The Story

I’m standing around the kitchen island with a fellow Act Five resident on a Wednesday evening. We are debriefing the dinner we just shared at Micah House. Micah House is a home in our neighbourhood that houses refugee claimants until they find permanent housing, and assists them in navigating the sea of initial paperwork that’s required upon their arrival in Canada. We at Act Five decided about a year ago that we’d commit to bringing dinner to their home every other Wednesday evening – and eat with them. 

Now imagine it: 10-20 people squished in a small dining room, and up to four languages being spoken around the table. Food is shared, and laughter rings out as people try to tell stories and get to know one another. It can be easy to take for granted simple life necessities like communication, that is until you have to figure out how to communicate without your default tool – English! (I remember one day I was at a table where English, Spanish, Arabic, and Sign Language were all being used!) It can be an uncomfortable place; it can even cause anxiety and feelings of embarrassment or exposure. However, none of that is a bad thing – I’d argue it’s a very good thing. 

On this particular evening it was just myself and one resident who went. The Christmas holidays made it so most students and residents were away with their families. And, there was only one family at Micah House for dinner that night – so it was a much smaller group than usual. As we headed out the door with a steaming hot dinner packed up, I tossed some Uno cards in the bag. I had interacted with this family multiple times over the past month, and the two teenage boys clearly had lots of energy and nowhere to put it. I wondered if a simple card game would bring a few minutes of fun for them (and us) that evening. 

We arrived and sat around the table together, sometimes stumbling through conversation, other times hitting a groove and laughing together. I’ve learned that it’s all part of the process – being uncomfortable, hoping and praying for a creative spark in conversation, and finding comfort together. And the cycle continues all throughout the meal. It’s a process that, as you show up each week, you get used to. 

After the meal, we cleared the table and brought out the cards. The boys have decent English, so we explained the game pretty quickly and jumped right in. For the next half hour, we bonded over our shared trait – competition. I know it’s just Uno, but there were some sneaky plays happening!

When we got back to Blake Street later, the two of us talked about the evening standing around the kitchen island. While it was only an hour, we ebbed through moments of ease and moments of dis-ease. It was uncomfortable at times! We talked about how it’s easier to live in comfort, and we tend to seek it without conscious thought. That night, we were reminded that ease starts to come more easily through shared moments together. The whole room felt it strongly during that game of Uno.

Comfortable with being Uncomfortable

At Act Five, we want to practice being comfortable with being uncomfortable (within reason, obviously). In the practice of discomfort, we become less afraid. We start to realize that there’s beauty to be found in and on the other side of it.

This rhythm, dinner at Micah House, is one of my favourite rhythms at Act Five. We commit to showing up in places that aren’t naturally easy. We sit around a table when English isn’t the dominant language. It is hard, but the more we show up, the more it feels okay – it becomes life-giving, even.

To put it in perspective, too, we show up for about two hours each month. Those we meet at Micah House live this kind of discomfort each and every day as they adjust to living in a new place with different expectations and cultural realities. It seems like the least we can do is to enter into the couple hours of brain gymnastics required to broaden our compassion. 

Shared Hospitality

Hospitality is a value we hold in Act Five. But it’s not just an act we do. Hospitality is a heart posture – it’s a giving and receiving of one another. It’s easier to be kind and offer welcome to people we know, but practicing true hospitality to a stranger takes intentionality and is very necessary to our own transformation as those who are learning to follow Jesus. We bring a meal to Micah House, sure, but there’s a mutual hospitality that’s required. As they host us and we engage together, we feel uncomfortable and exposed. In this, we learn to let our egos go and receive their hospitality towards us – for we are strangers to them, too. 

One of my highlights of 2023 was when one of the families staying at Micah House made a whole Mexican dinner for us and brought it to our house to share in the backyard. They did this out of their own generosity and heart’s desire to give to us – and Act Five is no small group of people! We gladly received their gift. It was a moment when I realized we, the folks at Act Five, and Micah House are neighbours. And to be a neighbour in the truest sense means shared hospitality, and pushing through the uncomfortable moments to find comfort together.

To learn more about our friends at Micah House, visit https://www.micahhouse.ca/.

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WILL YOU CONSIDER SUPPORTING ACT FIVE?

We want to do more of this at Act Five – more learning, growing, and imagining with other people in partnership and community. We sense that Act Five is being invited to grow and go deeper in our work. Yet we can’t do this without resources. Will you partner with us to keep us going and growing? We appreciate any and all financial support. Consider donating a one-time or monthly financial gift.

