Open Door
The objective of Open Door is to provide care and suppport for single mothers of preschool children.The Open Door was founded in 1976 as a non-profit society. Our mission is "To empower single mothers through emotional, physical and spiritual support". Our program currently runs from September through to June. We meet every Tuesday morning from 9:45 am until noon.
1) How did the Open Door ministry begin?
In l971 Elvera Corben was a nurse in the ER in a Vancouver Hospital. A single mother had killed one of her children and attempted to kill herself and her other child. Elvera thought " Where was her support?" She felt that God showed her a vision of women sitting around on couches, visiting. After that, she and her friend advertised a drop-in for single mothers in her home. They very quickly outgrew her house, and they moved to Hillside Baptist in N. Van. At this point, there are 5 Open Doors operating in churches. One is at Bakerview, one in N. Van, East Van, Surrey and Squamish.
2) How do the women get connected with Open Door?
Ladies usually hear about us by "word of mouth". Neighbours, and friends of someone who already comes. We do have brochures, so if you'd like to invite someone to the Open Door, you can get one from the Bakerview office. We have also placed some at locations such as the food bank and the health unit.
3) How many currently attend?
Right now we have l5 ladies coming, and about l2 children .
4) What does a typical Tuesday morning look like? What are some of the key program elements?
We have 11 volunteers at this time- we arrive at 9 am for sharing, prayer, and business.
Then at 9:45 the ladies and children come. We vary our program each week, including speakers on a variety of relevant topics, community kitchens, service to MCC, etc. ... but mentoring and supporting the moms who are raising their children on their own is our # l goal. We give them a break from the everyday demands of parenting alone.
We have 2 cooks that prepare fantastic full course lunches for us each week.
The children are cared for lovingly in the nursery. After lunch we have an optional Bible Study.
5) Are there needs that you have - volunteers, teachers etc.?
We will be looking for help in the kitchen in fall for sure. Also, we seem to always be looking for children's workers each fall. We would love a few more ladies to join us in being with the moms each Tuesday, mentoring and supporting them in their challenges, and sharing in their joys. We are always looking for men and women, to share with us as a guest speaker, or share in our Bible studies on how to follow Jesus more authentically. If you have a passion for a certain topic, or you are a great story teller, or would love to disciple people who are looking for answers to the hard questions life brings, please contact us!
