360 Community had a very inspiring gathering with our special guest speaker, Fr. Matthew Johnson, who has been serving at the Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES) for almost 20 years. Everyone who attended the gathering was not just touched, but deeply inspired by Fr. Matthew’s message. Fr. Matthew took us on a virtual “shift” on the street with him . He narrated it in the present tense and introduced us to the remarkable people he encountered on the streets of the DTES.  For him, why he continues to work on the streets of the DTES—because God is present everywhere there. We experienced God’s presence as we celebrated the Holy Eucharist together after Fr. Matthew’s message.

I feel grateful we had quite a few people attending our meeting. They are very active members of the community, and some of them are faithful volunteers of St Albans’ outreach programs. There was one young person who came to our meeting because she saw our event on Eventbrite. I was encouraged that she wanted to learn more about the DTES and social outreach. Instead of enjoying their Sunday evening dating over the long weekend, a young couple came to our meeting. I was touched that they felt the topic was very important to them.

I feel grateful and hopeful about Fr. Matthew and the people coming to the meeting, and most importantly, I give thanks to God. God cares about the needs of the people in the community. Amen!