KNOW OF SOMEONE WHO WOULD BENEFIT FROM ACT FIVE?

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The post A Story of Food and Neighbour: Act Five and Micah House appeared first on Act Five: Community Initiatives for Young Adults.

It was a Friday evening in August. The Act Five summer residents were gathered in a backyard of a board member. We had just finished playing some competitive games of Spikeball, and a few had been floating in the pool, but now we had plates in hand, each scouting out a seat at the table. We all nestled into place, digging in the first few forkfuls of salad and bites of hamburger, and began debriefing our summer together. 

“Describe in a few words what summer 2023 was for you.”

We slowly made our way around the table, attentively listening to each person share their reflections on the last few months of life in this community. For some the theme was transition, for others it was healing. For one it was a summer of being courageous. Yet, for another it was not at all what they expected it to be. Our personal experiences varied, yet we lived those different experiences under the same roof together – letting our own realities collide with one another’s for a few months. 

“What was one significant rhythm or moment from the last few months of living at Blake Street?” 

A couple residents piped up about the work days. “Work Days” are intentional dates set aside in the summer to invest in this home together – through gardening or painting, for example. For one resident, they appreciated the time set aside to simply work with their hands alongside someone else. “We could then just talk while working,” they described.

For a few of the others, significant rhythms were morning and evening prayer. Each weekday at 7:15am and 9:30pm, you could find housemates sitting together in the living room praying. The liturgical prayers, combined with the consistency of showing up, gave us each new language to inform our understanding of prayer, and, in turn, a deeper sense of the character of God. These interruptions in our days to pray together also gave touchpoints for housemates to connect about their days and how they were doing. 

A reflection on the summer wouldn’t be complete without a resident noting Jazz Nights. Jazz Nights began by noticing that it is quite possible to live in a community home and not be known. This is especially true with a summer crew who all lead different lives in different directions. So, at a neighbourhood restaurant that has live jazz music every Wednesday, you could find a group of us chatting around a table. The only rule was this: you cannot simply talk about what you did that day. We wrestled through conversations of faith, and also asked hard questions of each other to learn new things, many of which usually sit beneath the surface. Jazz Nights are the place where people show up with a desire to be known and to know each other. 

Lastly, one other resident talked about Act Five’s partnership with Micah House being a significant part of their summer here. Every other Wednesday, the Act Five community at Blake Street brings dinner to Micah House, a home for refugee claimants just a couple blocks away. And on the odd occasion, Micah House residents come to share dinner in the backyard of our home. One of those nights this summer we had a volleyball game, and English, French, and Spanish were all being spoken! Having these moments with neighbours without a shared language is a beautiful thing. 

As we finished our dinner on this one particular Friday evening in August, we found ourselves with an enhanced perspective on what this summer meant for us, individually and collectively. We were compelled forward with a more deeply rooted gratitude for this short moment in time to live life together. 

And out of that, we stacked our dishes and went back to playing and swimming and laughing some more before heading back to the place we all called home. And now, this home has launched them into their next place. They know that Blake Street is always a home they can return to – even if it’s just for a plate of Spaghetti. 

The post Summer 2023 at Blake Street appeared first on Act Five: Community Initiatives for Young Adults.

What have you been up to since Act Five?

In the fall after my Act Five experience I went to Mohawk College to study civil engineering. I loved being back in Hamilton because Hamilton had come to feel like home, but I ended up finding through that year at school that online learning wasn’t for me. I struggled with having to teach myself the classes I was in. So, I decided to move back home to Chatham and work for my parents business there. I’m still working there now. I spend my days running heavy equipment and working as a mechanic’s hand when needed. I really enjoy being back home and working full time. I’m happy with my job and am really enjoying it. 

You are more than two years removed from your Act Five experience. What from Act Five are you still carrying with you?

What does your time at Act Five mean to you now?

It’s so hard to put into words what Act Five has done for me. It feels like taking 100 different thoughts and forming them into one. I would say that the time I spent at Act Five means everything to me. Act Five shaped me into the person I am today. I honestly have no idea where I would be without it. Act Five taught me so much. The program helped strengthen my spiritual journey and walk with God. It really did shape me into the person I am today. It is really hard to put into words what it has done for me, but I do know that I wouldn’t trade my Act Five experience for anything. I feel blessed to have been a part of it I would do it all over again. I would also encourage everyone to do it if they have the chance. 

The post Alumni Update: Dean Koomans appeared first on Act Five: Community Initiatives for Young Adults.