Pure and Undefiled Religion

As we approach the completion of the house renovation at Bloor-Lansdowne, we have been seeing God work in exciting ways. The week started at worship on Sunday at the Bloor-Lansdowne Christian Fellowship. They are a small inner-city congregation with a BIG heart. On Sunday there were about 15 people in attendance in a sanctuary that seats about 300. The walls could use a coat of paint, and the sound system was acting up. By most external measures, it would appear to be a church in need of some help. While it is true that every church needs each member to lend a hand, the true measure of this church is what goes on when the worship service is over. When the Sunday Morning worship is finished, another congregation uses the facility-- a congregation made up of deaf individuals. At other times during the week, a Portuguese congregation, and later a Spanish congregation use the same facilities to offer praises to the same Lord who understands every language.

Then on Wednesday evenings, the church fills up again. This time, it fills with the grateful chatter of nearly one hundred hungry people who enjoy the hospitality the church offers during their "Community Dinner". Dignity, Love and Respect are on the menu here. It is not a "soup kitchen". It is not a "food giveaway". It is a community dinner. Free to all who enter. It is a hot meal personally served at the table to every person that walks in the door. It is fellowship and friendly conversation with anyone who desires it. It is a gift of a week's supply of bread to those who ask. It is an hour's worth of entertainment by a talented folk singer. It is an evening of dignity displayed toward any person that enters. No questions asked except one: "Can we serve you?"

The contrast between Sunday and Wednesday is striking. On Sunday, fifteen people humbly bowing their heads and praying to the Father and listening to teaching from God's Word. On Wednesday, those same people reaching out to scores of needy people with a hot meal and the Love of Jesus. It is a ministry of love that quietly speaks volumes directly into the lives of the neediest people of Toronto. And I think Jesus smiles down on the Bloor-Lansdowne Christian Fellowship.

James 1:27: "Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world."