Everyone Matters Family Street Party -- August 9, 2014

On Saturday, August 9, 2014, a team from the Niverville, Manitoba area reached out in a holistic way to the street people in the core area of Winnipeg.

The Everyone Matters Family Street Party took place with the invitation of the Lighthouse Mission, and the co-operation of the Salvation Army in the inner city of Winnipeg.

The Lighthouse Mission is an outreach ministry that has been reaching out to the street people in the core area of Winnipeg ever since 1911 when the message of Pentecost first came to the city.

and they have been feeding the hungry and the vulnerable both physically and spiritually for over 100 years now.

 Some 1,400 burgers were prepared for the Street Party on August 9, 2014, along with chips and rice krispie squares.

 Absolutely everything went before the day was over!

Bottled water was also given out with the prayer that people would be refreshed both in their body and in their soul, and that Niverville would become Riverville in a way that would bless and refresh others.

The line-ups continued steadily for over three hours as all were served in a spirit of love, peace and goodwill towards everybody without prejudice or discrimination, and with the attitude that "everyone matters."

While this was going on, and food was being served, special music and praise set a positive, family atmosphere with groups from Niverville shifting the atmosphere in an area of the city where there is much loneliness, much pain and much rejection.

The Rock-a-By-Blue music group (led by Steve Neufeld and Lise Peters) did a number of great songs, including a powerful rendition of, "There's Power in the Name of Jesus to Break Every Chain!"

The atmosphere continued to change to one that created a transcendent awareness of a Father's love for all His children, regardless of age, generation, nationality or social status as Jordan St. Cyr sang a number of songs that he has written himself that have great personal meaning, and that connect with the hearts of people everywhere.  Gerrit Steingart did an excellent job in providing sound for the entire event.

As people moved around in the area in between the Salvation Army and the Thunderbird House in the core area of Winnipeg on August 9, there was indeed a strong sense that "everyone matters!"

Prayer began to break out among the volunteers as they upheld these precious street people before the Throne of Grace!  Here, Norman Dueck, Roger Armbruster, and speaker Daniel Fewster are praying for God's will to be done in this part of the earth, even as it is in heaven.

When Daniel Fewster got up to share his heart, he will full of the love of Jesus for all the people.

Some people would come up spontaneously to interact, and by the time he had finished speaking, prayer began to break out spontaneously in a number of areas as people opened up their hearts to the loving presence of God.

Adding to the joy at the Everyone Matters Family Street Party on Saturday, April 9, in the core area of Winnipeg was a high energy performance by the Manitoba Metis Spirit Steppers.

This is a Metis square dance group from different communities throughout Manitoba that love to share the Metis culture through dance.

Before the street party was over, they had people in the audience joining them in the round dance and a celebration of joy and togetherness.

These final pictures will speak for themselves that people in the inner city of Winnipeg were not only fed in their body on that day, but they were fed in their soul as well!  These are people of great value, and their faces do radiate joy in the midst of their life's challenging circumstances.  Truly, everyone matters, and everybody has value, and everybody has something to contribute to the community, whether it be time, resources, money, food, or whatever.  We all can do something, and we all have something to give that others need.