For many avid hikers, Mount Everest is the holy grail of trails. But you don’t have to leave Canada to find mountains of thrills. You could head north to Baffin Island, where one of the country’s most beautiful—and most dangerous—hikes takes adventurers through Akshayuk Pass. Located entirely within the Arctic Circle, this 97-kilometre hike is not for the faint of heart. But the gruelling trail comes with stunning views of lakes, mountains and glaciers—just watch out for polar bears!
Very few of us will ever tackle such a trek. But we all have our own worries and fears. Thankfully, God is with us, no matter what we face. He promises: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
The “mountains” of life are no match for His love.
To learn more about how God can be with you as you take on your own treks, visit our website at faithandfriends.ca or contact us at The Salvation Army Editorial Department, 2 Overlea Blvd., Toronto ON M4H 1P4.
Photo : Mariana Ianovska /stock.Adobe.com25 & COUNTING
5 Two Missiles to Paradise
To mark our first quarter century, Faith & Friends is featuring past articles that have impacted YOU, our readers. Tell us yours!
THE BIG PICTURE
8 Window Dressing
The Salvation Army’s thrift store windows in Swift Current, Sask., are a feast for the eyes—and the soul.
BAD TO THE BONE?
12 Speechless in the Sanctuary
When a priest asks for a sign from God, he gets a sign. Just not the one Zechariah expected. 8
Can Indiana Jones save the world again?
Murdoch author Maureen Jennings talks faith, truth and why she supports The Salvation Army.
A Sunday service brought back melodic memories for Major Shirley King.
COMMON GROUND
24 A Fair Trade
Colin Beardall’s time volunteering at a Salvation Army food pantry has humanized him in ways he never thought possible.
LITE STUFF
28 Eating Healthy With Erin
Sudoku, Quick Quiz.
NIFTY THRIFTY
30 Through a Glass Lightly
Add some pizzazz to thrifted glass containers.
Kevin Curnock’s race was done. It was the Torontonian’s 12th marathon and second Boston Marathon. But hours after he finished, Kevin and his partner, Kate Brown, saw one last runner approaching the finish line.
Tayla Savage had qualified for Boston by raising $10,000 for a non-profit organization that provides children with essentials such as shoes and clothes. She was wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with her name and “This is my first marathon.”
“Crossing the finish line at the Boston Marathon was my mission,” a determined Tayla said.
When Kevin and Kate saw her, they dropped everything and started to run alongside her, screaming, “Tayla, go Tayla!”
With the couple cheering her on, she crossed the finish line, eight hours after she started—but race officials had run out of medals. So Kevin gave her his own.
“You deserve this,” he told her. “This is your medal.”
“It was totally unexpected,” a tearful Tayla said, “and it was just really nice to see there really is good in the world.” She hopes this story will continue to inspire others.
“I’m on the biggest high, and I think it’s going to continue,” says a grateful Tayla. “There needs to be more Kevins in the world.” We agree.
Can you be a Kevin today? Maybe you can volunteer your time, like Colin and Karen Beardall do at a Salvation Army facility. Read about them on page 24.
You’ll find being a Kevin gives you back more than you could ever expect!
Ken RamsteadMission Statement
To show Christ at work in the lives of real people, and to provide spiritual resources for those who are new to the Christian faith.
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To mark the 25th anniversary of Faith & Friends, we’ve been asking past editors, current writers and YOU, our readers, to tell us what articles have impacted them. If any article has spoken to you or changed how you thought of life and faith, we want to hear about it. Write, post a comment to Salvationist.ca, or email us.
This month, our article was suggested by longtime Faith & Friends freelance writer Jayne Thurber-Smith:
"I love everything Phil Callaway writes, ever since I read his first book Honey, I Dunked the Kids . I just checked Wikipedia to make sure I got the title right and realized that it's Phil's 30th anniversary of being an author, so congratulations, Phil! I have always enjoyed his contributions to Faith & Friends , but especially when he wrote about his experience with his wife, Ramona, in Hawaii during its false ballistic missile alarm in 2018:
'Two Missiles to Paradise.' Phil and Ramona spent the few minutes they thought they had left in this world in quiet, grateful reflection, and that really challenged me to live every moment as if it were my last with an attitude of gratitude. Because one day I'll be right."
