At Prairie Spirit, we are actively engaged in outreach focused on food security.
Portage Avenue Food Bank
We host a bi-weekly community food bank which is an affiliated agency of Winnipeg Harvest. To register as a food bank client, please call directly to Winnipeg Harvest at 204-982-3660.
1JustCity
Our Social Justice Team coordinates our engagement and support of the work with United Church Community Ministry Partners in the inner city through 1JustCity.
Canadian Foodgrains Bank
We are partners in the COOL growing project with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. COOL stands for Communities Offering Others Life, and the grow project is located in Starbuck near Winnipeg.
Refugee Work
Prairie Spirit Church has been active in refugee work since the beginning when the Vietnam Refugees (Boat People) landed in Canada in 1979. All three churches over the years have been active with refugees before we became Prairie Spirit Church.
The Social Justice Team has, in it’s budget, money left over from last sponsorships. There is money in the Social Justice budget from sponsorships from the churches even after they were not in a sponsorship. Right now, we see it as our mission to help other churches by donating money to them when the going is tough for them to raise the money for sponsorships in their churches. We want to help people who need to come to a safe country such as Canada. Sometimes churches are short of members who can still be active with the refugees because of their age or for other reasons. Some will request help from us. We give thanks to congregation members who respond to my plea and are willing to work with the refugees even though they are being sponsored by another church.
Churches who have not sponsored before are taught how to begin their sponsorship. They also learn the policies of sponsorship in the United Church. I am the Manitoba Sponsorship Coordinator, and sit on the United Church National Advisory Committee. I serve on the Manitoba Sponsorship Agreement Holders group and have just begun my work with the Prairie to Pine, Manitoba, Northwest Conference.
If you would like to donate money to the Refugee fund, work with refugees or help in any way, you can speak to any member of the Social Justice Team and they will direct you.
Heather Friesen