Winter Community Outreach Thank Yous + Next Steps

Before we get into the details about what is happening next with the community outreach program at Knox, we would like to say a big thank you to all our volunteers. This past season we were blessed to have several amazing volunteers help deliver the program. Thanks to their hard work and dedication we were able to serve over 65 people per week from November to April. We are so grateful for all their help—sorting and packing donations, helping with setup, distributing the gift cards and essential items, monitoring the lineup, and much more!

As many of you are aware, the Knox Youth Dinner and Food Bank opened over 20 years ago, offering a warm meal and groceries on Tuesday nights between November and April. Through this program a strong community was formed, one cherished by participants and volunteers alike.

Over the past few years however, we have determined that the program is increasingly unsustainable for a combination of reasons including the retirement of key leaders and resource needs. We also realize that there are better equipped organizations nearby that offer similar programs. For these reasons, we feel that a new direction is needed for community outreach at Knox. Nevertheless, we are very saddened to be closing this important chapter in our ministry history.

To discern what next steps we will take for community outreach at Knox, the Justice and Mercy Committee was formed in the Fall of 2021. This ad hoc committee has been meeting to discuss and pray over how our church can best use its resources to serve the community in the future.

For the Knox congregation

Stay tuned for updates in the coming months about the next iteration of our community ministry that will seek to enable vulnerable community members to be an integral part of our church family.

For those in need of resources

Going forward, we encourage you to connect with our partner organizations not far from us.

The Scott Mission
502 Spadina Avenue. Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2H1
416-923-8872

Evangel Hall Mission
552 Adelaide Street West, Toronto, ON, M5V 3W8
416-504-3563 

If for any reason you need help connecting to other community resources, please contact community@knoxtoronto.org. We would be glad to help.

We also want you to know that Knox is always open to anyone seeking a church community. Join us for worship on Sunday mornings at 11am or look over our website for more opportunities to connect.

Pr. Nestor
on behalf of Knox Session and Pastoral Staff