What would you do if you had seven minutes to live?
by Phil CallawayThis past January, my wife, Ramona, and I were in Hawaii, where I was on a speaking tour.
That Sunday, Ramona and I were enjoying an early breakfast when suddenly at 8:07 a.m., the world went crazier than a cageful of monkeys. Here’s what happened …
A zillion cellphones buzz and a message flashes onscreen: “Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii.
Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.”
Pandemonium breaks loose. People panic. Some scream. Others flee through the streets. Tearful goodbyes are said. Underground parking lots fill.
“It’s North Korea,” says someone. “It takes a ballistic missile 20 minutes to get here.” Thirteen minutes have come and gone.
With seven minutes left to live, Ramona and I descend nine flights of stairs. A lady is carrying a Bible.
“That’s a good book,” I say.
“The best,” she smiles. “Especially this morning.” Call us delusional, but we stop and talk about heaven, about the good news of Christ’s love.
“We’re in God’s hands,” we agree. With six minutes left of our lives, Ramona and I turn west onto Lewers Street, and toward the Pacific. A hundred thoughts flood your mind when you have five minutes to live. The kids. Is there anything unsaid? No. They know we love them.
“I wonder if we’ll see the missile?” I say. “Let’s watch.”
Three minutes to go and a man stops us. He’s furious at the world’s leaders.
“We can’t put our hope there,” I stop him to say. “Our hope is in Jesus.” I’m more fearless than normal. After all, what’s he gonna do? Kill me?
With two minutes left, it’s important to know that your worldview works. I’m happy to report that Christianity does.
For many, fear reigns. For me, I’m a little jittery, but filled with peace.
I hold my wife’s hand and quote Psalm 46: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.”
One minute to live and we are laughing. There are the mountains. And there’s the sea.
My watch says time’s up. I pause. “We’re still here,” I say.
“Shoot,” says Ramona. We laugh again. Most of her family are in heaven, and there are days she’d love to see them, but today isn’t that day.
It takes a whopping 38 minutes for authorities to issue a retraction. Someone hit the wrong button. Oops. How prominent is this button? Did they hire someone whose eyesight wasn’t up to par? Maybe he pushed the button thinking it said, “Go for lunch,” when it said, “Go for launch.”
It’s too early to go for launch, so we continue our walk along Waikiki Beach. It’s the emptiest I’ve seen it, but people are beginning to return. I want to yell, “Don’t go back to the way you were. This is not the land of the living. It’s the land of the dying. Are you ready? You have one life to live. One story to tell. Write it well.”
Perhaps each day should start with a missile scare. We’d be a little more aware that we’re not here long, a little more prepared to share the hope of Christ.
At 10 a.m., a friend emails to ask me if we are OK.
“Yeah,” I reply. “But it’s been a blast.”
The Salvation Army’s thrift store windows in Swift Current, Sask., are a feast for the eyes—and the soul.
by Ken Ramstead
Walk along the main street in Swift Current, Sask., and you’ll be greeted by sparkling and enticing window displays—courtesy of the Salvation Army thrift store.
One week, NHL hockey jerseys in pristine condition take centre stage. Another week, sumptuous grad gowns adorn the front windows. A Salvation Army exhibit spotlights the living history of the church. And still other times feature the Beatles or Star Wars
The windows are the masterpieces
The Salvation Army thrift store in Swift Current, Sask.
(upper left) In a Galaxy Near You
The Star Wars Day (May the fourth, of course) window. “ It was a lot of fun to put together,” Lori Reimer says
(bottom left) Groovy Goods
A window from last September. Queen Elizabeth II had recently died, so Lori put a little nod to her in the corner
of manager Lori Reimer, who has been creating these displays since she started working at the thrift store in 2009.
