It is 10 a.m., and as you enter you can see Cate Duff, the office administrator busy designing a poster for the next event. To the left, David Lewis, the Operations and Rental Manager is making sure that the event calendar is in order and easily accessible to readers. A phone next to him is ringing off the hook; the caller is probably looking for a place to rent for an event.
In the conference room, which is seemingly nondescript but always bustling with activity, Nicole Tanti, our Community Engagement Coordinator is brainstorming ideas with Karen Dale, the Minister whose plate is full with everything and anything under the sun, including the responsibility of overseeing events promotion and outreach.
I know what you are thinking; is it that busy at a church? The answer is yes, it always is, especially at Beach United Church.
It is not your conventional church, but a congregation that recognizes the importance of human values and invests a lot of time and energy in exploring faith and building relationships with God, people, and the earth.
So how do we manage to do this? We raise money through our events, donations and reinvest them into communities. I had a glimpse of this at the Christmas Market, which is held annually with support from local businesses. We raised a whopping $9,000 selling ethical products, homemade goodies, and Christmas decor.
The church also hosts music events featuring some of the heavyweights in the music industry including Organist, Zoe Li, Jazz Pianist, Danae Olano, Folk Singer, Claire Coupland and more. All thanks to the efforts of Steven Webb, the Director of Music.
In addition, our social impact initiatives include the Out of the Cold Program (an initiative aimed to provide shelter to people who are homeless), Interfaith Lunch Program (a drop-in lunch program for people with low income) and The Beach Cares (a sponsorship program for Syrian refugees).
So, if you are still wondering what we do and if you should press the donate button or not, stop wondering and donate now. Even better, if you want to participate in our events, visit our website at www.beachunitedchurch.com.
If you want to rent our space for your own event, celebration or an ongoing program, shoot us a quick email at operations@beachuc.com.
-Vivek Vijayapalan, Communications Coordinator