Christ Moravian Church in Calgary, Alberta, shares one story of their community involvement, supporting the unhoused community in their area through a local organization called The Mustard Seed.
The Coldest Night of the Year is a national 2 km or 5 km walk held this year on February 22, 2025, that raises awareness of persons in our community who need our help and fundraises for the agencies that provide resources for them. Some of them are hungry, more than a few hurting mentally, physically, spiritually, and some are experiencing homelessness. Adults, moms and kids, seniors and youth are all affected.
Christ Moravian Mission and Outreach formed a team of 5 named Moravians on a Mission. We asked our congregation, family and friends to donate to this cause and achieved a goal of $3000. Locally we supported the Mustard Seed in their day-to-day programs and operations.
The Mustard Seed is a Christian organization that provides shelter and food to the unhoused, addiction and mental health services, spiritual counseling, support resources for education, employment and housing.
The walk was well planned and executed. The route was mapped out along public pathways through the residential community and included clear directional signage, motivational messages and encouraging volunteers all along the way. Prior to a rousing send-off, there were testimonials about individuals and families who had been assisted by our local shelter and supportive housing unit as well as thank-you speeches for all the donations of funds and volunteers. The messaging was clear – by volunteering, walking, or donating we were not just giving time and money, we were giving HOPE!
After coming through a prolonged cold snap of 21 days where temperatures routinely hovered in the -20s Celsius, we were very grateful that a Chinook wind blew in just in time to have the temperature be a very tolerable +8 Celsius on the day of the walk.
Christ Moravian has historically supported the Mustard Seed since the late 1990s and continues with a variety of projects today. We contribute food for snack bags, volunteers make sandwiches for lunches directly at the shelter every two months and collections are taken of clothing and hygiene supplies for shelter clients. This outreach is part of the bigger community works that demonstrates our care for our brothers and sisters and strives to ensure no one is left hungry or without shelter.