“I’ve been doing the windows ever since then,” she smiles. “I trained as a florist, so I’ve brought a little bit of that sensibility into the displays. It’s been fun!”
The windows exhibit the thrift store’s silent auction items. Lori changes the displays every six weeks or so and always has at least six to eight ideas ahead in her mind.
“If you saw my office, there’s bunches and bits of things I’ve accumulated,” she says. “Eventually,
there’s a tipping point where I have enough material for an auction.
“Right now, for some reason, I have a collection of sailboat paintings, so soon they will all be on display.”
Lori’s windows are keyed to seasonal events such as holidays and graduations, and special local events that include Swift Current’s annual SaskPower Windscape Kite Festival and Frontier Days festivals.
Though the thrift store is situated on the main street, without the beckoning displays, people might pass the thrift store by. The windows
fix that.
“We see people stop in their tracks when they see the display windows, turn around and come in,” says Lori. “If you can get them to walk through the doors, that’s a win. And so I don’t put the auction information in the window. I want people to come in and ask.”
For every display, there seems to be a story that touches Lori’s heart. For example, Lori once displayed a brand of Pyrex kitchenware called Chelsea.
“A woman from Winnipeg contacted me,” Lori relates. “I don’t know how she found out about it, but she did.”
Ho Ho Ho
Christmas windows are always fun. In the fall of 2019, Lori attended a leadership retreat, where she learned a bit about the history of The Salvation Army and was inspired to do a vintage Army window
It turns out she had a daughter named Chelsea who had passed away, so the mother was always searching for these pieces of Pyrex.
“I normally don’t ship anything,” Lori says. “But for her, I did.”
Another time a woman placed a $200 winning bid on an antique dresser but when Lori contacted her to tell her she had won, she changed her mind. No one is ever obligated to follow through on a bid but the woman insisted on making it a donation.
It turns out that The Salvation Army held a special place in her heart. When her father served in the Second World War, he was in the hospital waiting to return home but had no money for coffee. Only The Salvation Army helped him.
“She donated the money in memory of her father,” Lori says. Another display that stands out in Lori’s memory was a fishing-themed window that included a “crazy” halfmetre-long ceramic dog. A man who had never visited the store before saw the ceramic dog and immediately walked inside because it reminded him of a beloved pet he had lost just months before.
“I was shown a photo of the pet. It was as if the dog had sat for the sculpture,” she says. “What are the odds?”
Lori may sell purses at auction
for upwards of $150 or antique furniture for $200 but she stresses that all the funds raised go right back into the community. And she makes a point of keeping basic necessities at very low prices so that those who need them can afford them.
“As well, the thrift store is an easy threshold to cross,” explains Lori. “It’s a soft introduction to the services The Salvation Army has to offer, and there’s something in that understated approach.”
For Lori, though, the thrift store serves a deeper purpose.
“It’s the idea that you take something that’s essentially been thrown away or discarded and you make something new and beautiful out of it,” she believes. “It speaks to my theology. It speaks to how I see God. I’m not sure if people who walk by or into our thrift store think about that—but I do.”
Although the Jewish priest
Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, obeyed God in every way, they lived in shame. The people in their culture and time period (first century BC) considered it a punishment from God if a couple was childless—and Elizabeth and Zechariah were childless.
Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed for a child throughout their lengthy marriage until they’d lost hope. By now they were old. Too old, by human standards, to have children. But God delights in turning human ways upside down. He loves to do things His way, often surprising us.
While Zechariah burned incense in God’s temple at Jerusalem, an angel appeared to him. And not just any angel. This was Gabriel, who'd appear to Mary and tell her she'd
bear God’s Son, Jesus. Gabriel told Zechariah that God had heard his and Elizabeth’s prayers. They would soon have a son, who would pave the way for the Messiah—an important assignment.
But unlike Mary, who responded with humility (see Luke 1:38), Zechariah asked Gabriel for proof that God sent him.
