It’s hard to believe it’s already late June! After a colder spring, we’ve jumped right into summer, full heat ahead.
Our missional theme for June is hope, something that feels both deeply needed and, at times, hard to hold onto. Honestly, I’ve struggled to figure out what to write about hope. It can feel like a meaningless platitude, especially in the face of injustice, pain, and all that is unsettled in the world.
For many facing oppression, including folks who walk through our doors, hope isn’t an abstract concept – it’s a daily act of resistance.
It’s something that’s fought for: in the quiet courage to ask for help, the persistence of showing up for a housing appointment, the determination to survive another day when the odds are stacked against.
Even as the headlines grow heavier by the day and the world is increasingly uncertain, we’re reminded that for many of our neighbours, this kind of instability isn’t new. The instability some are just now beginning to feel has long shaped the daily reality of our residents and anyone unhoused.
That’s why June’s national and global celebrations are more than just events – they’re also acts of resistance, remembrance, and deep hope.
Pride Month honours the strength and resilience of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, many of whom have experienced rejection, violence, and homelessness simply for being who they are. National Indigenous History Month reminds us of the deep wisdom, culture, and leadership of Indigenous Peoples, even as they continue to endure the legacy of colonialism and injustice in communities across Turtle Island. We also marked World Refugee Day last week, a reminder that the search for safety, dignity, and home is something many in our global and local communities share.
All three communities are disproportionately affected by homelessness. And yet, they have shown what it means to hold on to hope through struggle, solidarity, and survival.
Together, let’s hold on to hope – not as a passive feeling, but as a bold commitment to each other as we strive to be “the hand of God in the heart of the city.”
Erin
Our recent staff BBQ was a great event to foster hope & celebrate each other. A big thank you to the social committee, Sodexo, and all who made the event happen!
A Blessing for Hope
God, these are darkening days,
with little hope in sight.
Help us in our fear and exhaustion.
Anchor us in hope.
Blessed are we with eyes open
to see the accumulated
suffering of danger,
sickness, and loneliness,
the injustice of racial oppression,
the unimpeded greed and misuse
of power, violence, intimidation,
and use of dominance for its own sake,
the mockery of truth,
and disdain for weakness or vulnerability
—and worse, the seeming powerlessness
of anyone trying to stop it.
Blessed are we who ask:
Where are you, God?
And where are Your people
—the smart and sensible ones
who fight for good and
have the power to make it stick?
Blessed are we who cry out:
Oh God, why does the bad
always seem to win?
When will good prevail?
We know you are good,
but we see so little goodness.
God, show me your heart.
How you seek out the broken,
lift us on your shoulders,
and carry us home—
no matter how weak we’ve become.
God, seek us out, and find us,
we your tired people,
and lead us out to where hope lies
where your kingdom will come
and your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Fill me with your courage.
Calm me with your love.
Fortify me with your hope.
P.S. Open your hands
as you release your prayers.
Then take hold of hope.
As protest.
By: Kate Bowler