En cuisine en ce joli mars

Mes amis des cuisines !

Ça y est, le nouveau comptoir et le nouvel évier sont arrivés.
C’est le temps de venir les admirer !

JEUNESSE ALERTE
Cette semaine, quatre jeunes filles de 10 à 14 ans participent à notre tout-premier camp de jour de cuisine, encadrées par moi-même et notre chère cuisinière à la retraite Pauline Matte. L’idée, c’est évidemment pour les filles d’apprendre à cuisiner – mais  personnellement, je trouve toujours le processus d’apprentissage plus facile quand on a un projet, autrement appelé « cause de fierté », autour duquel travailler.
Cette semaine, on en a deux, et ils vous concernent :
-          Demain mercredi, repas communautaire à 12 h 30
-          Ce vendredi 9 mars, service de thé comme au Ritz – scones, sandwiches pas-de-croûte, etc. 16H
Ces deux repas seront conçus, préparés et servis par nos jolies jeunes. Venez les encourager ! Tout le monde est invité, pas besoin de réserver. Nous acceptons vos dons comme marque de votre gratitude :)

FINANCEMENT ALERTE

J’ai la grande joie d’annoncer à la cantonade que Centraide, dans le cadre du plan Projet Impact Collectif (PIC) pour l’arrondissement de Verdun, va octroyer une aide budgétaire de plus de 10 000$ à la Mission du Sud-Ouest. Cette enveloppe nous permet de rendre notre repas communautaire Mercredi m’attend hebdomadaire, en plus d’offrir davantage de services en cuisine aux groupes communautaires qui en ont besoin.
Nous avons la chance de compter plusieurs partenaires comme Centraide, qui croient en notre mission et soutiennent notre travail quotidien au service de la communauté. Sans leur aide, on serait capable de beaucoup moins. Gratitude, gratitude, j’vous dis !

ACTIVITÉS ALERTE
Donc ! Grâce à Centraide, nos repas communautaires Mercredi m’attend sont hebdomadaires à partir de maintenant. Une semaine sur deux, nous vous servirons le repas trois services auxquels vous êtes désormais habitués, et vous pourrez profiter du mini-marché pour faire le plein de fruits et légumes frais. La semaine suivante, nous vous proposerons un repas plus léger, sans doute exclusivement végétarien, et il n’y aura pas de mini-marché.

Pour les autres activités :
-          Mardi 13 mars, 13 h 30 : atelier sur l’alimentation du nourrisson en partenariat avec le CLSC de Verdun.
-          Jeudi 15 mars, 11 h : début des rencontres du groupe GUSTO, cuisine collective pour les 65 ans et plus.
-          Vendredi 23 mars, 11 h 30 : journée Moisson Montréal. Bénévoles recherchés pour aider à décharger le SUV, à trier la nourriture et à faire de la transformation expresse.
-          Dimanche 25 mars, 12 h 30 : repas communautaire et activités familiales Méli-Mélo.
-          Lundi 26 mars, 16 h 30 : cuisine collective du Centre des femmes de Verdun.

Pour des détails sur ces activités, consultez les deux calendriers réalisés par Verdun sans faim, la table de concertation en sécurité alimentaire et en agriculture urbaine de Verdun. (Vous les trouverez dans un article sur ce Blog du 1e mars). N’hésitez pas à les faire tourner dans vos réseaux.

Bon temps des sucres !

Léonore Pion
Cuisinière communautaire
Coordonnatrice des activités de cuisine, Mission du Sud-Ouest
leonore.pion@gmail.com 
Facebook : SouthWest Kitchens / Les cuisines du Sud-Ouest

Seedy Saturday/ Fête des semences

Our partners at Grand Potager cordially invite you to their annual Seedy Saturday/ Fête des semences at their headquarters in the Verdun municipal greenhouses. SouthWest will be there with our own kiosk and Chef Léonore will be offering soup. If you can give a hand during the day, let her know: leonore.pion@gmail.com

Verdun Seedy Saturday - an Urban Agriculture Festival!

