Long before a room is filled with people, someone prepares it.
Someone paints a wall. Pulls weeds. Cleans a kitchen. Organizes a cupboard. Carries boxes. Rearranges furniture. These quiet acts often go unnoticed, but they help create something much bigger than a well-kept building.
They help create a place where people feel welcome.
That has been our story over the past few months at 891 St. Mary’s Road in Winnipeg’s St. Vital community.
As Hope Centre Ministries prepared to welcome members for Summer Clubs, volunteers and staff spent countless hours painting, purging, cleaning, organizing, weeding, and caring for the spaces around them. It wasn’t simply about making the building look nice. It was about caring for the people who already call this place home while preparing to welcome Hope Centre Ministries members into it.
Our hope was simple.
When someone walked through the doors for Summer Clubs for the very first time, we didn’t want them to feel like visitors in someone else’s building. We wanted them to feel that this was a place where they belonged. A place where they were welcomed, valued, and free to build meaningful relationships.
A place that could begin to feel like their home for hope.
Because belonging doesn’t begin when a building is finished.
It begins when people are welcomed with care.
That has always been the heart of Hope Centre Ministries.
For more than 50 years, we have been creating opportunities for spiritual care, friendship, and belonging for adults with disabilities in Winnipeg. Through Bible studies, community gatherings, retreats, online programs, and shared experiences, we believe every person is created in the image of God and has gifts that strengthen our community. Learn more about our programs at Hope Centre Ministries.
While our offices and much of our ministry remain in our Henderson location, our Summer Clubs have already begun gathering at 891 St. Mary’s Road. The Raw Carrot HCM has also taken a small step into the building as two freezers now support our growing social enterprise.
Throughout the week, the building continues to serve many different communities. Community Venture welcomes participants each weekday. Prairie Presbyterian gathers for worship. Community groups continue to meet here, each adding their own story to this shared space.
We don’t see ourselves simply as owners of a building.
We see ourselves as stewards of a place where God is already at work.
There is still much ahead. We continue to prayerfully plan for the day when Hope Centre Ministries can bring our offices, staff, and ministry operations together under one roof. That future will unfold over time, but we’re grateful that belonging doesn’t have to wait.
It’s already growing.
If you’d like to learn more about the shared vision for 891 St. Mary’s Road and the communities who call it home, visit gnf.ca.
Help Prepare a Place Where Belonging Happens
One of the simplest ways to help create belonging is by caring for the place where it grows.
There are always projects waiting to be done. Some are as simple as pulling weeds, organizing supplies, or setting up a room before a program begins. Others involve painting, repairing, cleaning, or preparing spaces for the next season of ministry.
Whether you have a few hours to give once in a while or would enjoy becoming part of an ongoing Building Care Team, we’d love to welcome you.
Together, we’re preparing more than a building.
We’re preparing a place where people can experience spiritual care, friendship, and belonging.