“How can I be sure of this?” he said (Luke 1:18). In other words, Zechariah wanted a sign, a miracle, to prove that Gabriel wasn’t lying, that God was the one who sent Gabriel. So Gabriel gave the doubting priest what he asked for. “Sure, here’s your sign—you won’t be able to talk until your son is born” (see Luke 1:20).
Probably not the sign Zechariah was hoping for.
1 Samuel 15:29 tells us, “He who
When a priest asks for a sign from God, he gets a sign. Just not the one Zechariah expected.
by Jeanette Levellie
Illustration: Sky Light Pictures/Lightstock.com
deal.
is the Glory of Israel does not lie.”
When God makes a promise, we can count on it. It’s a done deal. To ask God—or in this case, a topechelon angel sent by God—to prove His promise can be trusted, is close to calling God a liar.
Not too smart.
In case we think God’s punishment was a bit harsh, Zechariah, as a priest, would have known the history of his people. From an early age, he would have heard the account of Abraham and Sarah, aged 100 and 90 when their son, Isaac, was born. Zechariah had no excuse for doubting God’s promise to give Elizabeth and him a baby.
Zechariah’s punishment was short-lived, however. Once the baby was born and Zechariah wrote the name Gabriel had given him, his tongue worked. So well that he preached a sermon about what John would accomplish in
his lifetime (see Luke 1:67-79).
Zechariah’s doubting days were over.
Does it bother you that a priest of God had faults? Or do you feel encouraged that he fell off his pedestal, proving he was human?
I have a feeling God intentionally put Zechariah’s offence in the Bible. He wants to show us how He uses flawed people, people who make mistakes, people who aren’t perfect, to accomplish His perfect plans.
People like you and me.
Read Luke 1:5-25, 57-79
• Who: A Jewish priest of God
• When: Roughly a year before Jesus Christ was born
• Where: Modern-day Israel
When God makes a promise, we can count on it. It’s a done
JEANETTE LEVELLIE
In theatres now, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the fifth and final instalment in the iconic series.
Saving the World Indiana “Indy” Jones (Harrison Ford), the thrill-seeking but aging archeologist, is set to retire when Helena Shaw (Phoebe WallerBridge), his goddaughter, comes to him with a problem.
Her father, an old friend of Indy’s, had told her of an ancient artifact—a dial—that could change the course of history. Although the quest for the dial ruined her father’s life, Helena is determined to find it, dragging Indy into her own search.
The film is set in 1969 during the height of the space race, and Indy
becomes suspicious when he learns that the government of the United States has recruited former Nazis to work as scientists in their space program.
An old rival of Indy’s, Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), is one of the former Nazis who is now working on the Apollo moon landing program, and Indy suspects he has evil intent. When Indy first encounters him, he asks, “My memory’s a little fuzzy. Are you still a Nazi?”
It turns out that Jürgen is also searching for the dial, planning to use it to rewrite history and correct the mistakes that Hitler made in his bid to rule the world.
Can Indy and Helena find the Dial of Destiny and save the world from Jürgen’s evil plan?
How many of us have wished for a device that could change the course of history? Maybe not world history, but our own personal history.
Most of us probably have a few regrets in life, things that, given the opportunity, we’d go back in time and change. Maybe we’d want to choose another career, marry a different person or undo a mistake. It’s easy to think about our current circumstances and point to a moment in our past when everything went wrong.
But we don’t have a Dial of Destiny, and time doesn’t work in reverse. Our past—the good and the bad—is part of who we are today. In the movie, Helena encourages Indy by saying, “You’ve taken your chances, made your mistakes and, now, one final triumph.”
We might agree we’ve done the first two things, though we might doubt a final triumph is coming our way. But if we are Christians, the Bible promises us the most wonderful triumph we can imagine at the end of our lives: Spending an eternity in heaven with God.
In the movie, Indy says, “I don’t believe in magic, but a few times in my life, I’ve seen things I can’t explain. I’ve come to believe it’s not so much what you believe. It’s how hard you believe it.”
