Montreal City Mission

MCM and Pop Montreal make beautiful music together!

Thomas Hellman & Jordan Officer

Natalia & Murray of The Dears

Katie Moore, Mike O'Brien & Jordan Officer

Our October 2nd Music with a mission benefit concert in partnership with Pop Montreal was a great success.  Several well-loved and talented Montreal musicians performed in support of MCM’s work.  A sincere thank-you is in order to Thomas Hellman, Jordan Officer, Katie Moore and Mike O’Brien, as well as  Murray and Natalia from The Dears who lent their talent and time to this important event. And we couldn’t have done it without our amazing and indispensable volunteer team!

Enjoying the chocolate fountain

MCM was also chosen to receive the proceeds of merchandise sales (The Dears) and ticket sales (Patrick Watson and friends) during other “Pop” shows.  We are excited to welcome these artists, the hard-working Pop Montreal staff and of course, newcomer audience members, into the MCM community!

 Projet Refuge in St-Sauveur

Members of Ste-Adèle and Shawbridge United Churches were happy to welcome a delegation from Project Refuge on October 17th. Hearing the story of your difficult journeys, and how they led you to Canada, evoked many emotions for the members of our community.  Our time together was also filled with the joy of sharing – especially new culinary discoveries! What a pleasure to meet all of you and we hope to see you again soon for a hot chocolate on Lac Rond!

Johanne Gendron , Ste-Adèle United Church

 Beat the drum!

The EKC envisions a Canada of just and right relations

On December 5^th, 2010, members of the Every Kid Choir braved the cold to show solidarity for Aboriginal peoples in Canada and around the world, as they drummed for the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  Ever since its creation in 2005, the EKC has been using music as a means to promote social justice and empowerment, and December 5^th was the choir’s inaugural event for the promotion of justice for Aboriginals.  Many thanks to Molly Churchill for organizing this event.

 Hot chocolate & music!

CHOCOLAT CHAUD!  Was the cry from PR residents coiffed in Santa Claus caps as they spread some holiday warmth on St. James Square on November 22nd, and invited passers-by into the church to visit Unique, MCM’s first International Arts & Crafts Show. 

Ten Thousand Villages tables

Trio Festivo

Wares from Ten Thousand Villages and many more were on sale along with a hot lunch and classical notes provided by Trio Festivo. Be sure to join us next year for Christmas shopping that makes a difference!

 A visit to Ottawa & a forum in Montreal

It was a beautiful sunny day last October 19th when we gathered on Parliament Hill to support Bill 300. 

The goal of this private member’s bill was to oblige Canadian mining companies overseas to respect the same environmental standards they do at home (The health and well-being of countless poor communities and individuals is at stake). Alas we lost by only 6 votes – this time around. 

Many thanks to Beaconsfield United for providing ongoing leadership on this most important issue.

But we do have better news. The opposition parties have declared their intention to vote against Bill C49 - which proposes yet more restrictions on refugees including incarceration of children for up until one year.

Ramani Balendra, Peter Shams & Rick Goldman

On November 17th, MCM together with the Table de concertation des organisms au service des personnes refugiées et immigrantes  organized a well attended panel discussion to inform the public of the dangers presented by this proposed legislations. The federal government has not brought it to a vote or withdrawn it at this point in time. (For more information visit the Canadian Council for Refugees at:  http://ccrweb.ca/en/c49)

Many thanks to our panel of experts: Rick Goldman (MCM & Committee to Aid Refugees), Peter Shams ( Amnesty International), Janet Cleveland ( Hans & Tamar Oppenheimer Chair in Public International Law), Mitchell Goldberg (Canadian Bar Association),  Ramani Balendra, (South-Asian Women's Community Center) , and moderator Rivka Augenfeld.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to our colleague Yolaine Williams and her husband Peter Shams for the birth of their first son, baby Henry.