A free event for the general public. More than 20 kiosks by artisan seed producers, vegetable gardening projects, for tropical plants, ethnic and rare plants and biodiversity in the city! There will be free conferences all day on vegetable gardening, seed starting, and more. You can purchase all your seeds and necessary materials for your flower or vegetable gardening season. 

10:00am to 3:00pm 10th March, 2018 at the Verdun Greenhouses 7000 boul Lasalle. Please visit and share our Facebook event for a detailed schedule of our conferences and more information on our vendors.

Nos partenaires du Grand Potager  vous invitent à la Fête des semences 2018  pour lancer la saison de jardinage aux Serres de Verdun. SouthWest aura sa kiosk et chef Léonore sera sur place pour offrir de la soupe. Si vous pouvez donner un coup de main durant la journée, contactez leonore.pion@gmail.com

Fête des semences de Verdun - un festival d'agriculture urbaine!

Au rendez-vous: Événement gratuit pour le grand public. Plus de 20 kiosques de semenciers artisanaux, l'apiculture, des projets de jardin potager, plantes tropicales, rares et ethniques. Il y aura des conférences gratuites toute la journée sur le jardin potager et la biodiversité en ville! Vous pouvez acheter tous les semences et matériels nécessaires pour commencer votre saison de jardinage.

10h à 15h 10 mars, 2018 aux Serres de Verdun 7000 boul LaSalle. S'il vous plait, visitez et partagez notre événement Facebook pour l'horaire détaillé des conférences, et plus d'information sur nos exposants.

Repas communautaire maintenant tous les mercredis!

Nos repas communautaires si appréciés qui étaient offerts à toutes les deux semaines,  seront désormais offerts tous les mercredis.

L’horaire de Mercredi M’Attend (qui comprend le lunch et le mini-marché) ne changera pas. Les mercredis alternatifs nous vous proposerons un repas léger. Le premier de ces dîners se tiendra le 7 mars et sera spécial: il sera préparé par cinq jeunes de 10 à 15 ans, qui participeront à un camp de jour de cuisine pendant la semaine de relâche. Les jeunes seront supervisés par notre chef cuisinière Léonore Pion.

Le repas communautaire est servi les mercredis à 12H30. Merci de faire un don à George, le cochon-tirelire.

Durant le camp de jour de la semaine de relâche, les jeunes prépareront aussi un high tea de style britannique. Du thé, des scones, des sandwiches au concombre et  plusieurs autres douceurs seront offerts au public le vendredi 9 mars à 16H. Contribution libre.

On vous attend à la Mission du Sud-ouest, au 631 rue Melrose à Verdun, coin av. Verdun.

Spring Youth Forum in Sherbrooke

What is Youth Forum?
It is a weekend retreat for high school and CEGEP youth organized by folks from the United Church of Canada (Quebec Presbytery). It is planned by youth, for youth. It has been going on in this region for more than 40 years!

What will we do there?
At Youth Forum you will play games, eat yummy food, make music, learn new things, meet new people, participate in Worship, explore and deepen spirituality and faith. Youth Forum is hard to explain, it is best lived!

Why should I go? I don't go to Church...
Everyone is welcome at Youth Forum. It is organized by a Protestant, Christian Church, however people of all faiths or no faith are always welcome. This is not an event to convert folks, but to explore meaningful relationships and new ideas. We are an open-minded and diverse community. 

The Theme of the upcoming Youth Forum in Sherbrooke in April is Healthy Relations. We will focus on a number of important topics facing our world and our youth today: navigating the tricky territory of relationships, sex, self esteem and consent. In the wake of #metoo it seems more relevant than ever to talk about healthy boundaries and how to create positive and loving friendships and romances. We will also explore how our ideas of sex and relationships have been shaped and affected by the Bible and modern religious culture. By creating a comfortable open and safe space to talk about these big issues, in the company of peers and role models, we can explore trickier topics. Adult leaders have experience working with youth and are all police-checked.

