Complex Trauma And RE/ACT (Tim Fletcher interview)

Tim Fletcher is the Founder and President of RE/ACT (Recovery Education for Addictions and Complex Trauma). He used his skills as a pastor and counsellor to develop a program to help the people he cared for overcome addiction. He realized the need for individuals to first become equipped with tools, and then put those tools into practice in a healthy, safe and loving environment - and herein lies his unique skill.

During his early years, he learned that everyone has a loved one who struggles with addiction, and many people struggled with unrealized addictions and unhealthy coping techniques. He found that 97% of addicts also struggled from Complex Trauma (C-PTSD) - corroborating the research of Dr. Gabor Maté. After researching C-PTSD which was identified as, “A series of events that occur where a victim feels unsafe, and as such, develops mental disorders which inhibit them from coping in stressful or harmful circumstances”, he concluded that research was showing that there is a physical difference between the brains of those who grew up in loving and nurturing homes and those who didn’t – before any addiction became prevalent.[1]

Links:

Tim Fletcher Website

https://www.timfletcher.ca/

Theo Von Interview

(language warning. Theo is a comedian and a spiritual seeker)

https://youtu.be/K60u6ObDsrI?si=_Oc2yXE9OfWqS7lf

[1] https://www.timfletcher.ca/about-tim-fletcher

Healing Spiritual Cataracts (Tim Meisenheimer)

Timothy Meisenheimer has spent decades on the streets with beatitude vision, first in Ottawa and now in Windsor, Ontario. This was his session at the Our City Windsor 2024 conference. Tim takes seriously the path of Jesus in his sidewalk vision of the Kingdom of God.

Links:

Urban Cry School of Mission

https://www.facebook.com/urbancryschoolofmission

Downtown Windsor Community Collaborative

https://www.dwcc.ca/

Capital City Mission

https://capitalcitymission.com/

The Ottawa Mission

https://ottawamission.com/

Back To The Shack (Bobby Reaume interview)

Bobby Reaume is the lead operator with Feeding Windsor-Essex’s Soup Shack. Every night from 7-9 pm he ensures that up to 140 people are served with food, snacks, clothing and personal care items. The food is prepared in the kitchens of Feeding Windsor-Essex, a charitable department of New Song Church.

This interview at the Our City Windsor 2024 Conference is filled with stories of hope and the continuing miracle of Bobby’s journey to recovery.

As an update, Bobby and some interested parties are attempting to start a charity of their own to provide a greater platform of services to Windsor’s homeless and street-affiliated population. The Soup Shack would be enhanced by a building where more than food would be served.

In the meantime, donations to help fund current operations can be sent to Feeding Windsor-Essex. Find out how at admin@feedingwindsoressex.ca

Links:

Feeding Windsor-Essex

https://www.feedingwindsoressex.ca/

From Fentanyl To The Soup Shack (Season Four, Episode 18)

https://www.sidewalkskylinepodcast.com/sidewalkskylinepodcast/from-fentanyl-to-the-soup-shack-bobby-reaume-interview

Gospel Transformation In An At Risk Neighbourhood

For 10 years, New Song Church has been alongside one of Windsor’s more challenging neighbourhoods of social housing. What we affectionately call the Glengarry neighbourhood is a series of four high rise apartments, several rows of townhouses and an assisted living facility. It experiences the most tragic of life experiences as well as a quieter majority that are just trying to survive.

Through collaboration initially with The Downtown Windsor Community Collaborative and partnership with Windsor Essex Community Housing Corporation, we run a 4 day per week drop in centre, a community garden, the cafeteria contract in the assisted living facility along with a weekly Bible study and prayer meeting for residents with spiritual desire.

In this episode, Kevin Rogers interviews Kevin and Paula Saunders as well as Elizabeth Anderson.

Signs Of Hope (Brian Egert)

Brian Egert brought this opening message at the Our City Windsor ‘Signs Of Hope’ conference in March 2024. One hundred people gathered at New Song Church in Windsor Ontario to reflect on the hope that Canadian churches can bring to their cities.

Brian is the Director of Mission Canada, an agency committed to raising up workers with a heart of hope for the nation of Canada.

Link:

Mission Canada

https://paoc.org/canada

Musicians On Mission (The Extreme Tour)

For thirty years, The Extreme Tour have partnered with community groups and clubs, civic organizations, churches, schools, government agencies and municipalities that are working charitably to meet the needs of the disenfranchised.

Collectively they have been in hundreds of communities scattered throughout 20 countries bringing music, art, spoken word, etc. They are musicians on mission and people that want to serve.

In mid-September they spent a week in Windsor, Ontario assisting New Song Church and Feeding Windsor-Essex. This is our round table conversation about who they are and the unique work that they are called to.

Links:

The Extreme Tour

https://www.theextremetour.com/

Danyelle Speaks

https://www.danyellespeaks.com/

Idiomz Da Prophesayer

https://idiomz.bandcamp.com/

Manny Hubbard (Flamuel)

https://www.youtube.com/@MannyHubbardMusic

Samuel Kislow (Salmon Friends)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2CLfjEDGS4

Bedside Manner - Paul Sharrow interview

Paul Sharrow has been my friend for 35 years. Little did we know when we first met where our lives would lead us and where they would intersect.

To summarize his work life from then until now is a rabbit trail of God’s unfolding grace.

