. John’s Kitchen at 97 Victoria.

I would like to spend a few moments to celebrate and reflect on the relationship between the congregation of St. John the Evangelist and the community of St. John’s Kitchen.

Kitchener Downtown Community Health Centre Comes to St. John’s Kitchen

Jennifer Mains March 1, 2001

Sometimes St. John’s Kitchen feels like an island stranded in the middle of downtown Kitchener. Despite the numerous agencies that work in the downtown area, these agencies generally don’t share many of their resources or skills.

Community Maps

Jennifer Mains March 1, 2000

We all create our own community maps. These maps are defined by the routes we choose as we walk within our neighbourhoods, routes which help us maintain certain illusions about our community.

Heretic Blood

Jennifer Mains December 1, 1999

Heretics are-those who step outside our circle of beliefs. They are the outsiders, the rebels, the critics and the prophets who urge us towards a new vision. But western societies have had a long history of shunning heretics. We prefer to remain inside the circle of our beliefs, resistant to the voice of the heretics. In his book, Heretic Blood, a biography of Thomas Merton, Michael Higgins resurrects the passion and the challenge of the heretic.

The Habit of Helping

Jennifer Mains December 1, 1998

In these days, while we are surrounded by fear and anxiety, we are lulled into passivity. We watch as others experience job loss, massive cutbacks, and the consequences (initiatives) of the ‘common sense’ revolution. At the same time we nod approval to the claims of economic growth and fiscal responsibility.

Creative Inventiveness

Jennifer Mains June 1, 1996

When I first read the cover article “Conserving Communities” by Wendell Berry, I was provoked by the statement that promoters of a global economy believe “the industrial standards of production, efficiency, and profitability are the only standards that are necessary.” I agree with Berry that these standards are destructive and unsustainable and that they are not the “only” standards. I would like to expand upon Berry’s argument, to include the alternate standard of creative inventiveness, an old art and I believe an instinctive one which many of us are fast losing.

Seeking Beauty

The Meaning of Hospitality

Kitchener Downtown Community Health Centre Comes to St. John’s Kitchen

Community Maps

Heretic Blood

The Habit of Helping

Creative Inventiveness

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Jennifer Mains

Seeking Beauty

The Meaning of Hospitality

Kitchener Downtown Community Health Centre Comes to St. John’s Kitchen

Community Maps

Heretic Blood

The Habit of Helping

Creative Inventiveness

A

B

C

E

F

H

I

L

M

O

R

S

T

V

W

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