This event costs 50$ - but please do not let that be a barrier, if you cannot afford the registration cost, just speak to Shannna and we can organize a solution.

Cet événement passera principalement en anglais, mais les francophones sont toujours les bienvenus, la plupart des participants sont bilingues et la traduction peut être arrangée.

When: April 13-15, 2018

Where: 
Église Unie Plymouth Trinity United Church
380 Dufferin, Sherbrooke, Quebec J1H 4M7

Contact Shanna Bernier for more info  - shanna.bernier@gmail.com
819-791-1974  

Minister's Message: Thanks to Harvest Montreal

I wrote a thanks this week to Geverny Hajjar and the team at Harvest Montreal/ Moisson Montréal. Geverny coordinates our monthly pickup of donated food items. We benefit from partnership with this organisation that recovers many tons of food from across Montréal that would normally find its way into a garbage dump. Each month Darlene lends the 'Silver Bullet' to Frank and Léonore who load it to the brim with meat, non-perishable foods and fresh produce. I wrote a thank-you specifically because I saw many ways these donations touched individuals, groups and our community meals.

Kitchen Dream Team Welcome Wednesday

Since the food donations were brought back last Friday this is in part what I observed:

- Children of Breakfast Club loved the ham that was served one morning! 
- Community Celebration/Méli-mélo had an abundance of food prepared by our kitchen co-ordinator and the dream team in the kitchen. The grapes and tortilla chips were a hit.
- some food baskets were delivered to seniors.
- the 'Libre Frigo' was well stocked and many families enjoyed the bread and fresh produce.
- the lemons, sausages and brussels sprouts were being transformed into tasty elements of the upcoming Welcome Wednesday meal.

Wonderful sights and sounds!! 

I wrote: « Veuillez donner ce mot de gratitude à toute l’équipe de Moisson Montréal en notre nom. Merci! »

I remember the story of the child who shared his lunch with Jesus who then blessed it to nourish thousands (John 6:1-14). Generous giving should always be appreciated and a word of thanks in in order, to donors of all kinds and in varying quantities. "Thank-you" keeps the blessing moving along.

I want to gratefully acknowledge :
- a recent gift from the Teen Haven Foundation, Verdun.
- our local Legion # 4 that continues to donate dry goods for the pantry.
- SouthWest's food drive on the first Sunday of Lent of non-perishable food, shared between the Mission and Manna food bank.

Rev.David

Sharing the Loaves and Fishes

Sharing the loaves and fishes,
You gave us an image of solidarity with the hungry, O Lord.
Sharing yourself in the bread and wine,
You called all to the table, O Lord.
Give me the hunger to be a part of the feeding
And the healing of this world.
Nourish me with your Grace,
So I may work with joy to serve your children.
Open my eyes and my heart
To recognize those in poverty
And increase my awareness
Of the structures and systems
That need to be changed
So we may all break bread together.
In your name we pray for the end of hunger.

Education for Justice (internet resource)

An invitation from St. Columba House

Soul of the Community — Building Neighbourhoods of Hope — 2

You are cordially invited to a workshop. The primary goal of this workshop is to engage in interactive case studies involving faith communities. These faith communities are drawing a map of their neighbourhood in order to find new ways of being church in their neighbourhood.

In the afternoon, we will further explore how faith communities contribute to the common good. And we will examine some of the struggles that faith communities are facing.

Sharing of our own experiences, the exchange of ideas with experts, and the review of available resources, we will strengthen existing links and trust relationships within the Presbytery as a whole. In this way, together, we build neighbourhoods of hope.

Saturday, MARCH 17, 2018, 9:00—3:30 p.m.

At Saint Columba House
2365 Grand Trunk, Montreal

 All are welcome

 Lunch provided

For more information and to RSVP, please contact Patricia Lisson at 514-241-9036, 
or Lisa Byer-de Wever at 514-932-6202 ex.224

Sponsored by: JGER Committee, Vision and Transformation Committee, Saint Columba House, EDGE Network of the United Church of Canada.