We met in Exeter Ontario when he was working for Compassion Canada travelling with music artists and speakers all over North America. Then he moved to Paris Ontario and worked for a short time with Crossroads Communications.

As I left my ministry post in Exeter and moved to Windsor, our friendship remained intact. After some time, Paul and his family joined us in Windsor. At that time, there was a strong leaning to establish missionary efforts in Bulgaria and the hope was that we would be his home church and sending body.

But then, Bulgaria began to fade and an urban vision for Windsor emerged. Paul found work with St. Leonard’s House helping men from prison find housing in the community. Then, Paul helped Antioch Christian Ministries establish an urban church called The Lazarus Commission.

Then came a season of clinical pastoral education leading to hospital chaplaincy in downtown Detroit and then Windsor. A few years were spent as chaplain at Hospice.

So, from hanging out with Christian rock bands to caring for people in crisis, Paul’s life has been filled with pastoral care.

A Conversation with Toque Evans

Kevin Rogers sits down with his longtime friend, 2fish band mate and co-pastor Kevin Saunders. On October 1st their 2 urban congregations in Windsor Ontario merged together to become more effective through multiple locations of ministry.

Hear their collective experiences and gained wisdom from being in urban ministry for the long haul.

Toque Evans?

Two Kevins’.

Music Links:

www.2fish.org

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5Uoh9JfmI5gml9R6RGjjX8?si=O6j4WbGKTkaa2hdgoy0AIQ&dl_branch=1

https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/2fish/1398542019

Meet The Transformers - QUEST Conversation (part 1)

We have been examining model of ministry in Canadian cities using the acronym QUEST. There are five models from our urban guiding group survey that start to give definition to God at work in our communities.

Q – Qualitative Neighbouring. These are people who choose a front porch instead of a pulpit and view being a neighbour as a primary vocation.

U – Urban Churches. These houses of worship seek to be an expression of God’s goodness in their city context. A love for God and city keeps them located where needed, and not necessarily where it will be easy.

E – Energizers. Who are the communicators, artists and influencers that bring God’s Spirit to the surrounding culture?

S – Street Ministry Workers. With a backpack and a cell phone, these are the mobile pastors and evangelists that will follow the scent to people in trouble and on the margins of society. Like St. Bernard dogs, they will go the distance to save someone that has fallen.

T – Transformers. Who are the people that organize relief and development for the most vulnerable citizens? As they feed, clothe, shelter, and bring hope to their city, community transformation inevitably happens.  

Today we are going to meet the transformers. No, not Optimus Prime and company, but men and women that are just as heroic in their own real -world context.

Kevin Coghill is a pastor and staff member at Royal City Mission in downtown Guelph.

When I was a youth pastor in Exeter, I would bring some of my youth and our musicians to help at Ark Aid Street Mission in downtown London. That was a place that had a great influence on my later decision to move to Windsor and start New Song Church. Ark Aid Mission outgrow the little storefront and moved into larger quarters in later years. One of its directors was the recently retired Doug Whitelaw and the one replacing him was Sarah Campbell.

After I moved to Windsor to begin New Song Church, I became acquainted with Mike Morency. He would leave his youth pastorate in Kitchener and move back to his hometown of Windsor and join as part of the pastoral team in our first few years as a new church.

Eventually he would return to University of Windsor and get his degree in social work. After working in the field, he returned to a faith-based organization named Matthew House, a residence that assists refugee claimants as they integrate into Canadian society. Mike then led them from a three-bedroom bungalow to a complex that can house many more.

Our very first podcast in season 1 was with Rodger Fordham, director of Feeding Windsor. What started with a handful of people at a downtown Presbyterian church then migrated over to New Song Church where I pastor, once the starting church closed for good. Together we have witnessed the growth of Feeding Windsor.

Links:

Royal City Mission, Guelph ON

https://www.royalcitymission.ca/

Ark Aid Mission, London ON

https://arkaidmission.com/

Matthew House, Windsor ON

http://matthewhousewindsor.org/

Feeding Windsor

http://www.feedingwindsor.ca/

Windsor's Little Church With A Big Kitchen

Welcome to the first ever episode of Sidewalk Skyline. I’m your host Kevin Rogers and I have lived most of my life in Canadian cities, well… at least in Ontario cities. In this podcast we are going to feature men and women from across Canada doing some extraordinary work in the places they live.

So where am I from? I live in Windsor, Ontario where the church I planted is celebrating 26 years of loving our neighbours, especially those living on the margins of society.

Today’s pilot episode is an interview with Rodger Fordham, director of Feeding Windsor. If I didn’t have the privilege of working alongside Rodger, I would still think this a great place to start our investigation of what God is up to in Canadian cities.

In 5 years, this outreach has had a meteoric rise to 200,000 meal servings for this upcoming year. You are going to hear how a small church can partner with others to make a large dent in the city through hospitality.

Links:

www.feedingwindsor.ca

  http://newsongwindsor.blogspot.com/

https://paoc.org/canada/workers/priorityurbancentres

https://paoc.org/canada/about/staff/lists/mc-staff/urban-coordinator

Feeding Windsor is an outreach agency of New Song Church focused on providing a table in food deserts, hospitality in neighbourhoods and strategies of food empowerment in our city. More details are on our website at www.feedingwindsor.ca