Salvation Army at Gladstone Community Church wants to welcome new neighbours

By Louise Rachlis
The Salvation Army at Gladstone Community Church has joined the Centretown Citizens Community Association.
The church in downtown Ottawa aims to reduce poverty by addressing the health needs of the poor and marginalized in its community.
“We invite people to drop by and see what we do and get to know us,” says Captain Ginny Kristensen, corps officer. “We want to help our neighbours as well. There are also many opportunities to volunteer to help disadvantaged people in the community.”
“If any groups would like us to visit and explain about parish nursing, we’d be happy to do that,” says outreach nurse Judy McIntosh, the other full-time employee at the church at 391 Gladstone Ave., near Bank Street.
“Health ministry is a natural fit with spiritual care,” she says. “People who come for the walking group can receive counselling during the walk. People who come to get their blood pressure checked can get prayer at the same time. Most of the people I’ve surveyed say that nursing makes the church more relevant to them. Addressing people’s physical, emotional and spiritual health shows that we care about people totally.”
As an article by Rochelle McAlister called “Soup, Soap, Salvation and Scrubs,” on Salvationist.ca describes, poor health is both a symptom and a cause of poverty, which means that marginalized people often have difficulty accessing adequate health care.
Outreach nurse McIntosh has been at Gladstone for the past 14 years, serving full-time for the past three. Some days, she is making house calls behind dumpsters or washing people’s feet in a basin. Other days she is running the corps’ Fit for Life women’s group or holding health assessments at the drop-in centre. One-on-one counselling, flu shot clinics and health advocacy work are also a part of her ministry, in addition to updating a bulletin board with current health information and holding group sessions on current health issues.
McIntosh’s experience is that some people who are shy about baring their souls will ask for their temperature or blood pressure to be checked. While that is being done, emotional and spiritual issues are often shared. The corps also connects with a variety of health, housing and inner-city networks.
“Gladstone is a mission church where people find community, reducing their social exclusion and poverty,” says Captain Kristensen. “Every person that comes is poor or marginalized in some way, and we show each other unconditional love. If you’re looking for nice pews and the standard Salvation Army, we’re not it!”
The Salvation Army has a dignity project to educate people about what it’s like to be poor.
As winter approaches, donations of men’s socks, warm clothing, tuques, scarves and long underwear are greatly appreciated, says Captain Kristensen, and financial donations are always welcome as well. “Being in our location for 100 years in our heritage building is a milestone but presenting challenges. The building needs major renovations in order to serve the people the way we want to.”
“We have to be visually acceptable to our neighbours,” adds Judy. “We want to be friends with residents of the condos going in around us and to make Centretown life even better. We want to improve life in the community by working together.”
The church plans to hold a barbeque or street party with the neighbourhood to celebrate the completion of basement renovations in the new year.
The Canadian Association of Parish Nurses Ministry will be holding its Canadian conference and annual general meeting in Ottawa May 10-13, 2012 at the Lord Elgin Hotel. “We’re hoping for around 100 delegates from across the country,” says Judy, “nurses, faith community leaders and pastors. The theme is ‘Parish Nursing and Social Justice - a Capital Idea.’”
Keynote speakers will be Dr. Jeff Turnbull, current president of the Canadian Medical Association and founder of Ottawa Inner City Health, and Reverend Dr. Barbara Robinson, an Anglican priest who founded parish nursing in Ottawa.
For more information on the conference, view www.capnm.ca.
For more information on Salvation Army at Gladstone Community Church, call 613-232-2952.