“Crazy, Christ-like” ministry builds inner-city relationships
WINNIPEG, MB - A large, old, recently renovated house in West Broadway has become a welcoming site for inner-city residents.
House Blend Ministries bought and renovated the house last year to expand its existing outreach to the poor. More than 20 people now gather there weekly for potlucks, Bible studies, prayer time and community events.
House Blend, named after the concept of meeting people over coffee, started as a local outreach to help the poor by building relationships with those in need.
Originally an initiative of Missions and Church Extension through the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba, House Blend was born out of Hope Winnipeg - a group of local Christians who came together in 2007 and met regularly to pray and seek God's leading on how to help the poor.
Rachel Twigg Boyce, pastor at House Blend, says they wanted to focus on building relationships without starting another church or ministry. "We didn't want to duplicate anything already being done; what was missing was the relationship piece. We wanted to find people and let ministry and mission flow from that."
House Blend is simply about reaching out to people - an effort that began long before the ministry bought and renovated the West End house.
Such relationships have included House Blend members opening their homes to help homeless people and drug addicts with no where else to turn.
One House Blend member befriended someone trying to quit using crack cocaine. When that person learned they had to wait five days just to enter rehab, the House Blend member let the addict stay with her to go through detoxification.
That kind of relationship building is "crazy and Christ-like and crazy," Twigg Boyce says, using a phrase coined by one of her friends. "Another person we met when we were just walking around the neighbourhood said she was lonely. She now comes (to potlucks) once a week."
More than 12 people now make up the core of the House Blend ministry.
Kristi Degenhardt and her husband got involved last October. They are now leaving their suburban neighbourhood to move to the West End where they plan to raise their three small children.
"This was a journey for us seeking how God wants us to live. To transplant our family means we are choosing our lifestyle," Degenhardt explains, adding part of what attracts her to the inner city is the high-density, multicultural population where people are out and actually get to know their neighbours.
Degenhardt knows living in the West End means her kids will be exposed to a rough neighbourhood. But she wants them to grow up reaching out to their community without being afraid. "I want my kids to see that following Jesus means acting on faith. There isn't a segregation between our faith and our lives," she says.
While House Blend did not start out as a ministry specific to the West End, it has slowly gravitated to the area.
"I've always lived in the West End but I wasn't calling for people to come from a specific neighbourhood," Twigg Boyce says. Yet almost everyone in the core of House Blend lives in the area, so reaching out to their neighbours is relatively simple.
Buying and renovating the house was undertaken last year when House Blend looked for ways to "make it easier to do good," Twigg Boyce says, adding they needed a place to host larger groups of people.
But the house project came together more quickly than anyone had anticipated.
"We didn't have money or a board of directors, but in about five months we got a board and the (Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba) conference offered to pay for the house."
After "frantic renovations" the four-bedroom house opened in September 2010 and three people who are part of House Blend moved in, each paying rent for their room. The house also serves as a temporary shelter for those in need.
The main and second floors were renovated for the first phase of the project, and House Blend is now seeking a permit to renovate the third floor. In the future, the basement may also be restored for added space.
"We are taking it step by step as cash comes in," Twigg Boyce says.
Other plans include putting a community garden on the property to help House Blend members connect with more people. And to celebrate the harvest House Blend plans to hold a salsa making party this fall.
Many church groups have helped House Blend with renovation and maintenance projects at the house, and the ministry invites anyone who wishes to get involved to volunteer.
"There are a lot of us who want to do good but we don't know how. This ministry is about faith formation - it helps us do good. And because we're doing it together, we have each other's backs; we are there to encourage each other," Twigg Boyce says.
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