by Joe Mancini
Published in June 2018
970 people packed Marshall Hall at Bingemans to celebrate the 31st Mayors’ Dinner. This year the evening highlighted the story of St. John’s Kitchen by recognizing three women who have been part of St. John’s Kitchen for over 30 years. Arleen Macpherson, Gretchen Jones, and Jennifer Mains form a continuum of service that has ensured that St. John’s Kitchen has been a place of respect and dignity for all who come for a meal.
St. John’s Kitchen has served a meal of necessity for 32 years. The evening recognized the pure and beautiful effort of so many people to take surplus food and from those gifts create a meal to serve the greater good of the community. These actions make hospitality and service come alive each day.
Early in the evening the role of St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church was acknowledged as the first home for St. John’s Kitchen between 1985 and 2006. St. John’s Church filled three tables at the dinner showing their ongoing support for this project.
Since 1985 St. John’s Kitchen has been a place of refuge in downtown Kitchener. The doors at St. John’s Kitchen open at 8:00 A.M., where a continental breakfast is served. This is also the time when the food preparation begins for the 400 meals that are served each day. The volunteer effort to serve this continuous meal is a story that in itself is truly remarkable.
Another story that grows from St. John’s Kitchen is the development of an integrated hub which makes St. John’s Kitchen an important place that provides immediate supports each day. These services of support include outreach workers who are available to walk with people through challenges with legal, income, and housing issues, the showers and laundry service, and the medical clinic with a doctor, a nurse practitioner, nurses, and outreach support. There is also the Hospitality House, the bunkies, and the dental clinic, all focused on serving those who find themselves either homeless or in constant upheaval.
The highlight of the evening was the use of video clips about St. John’s Kitchen using the themes of Inclusion, the Space of St. John’s Kitchen, and Access. Patrons and workers described the vitality of St. John’s Kitchen through these themes, traveling over the 30 years of St. John’s Kitchen giving hints to how this project has vitally rooted in downtown Kitchener.
The strength of the evening was in the six stories told by Arleen, Gretchen, and Jennifer that captured the spirit of St. John’s Kitchen. The stories journeyed with the people who have been part of St. John’s Kitchen describing the rich and colourful history of walking together. These stories demonstrated how the serving of food builds community. Each story layered upon the other describing a growing community of outreach. In one story, Jennifer framed the pain and frustration of one person through his question, “Who cares about me?”
Arleen, Gretchen, and Jennifer ended the evening by inviting everyone to take home the table graphic created by Andy Macpherson (Arleen’s son). The graphic summarized the themes of the night, “We flourish and blossom when we give and receive love and understanding” and “Seek beauty in the other.” Jennifer ended by asking, “does seeking beauty in the other pave the way for unconditional love?”
It was a wonderful celebration of the 30 years that Arleen, Gretchen, and Jennifer have offered in the work of nurturing a community of support in the Kitchener downtown. All who attended learned about how this 30 year journey of serving a free community meal has created deep friendships and commitment. Thank you to the many people who helped to make this a meaningful community celebration.
