News & Events
July 17, 2010
Helping youths reach new heights - Toronto Star - By Leslie Ferenc
On a clear day you can see the CN Tower from the top of the climbing wall at the Scott Mission Camp.
December 25, 2009
Toronto Star - Mission, and its volunteers, deliver Christmas dinner - Debra Black
For the past 30 years Elaine Rennie has performed a kind of Christmas
miracle, devoting her holiday to those less fortunate. Every year –
come snow or sleet – Rennie can be found in the Scott Mission kitchen
helping cook and serve the hungry and the homeless at the annual
Christmas Day lunch.
December 25, 2009
Toronto Sun - Scott Mission opens holiday doors
Miracle Stories
“The Miracle on Spadina Avenue” phrase was coined by a former reporter
for The Toronto Star named Samuel Campbell when he saw how turkeys were
donated to The Scott Mission at Christmas - just enough to fill all our
hampers and serve all in need at our dining room.
From 1941 to the present, we are continuing to see every day miracles at The Mission.
Here are a few miracle stories experienced by our staff:
"It
was a Saturday morning in the winter and I was helping to put food on
the plates in the kitchen of the old 502 Spadina Avenue building. In
those days we sat 10 men at a table in a dining room that sat 100 men
at a time. We often had 700 men and so there was a lot of coming and
going as dishes had to be washed and dried quickly to set and clear the
tables seven times. My father was looking after the loading of the
trays and said suddenly, “We don’t have any more meat pies.” The back
door of the kitchen was open to give us some air and a man appeared at
the door with a tray of hot meat pies and said, “Can you use these?” We
were astonished as we had just put the last meat pie on a plate. The
timing was so perfect, and the amount he brought to us was exactly what
we needed."
"A grade eight class was preparing for their graduating ceremony. All the students were excited about what they would wear except one boy whose mom couldn't afford a thing. She brought him to the Mission and there was a perfectly tailored suit just waiting for him to try on. It fit him so perfectly and we were able to give him a shirt in his size as well. The boy was walking a mile above the ground when he left."
"In the early days, the rent was due for The Scott Mission building on Bay Street. A cheque for that exact amount arrived as a donation from someone out of town who couldn't have known that information. I don’t remember the amount, but I do know it was an odd compilation of dollars and cents."
"One evening in March we held a Gospel Night. We were showing a video on the wonders of creation on a large screen that we had rented. We had cooked enough roast beef for 80 clients but 200 showed up. It was a stormy night and we just didn't think that so many would come. We ran out of food and asked people to sit in the chapel with coffee while we tried to come up with an alternative meal. We had no meat at all and were about to open some beans. Suddenly, a cube van pulled into the driveway filled to the top with already cooked gourmet pizzas from a convention that had to be cancelled because of the storm. Not only that, there was dessert – sponge cakes with fresh strawberries and whipping cream. Some of us were crying while others were laughing. The timing was perfect, as it always is when God shows up. The pizza was like nothing we'd ever seen. They were truly gourmet pizzas."
From 1941 to the present, we are continuing to see every day miracles at The Mission.
Here are a few miracle stories experienced by our staff:
"It
was a Saturday morning in the winter and I was helping to put food on
the plates in the kitchen of the old 502 Spadina Avenue building. In
those days we sat 10 men at a table in a dining room that sat 100 men
at a time. We often had 700 men and so there was a lot of coming and
going as dishes had to be washed and dried quickly to set and clear the
tables seven times. My father was looking after the loading of the
trays and said suddenly, “We don’t have any more meat pies.” The back
door of the kitchen was open to give us some air and a man appeared at
the door with a tray of hot meat pies and said, “Can you use these?” We
were astonished as we had just put the last meat pie on a plate. The
timing was so perfect, and the amount he brought to us was exactly what
we needed."
"A grade eight class was preparing for their graduating ceremony. All the students were excited about what they would wear except one boy whose mom couldn't afford a thing. She brought him to the Mission and there was a perfectly tailored suit just waiting for him to try on. It fit him so perfectly and we were able to give him a shirt in his size as well. The boy was walking a mile above the ground when he left."
"In the early days, the rent was due for The Scott Mission building on Bay Street. A cheque for that exact amount arrived as a donation from someone out of town who couldn't have known that information. I don’t remember the amount, but I do know it was an odd compilation of dollars and cents."
"One evening in March we held a Gospel Night. We were showing a video on the wonders of creation on a large screen that we had rented. We had cooked enough roast beef for 80 clients but 200 showed up. It was a stormy night and we just didn't think that so many would come. We ran out of food and asked people to sit in the chapel with coffee while we tried to come up with an alternative meal. We had no meat at all and were about to open some beans. Suddenly, a cube van pulled into the driveway filled to the top with already cooked gourmet pizzas from a convention that had to be cancelled because of the storm. Not only that, there was dessert – sponge cakes with fresh strawberries and whipping cream. Some of us were crying while others were laughing. The timing was perfect, as it always is when God shows up. The pizza was like nothing we'd ever seen. They were truly gourmet pizzas."