While this might be true when fighting Nazis and searching for ancient artifacts, it’s not true in matters of faith. What we believe is everything. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Believing that Jesus died on the cross for our sins is the only way to heaven. Accepting His sacrifice on our behalf is the only route to that final triumph. We must believe that, but Jesus understands that we’ll still have doubts sometimes. In fact, He once told His disciples that if they had faith as small as a mustard seed, they’d be able to move a mountain and that nothing would be impossible for them (see Matthew 17:20).
Turns out, we don’t need a Dial of Destiny to change our past. Jesus erased our sins on the cross. All we have to do is believe and then move forward in His love and forgivenes.
How many of us have wished for a device that could change the course of history?
DIANE STARK
MURDOCH AUTHOR MAUREEN JENNINGS
TALKS FAITH, TRUTH AND WHY SHE SUPPORTS THE SALVATION ARMY.
by Kristin Ostensen
Canadian mystery series, there’s no detective better known—or more beloved—than William Murdoch. Played by Yannick Bisson on the TV show Murdoch Mysteries, he solves crimes in Victorian-era Toronto, supported by a charming cast of characters, including Inspector Thomas Brackenreid (Thomas Craig), Dr. Julia Ogden (Hélène Joy) and Constable George Crabtree (Jonny Harris).
And even after 16 seasons, Murdoch Mysteries is still the highest-rated Canadian show on TV and is broadcast in approximately 120 countries around the world.
It’s a level of popularity that
Maureen Jennings, author of the book series on which the show is based, never dreamed of.
“I’m not sure why it’s so popular,” she says with a laugh, then adds, “It’s a combination of an excellent production team, good writers and really compelling actors. You put that all together and it’s successful. I never expected it, but I’m very grateful.”
Maureen published the first Murdoch book, Except the Dying, in 1997, to great acclaim—it received a Heritage Toronto Certificate of Commendation and was shortlisted for both the Arthur Ellis and
Anthony Awards for best novel. In the books, as well as in the show, Murdoch is a police officer with the Toronto Constabulary who uses cutting-edge scientific methods—such as fingerprinting and ahead-of-its-time technology— to solve crimes. He’s also a devout Catholic, and his faith is the backbone of his character, particularly in how he approaches moral issues and treats those around him.
Making Murdoch Catholic was a deliberate choice for Maureen, giving him “outsider” status. “As a Catholic in 1894, he would have had very little chance of advancing up the ranks of the police,” she notes.
But Murdoch’s Catholicism also allows for the exploration of deeper questions about faith and life. “We’ve dealt with some of his dilemmas, the conflict between what’s going on and his faith,” she says. “I like the challenge of: This is what my faith is, but this is the world out there. Do they collide?
What do I do? How do I stay true to what I believe in a world that doesn’t believe very much?”
Since Except the Dying, seven further Murdoch novels have been published, as well as a novella, Shipwreck, a prequel that tells the story of Murdoch’s first mystery.
Set in 1873, Shipwreck takes place in the aftermath of a terrible storm in a Nova Scotia fishing village. A ship is wrecked on the rocky shores of the village, leading to many deaths. But all is not what it seems, and a young Murdoch, together with his mentor, the parish priest, must discover the truth.
The novella is the most personal of Maureen’s Murdoch books, reflecting her own formative experiences. Though she is baptized Church of England, she studied psychology and philosophy at Assumption University (now the University of Windsor), which was run by Basilian fathers.
“That was a huge influence on me,” she says. “I really admired them.”
The priest in Shipwreck, who teaches Murdoch deductive reasoning, is based on one of her own teachers. “I’d never met anybody like him before; it was the first time
“Truth is the rock upon which we all must stand. That is something I’ve tried to live my life by.”
MAUREEN JENNINGS
I met anyone who challenged my intellect,” she recalls. “Truth is the rock upon which we all must stand. It’s easy to fool ourselves, to want to believe something, but the truth is the rock. That is something I’ve tried to live my life by.”
Along with writing the Murdoch novels, Maureen has ongoing involvement in the show, acting as a creative consultant and writing one episode per season.