L’Âme de nos communautés — Engendrer des quartiers riches d’espoir 2

Vous êtes cordialement invité à un atelier où l'objectif principal est de s'engager dans des études de cas interactives impliquant des communautés religieuses. Celles-ci dessinent une carte de leur environnement afin de trouver de nouvelles façons d'être l'église dans leur quartier.

Dans l'après-midi, nous explorerons davantage comment les communautés religieuses contribuent au bien commun. Et nous examinerons certaines des luttes auxquelles elles sont confrontées.

Partage de nos propres expériences, échange d'idées avec des experts et examen des ressources disponibles, nous renforcerons les liens existants et les relations de confiance au sein du Consistoire dans son ensemble. De cette façon, ensemble, nous construisons des quartiers d'espoir.

Samedi le 17 mars 2018 de 9 h à 15 h 30

à la Maison Saint Columba, 2365, rue Grand Trunk, Montréal

Tout le monde est bienvenu

Le lunch est fourni

Pour plus d'informations et pour confirmer votre présence contactez Patricia Lisson  514-241-9036 ou Lisa Byer-de Wever 514- 932-6202 ex 224

Parrainer par: Comité JGER, Comité  de la vision et transformation, La Maison  Saint Columba, Réseau Edge de l’église Unie du Canada.

March Calendars: Where to Eat, Where to Cook

Once again, prepared by our partners at Verdun sans faim, here are the Food security calendars for this month. One of them shows community meals in Verdun; The other shows collective kitchens and emergency food help. 

SouthWest Bingo !

March is coming in like a lamb, not a lion this year. That's good news for our monthly Bingo activity, always held on the first Saturday of the month. That's tomorrow, March 3rd! Cost at the door is $5, which gets you your first bingo card and a ticket for the (cash) door prize. Additional bingo cards can be bought for 50 cents. Doors open at 12:00, play begins at 1PM and refreshments are available (donations gratefully accepted). Please note that this is in the basement of the church, at 1445 rue Clemenceau in Crawford Park. Good luck!

Wednesday Lunch Goes Weekly!

Starting the first week of March, our popular lunches, which have been offered every second Wednesday, will become a weekly event!

Our Welcome Wednesday schedule featuring lunch and a mini-market remains the same, but we are adding a lighter lunch on the alternate Wednesdays as well. The first of these light lunches, on March 7th, is special: it will be prepared by a group of 10 to 15-year-olds attending a March Break cooking camp at the Mission. They will be cooking under the supervision of chef cuisinière Léonore.

Lunch is served Wednesday at 12:30. Thank you for your donation to George, the piggybank.

The youngsters in the cooking camp will also prepare a British-style High Tea on Friday, March 9th. Tea, scones, cucumber sandwiches and other delicacies will be offered. 4PM. Also a voluntary contribution.

Hope to see you at SouthWest Mission, 631 Melrose in Verdun, corner Verdun ave.

P.S: A Blog post from January 5th shows the dates of Welcome Wednesdays featuring Mini-markets. 

Mini-Market February 28th

With the mild weather forecast over the next nine days at least, you could almost believe spring is coming! While it's still grey outside, there's always plenty of colour at the Mission on Welcome Wednesdays. Red peppers, green beans, oranges etc. Mini-market has a bright palette of colours, not to mention flavours available at the best prices. And they're loaded with vitamins and iron to give us the boost we need at this time of year. Download the price list for next Wednesday's market below.

The delicious, nutritious community meal offered on the same day is also an excellent pick-me-up. These days, the cooks usually prepare something with meat, but there is always a vegetarian alternative available.

What: Welcome Wednesday

Where? Southwest Mission, 631 Melrose

When? Wed., February 28th: Mini-market 10:30AM to 3:30PM; Community Lunch 12:30.