As we head into winter, it is amazing to reflect on where we all were this time last year! We have closed, transformed, built, renovated, re-imagined, held, re-held, opened and re-opened time and time again – all within this Working Centre ecosystem.
“Everyone wants a revolution…but no one wants to do the dishes” This quote, made popular by writer/activist Shane Claiborne, rings all too true in our current society. It is a beautiful metaphor and holds literal truth as well.
I know I often get caught up in grandiose ideas of how I fit in “the revolution” and forget the small acts of generosity, love, patience (and hard work) that truly are the foundation of leading a life focused on strengthening our community. Doing the dishes, literally, is a very important part of the good work of St. John’s Kitchen.
Working at Worth a Second Look, The Working Centre’s second-hand furniture and housewares store located at 97 Victoria St. North, sometimes we are faced with difficult decisions. How do we deal with hagglers, people who consider the price tag more disputable than settled fact? Well, it depends. It depends on the circumstance…
I started my student placement at The Working Centre in January of this year. During my short time here working on the Job Café project, I have been able to truly understand the concept of community development, which cannot be fully explained in a classroom setting. I have also been able to better identify the significant barriers that many face in looking for employment, as well as witness the effects of underfunded and unjust social assistance programs.
When another year goes by at The Working Centre, we are really just thankful that everyone has worked so hard to pull together again. The place operates by the natural rhythms of the seasons. The services, projects and even fundraising events, all ebb and flow through the different seasons. By the end of the year, we are well aware that already, the cycle is starting again. It is a hard lesson, but from this unending rhythm we learn the meaning of work.
I first came upon the initial seedlings of ‘workplace spirituality’ in the 1960s when I was introduced to Marie Dominique Chenu’s The Theology of Work. Chenu observed that perhaps the only way the mass of humanity can find self-realization is through work. Work, for Chenu, is the normal way we achieve our perfection as persons.
The nature of The Working Centre is that it has clearly defined its approach and goals through daily action. You cannot help but see the results of the centre’s philosophic approach when you see the great work that so many people get involved with.
Bicycles build community. Bicycles give ownership and pride. Bicycles provide affordable transportation. Bicycles allow access to work. Bicycles mean freedom. Bicycles contribute to cleaner air quality. Bicycles are intergenerational and multicultural. Bicycles link us with history. Bicycles allow opportunities for education. Bicycles allow us to savour our travels around town. Bicycles are fun.
The Working Centre has from its inception attempted to walk along a path that is often not taken. At the heart of this journey is a way of thinking and acting with a conscious understanding of principles and ideals. We continually define our direction through practical projects while creating space so that others can explore these directions.
On September 13, 1999 we celebrated the good spirit and commitment Arleen Macpherson has offered to St. John’s Kitchen for the past eleven years. It was a wonderful day that highlighted the strength of the community of St. John’s Kitchen. The day began with all the extra preparations that go with a celebration including a late night cooking session to get the meal prepared ahead of time. At 10:00 am over one hundred people filed into St. John’s church representing all aspects of the Kitchen community.
The Integrated Circle of Care is a fluid and collaborative approach followed by workers from different agencies weaving through St. John’s Kitchen. Within this approach, staff members from each agency are aware of their specific personal roles. However, the high level of collaboration between workers means that people can approach any worker, without knowing their agency association or specific role, and still receive support – either that worker will support the person directly, or they will introduce the person to another worker who can support the person more appropriately.
This approach makes relationships more natural and support more accessible. Workers from different agencies are easily approachable, meaning that people build relationships with multiple workers. Having relationships with different workers is important to a person’s support – it makes support from a trusted source easy to find, and means that people have a choice of worker to approach in any given situation.
In order to maintain a circle of care around a person, workers from different agencies ask for consent from the person for information to be shared between workers. Continuous communication between workers helps to ensure that people do not fall into gaps between services, and also that services are not duplicated.