Across 16 seasons, Murdoch has solved hundreds of mysteries including one involving The Salvation Army. In 2016, Murdoch Mysteries partnered with the Army on a special two-hour Christmas episode, featuring a kettle worker who gets caught up in one of Murdoch’s cases. Fitting with the Army’s mission, the episode drives home the message that it is better to give
than receive.
Though Maureen didn’t write that particular episode, she remembers it fondly: “I went to visit the set and I loved it!
“I have a deep admiration for The Salvation Army,” she says. “I mean, talk about practising what you preach, which I also believe in.”
When Maureen was giving a talk in Oakville, Ont., a few years ago, she had the opportunity to donate her honorarium to a charitable organization and she chose The Salvation Army.
“There was no doubt, the decision was immediate,” she says, “because I know what you do—you work to help people.”
The local Army pastor came to accept the cheque, and Maureen had the chance to chat with her before the talk.
“I was very nervous,” Maureen recalls. “I told her I had a bit of stage
fright, and she said, ‘Well, think about God, and He will help you with that.’ She was wonderful.”
While Maureen is best known for Murdoch, she has written three other mystery series, the most recent of which follows Charlotte Frayne, a plucky private investigator living in 1930s Toronto. The interwar years were a volatile time for the world with the rise of Nazism, and Canada was no exception. The first book in the series, Heat Wave, sees Charlotte and her boss investigating a crime motivated by antisemitism. The most recent, Cold Snap, centres on a German refugee.
Though set in the past, the series tackles problems that are still relevant today, reflecting Maureen’s own passion for social justice issues.
“Are we ever going to be thoughtful, kind people?” she muses. “We are better than our history.”
At the moment, Maureen has taken a break from the Charlotte Frayne series to work on a new Murdoch book. Set in the 1920s, this one will follow William and his son, Jack, as they solve a mystery involving anarchists.
“I was always into fighting bully boys,” she says with a smile. “I think one of the pluses of writing mysteries, of course, is that my protagonists win.”
Maureen's most recent book series follows Charlotte Frayne, a private investigator who solves cases in 1930s Toronto
Recently, I had a very filling, rich and satisfying day of ministry, which included the first inperson service at a seniors’ home since the pandemic.
Their piano had been brought out of storage, where it had been put away during that time, and had been returned to the chapel area to be used.
Little did the residents or those leading the service know what was going through my head as we shared in worship.
My mind wandered back decades.
As I played the familiar tunes for the residents, I remembered spending time with my grandmother in her home in Grand Falls-Windsor, N.L., as a very young child. She had
an upright Heintzman & Co. piano in her living room. I recall reading the letters on the piano and understood that the monstrosity originated in Toronto … a world away! My feet didn’t touch the floor when I sat at the piano bench.
I spent many hours practising on the piano—to the dismay of my Nan as she worked away in her kitchen and bellowed into the living room, “Who’s ‘tumping’ on that piano?” No doubt the six-year-old pounding out Three Blind Mice again and again must have done her in!
I value what I learned sitting at that piano. For it was in those times and other times like that when my spiritual journey began.
My Aunt Shirley would sit me down, hold my hands and teach me tunes.
Piano Woman
Major Shirley King at play. “I value what I learned,” she says. “For it was in those times and other times like that when my spiritual journey began”
One of the choruses I learned at that piano and sitting in the rocking chair next to the piano was a Sunday school song:
Little children, keep in the middle of the road.
If you want to go heaven when you die
And sing with the angels by and by.
Little children keep in the middle of the road.
I was so confused by that simple Sunday school chorus. What ridiculous advice, telling little children to walk in the middle of the road!
Of course, I understand now that the truth and the message of the chorus was an instruction to stay on the right track in life, as a Christian, and I have seen that lifestyle choice modelled by many I love and respect, from childhood to this very moment.
Long after the fact, I realized that my hours learning to play the piano were as much Sunday school as music lesson, and they played an important role in my spiritual formation.
As I “tumped” out a few hymn tunes today, I remembered the bevelled glass in the front door of Nan’s
Two Shirleys
Aunt Shirley holding a young Major Shirley. “Our family used to call us ’Big Shirley’ and ’Little Shirley’!” she says
house. I could smell the freshly lit wood and oil stove on a cold Sunday evening, following the late dismissal from a church service.
I recalled sipping tea from a saucer and eating a slice of toast as a bedtime snack, or perhaps a lemon cream biscuit. I remembered hearing the familiar honk of a car horn as Dad would drive by his mother’s house, signalling he was passing by.
I was thankful for the privilege to be in that sacred space at the seniors’ home as I remembered those days.
Sometimes I smile at where my head takes me. That day, it brought me back to an old Heinztman & Co., upright, used up- (maybe), outdated, seasoned yet still purposeful piano. It was as though someone was holding my hands once again teaching me one more valuable life lesson.
Play it again, Shirley!
My time volunteering at a Salvation Army food pantry has humanized me in ways I never thought possible.
by Colin BeardallKaren and Colin Beardall. The real reason Colin donated time in the first place was not a very admirable one
Why do I volunteer at The Salvation Army Lakeshore Community Church’s food pantry in Toronto? I’ve been helping out there for several months, so it’s a good question.
I could trot out the standard responses—volunteer work gives some structure to my week, keeps me feeling useful, provides me some exercise, that sort of thing—and all of them would be partially true.
But the real reason for donating time in the first place was not a very admirable one. I followed my wife, Karen, into volunteerism because I was concerned for her safety, having been told that she worked alone in the church basement with another woman upstairs screening clients—clients who might be dangerous—and I wanted to keep an eye out for trouble.
So I volunteered my time because of prejudice against people I had never seen, and was able to drape my uncharitable assumptions in a cloak of love and loyalty, turning vice into virtue.
My charity, if it can be called that, was a response to fear and guilt.
We fear people experiencing poverty and shun them, the people asking for money on the streets, the untreated mental illness screaming its profanities at no one and everyone, the faceless forms sleeping under dirty blankets on downtown sidewalks.
And there’s guilt, knowing that they are maybe just us being forced to play out a losing hand, instead of the handful of aces we hold, and we do not like to think about that very much. We deceive ourselves into thinking that the lives we live would never be like their lives, and that we could pull ourselves out of those degrading conditions if we did have to face them.
But it is magical thinking. We know it is not really true.
All of us need support. And most of us have supports in some adequate proportion. I have a wife and family. I have a circle of friends. I have my health and a family doctor.
Colin
“If anyone has been humanized by exposure to the food pantry, it’s me,” says Colin
I was raised by loving parents. I received a good education, which led me to a good and stable job. I have never been unemployed. I retired in my 50s with a secure pension, mortgage-free.
My supports have helped me avoid and overcome problems. The food pantry helps me to maintain my awareness of this, and to acknowledge that I have some responsibility to try to provide some support to help other people, too.
At the food pantry, the clients are introduced, and I get to know their names. I watch my wife listen to them talk about their worries: health, unemployment, the rising cost of food and rent, the lack of heat in their apartment or the lack of an apartment at all. People live without a mattress or a pot to heat the soup we supply.
The Salvation Army provides what they can.
People experiencing poverty are often an abstraction to most of us who do not associate with them. I seldom spoke to the people I gave money to on the streets, beyond a “You’re welcome” or an absurd “Have a nice day.” I never knew what they felt or what they thought, the circumstances of their misfortune, or anything else about them. In that way, they were not fully human to me. The food pantry has changed that for me.
We learn of the clients’ likes and dislikes; who has a sweet tooth, who wants to cook nutritious food for themselves and are searching for the ingredients for that cooking, who has a microwave and who does not, who prefers to eat out of cans and who lacks a can opener.
Some clients seem to crave conversation as much as food, and their appointment times can run overtime as a consequence. My wife does not rush them. She
People experiencing poverty are often an abstraction to most of us who do not associate with them.
The food pantry has changed that for me. COLIN BEARDALL
Karen
“My wife does not rush the clients,” says Colin. “She understands the importance of her acknowledgment of their obstacles and their distress”
understands the importance of her acknowledgment of their obstacles and their distress. They need to tell their stories. They want to connect. They want to explain.
I am proud to watch her work, and humbled at times by the decency of people in need who do not want to take more than their share or to waste what others would use. They are individuals. They are complex. They are happy and angry, sometimes grateful and sad, despairing and hopeful, strong and weak.
These people—as people they have become to me—are likable and dislikable, honest and dishonest, grateful and grasping, in the same proportion of those of us who are not clients.
They are us.
This is, I think, what I meant when I ridiculously told a Salvation Army pastor that the food pantry had “humanized” these people for me. Certainly, they have not become more human just because I got to know something of their personalities and of their circumstances.
If anyone has been humanized by exposure to the food pantry, it’s me. I give of my time, and my character takes what it can in return. I am reminded of our common humanity and of my own good fortune. I work with people whose altruism I admire. I enjoy the thanks of people I have helped to serve.
It has been more than a fair trade, and it is an exchange for which I have become grateful.
TIME 15 min MAKES 4 servings SERVE WITH pizza or grilled vegetables
60 ml (1/4 cup) raw pine nuts
1 clove garlic
175 ml (3/4 cup) fresh basil
60 ml (¼ cup) fresh cilantro
45 ml (3 tbsp)
Parmesan cheese
1 ml (1/4 tsp) salt
0.5 ml (1/8 tsp) black pepper
90 ml (6 tbsp) olive oil
225 g (8 oz) penne pasta
1. Heat dry pan over medium-high heat.
2. Cook pine nuts for 1-2 minutes on one side until slightly browned, then toss and cook for another 30 seconds. Set aside to cool.
3 Fry garlic clove in 7 ml (11/2 tsp) of olive oil until slightly browned.
4. Blend pine nuts, basil, cilantro, Parmesan, garlic, salt, pepper and rest of olive oil in food processor or blender.
5. Serve over cooked pasta.
TIME 1 hr 20 min MAKES 4 servings SERVE WITH tea or coffee
100 g (4 oz) chocolate (70% dark or higher)
15 ml (1 tbsp) coconut oil
25 ml (5 tsp) smooth natural peanut butter
1. Melt chocolate in pan over mediumlow heat, stirring with spatula.
2. Add coconut oil and mix for 20 seconds. Remove from heat. Pour three quarters of the melted chocolate into muffin tin liners. Chill in freezer for 10 minutes.
3. Remove from freezer and spoon 7 ml (1½ tsp) of peanut butter in each. Top with remaining chocolate and place back in freezer. Chill for 1 hour.
4. Remove from liner and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes prior to eating.
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Who needs ho-hum, see-through glassware? Using acrylic paint and some crafty mojo—plus sourced glass containers from your local Salvation Army thrift store—you can create beautiful reusable packaging or maybe even one-of-a-kind art!
Supplies Needed: Thrifted glass containers, acrylic paint, paint brushes and/or sponges, Mod Podge, stencils or painter’s tape to create design, pencils.
Step 1 Gather your materials. Containers can be any shape or size. I would recommend your containers have an easy surface to work with—etched designs or too many curves may be challenging.
Step 2 Clean your containers. Using a mixture of white acrylic paint and a small amount of Mod Podge, prime the surface of the containers. Add 1-2 coats of white paint, allowing it to dry between coats.
Step 3 Sketch your design using stencils or painter’s tape. I used some old stencils for my painted bottles.
Step 4 Depending on your design and colour choice, you can either paint your base colour first or after you’ve added the design. And if you make a mistake, you can always start over.
Step 5 Once your design is complete and the paint is dry, seal the deal by adding 1-2 coats of Mod Podge. I like using glossy, not matte, Mod Podge for the finish.
Now that your DIY is done, you can use it for display or give it to family and friends. The possibilities are endless!
