Faith & Spirituality

One Sunday morning in 2005, my partner Bill walked into Saint Luke’s United Church. We had recently moved back downtown into the Gay Village neighbourhood and were looking for a United Church to attend. I was away on business that weekend. When I got home in the evening, Bill said to me, “I’ve found our spiritual home.” Before the service had even begun, fifteen people had greeted him and welcomed him. The congregation was living up to its longtime nickname, “The House of Friendship.”

When Bill died suddenly of pancreatic cancer in 2009, the members enveloped me with love and support.

I’ve remained an active member over the years and currently serve as Chair of the Church Council. 

We are a small, vibrant, compassionate, and diverse congregation with a big heart demonstrated through our significant outreach programs providing food and support to those in need in our neighbourhood.  

Our Mission Statement:

Saint Luke’s United Church, the House of Friendship, is an Affirming Ministry, where all are welcome regardless of age, gender, race, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, differing abilities, or economic circumstances.

Saint Luke’s United Church accepts as its mission the uniting of people into a caring Christian community reaching into the outer community and the world, in which we may express loyalty and devotion to God.

We will fulfill our mission by offering opportunity for worship and witness, study and service, friendship, rejuvenation, and hope.

The Out of the Cold Meal Program at Saint Luke’s U.C. continues to be the largest interfaith, volunteer food initiative in the history of the City of Toronto. The Meal Program operates twice a week on Sundays and Wednesdays, 52 weeks a year, including statutory holidays. The Meal Program currently serves 800+ hot meals and 400 hundred bagged lunches a week. The success of the Meal Program is based on a beautiful partnership between Saint Luke’s and multiple faiths, comprised of Jews, Christian and Muslim groups, all expressing their beliefs through love, compassion and helping those in need.

The Meal Program’s outreach efforts support people in the downtown east who cannot come to the church by providing some 340 hot meals a week off-site in the surrounding neighbourhoods. This includes such places as: Moss Park, Moss Park Consumption & Treatment Services, Regent Park Community Health Centre, Allan Gardens and other spots where unhoused people gather.

In April of 2025 the Meal Program hired Paul Curzon as its a part-time Coordinator. Paul has excelled in his role. He is able to coordinate and organize the various components of our Meal Program while ensuring meals and bagged lunches are ready on time. Paul is respected by church staff and members, volunteers and partners.

This year Rev. Harbel’s clothing initiative allowed us to consistently provide clothing to our guests. The distribution of winter clothing is essential for many of our guests and ensures they can survive winter. Our hope is to expand on this initiative next year.

The Meal Program continues to form new partnerships and recently became a member of the Daily Bread Food Bank (DBFB). The Meal Program is in the process of hiring a chef who will cook on Mondays and Tuesdays at the church with the donated food we receive from DBFB.

The Meal Program hires harm reduction workers/peers whose expertise lies in reversing overdoses and de-escalation of potential conflicts. The peers have lived or living experience, meaning they have been unhoused or have/had addictions. Since the Meal Program began, it has invested time with its peers to ensure their wellbeing and accompany them on their journey. The Meal Program views this as part of its spiritual mission.

With Saint Luke’s redevelopment on the horizon the Meal Program is actively looking with the church for a new site so that it can continue to serve all those in need who turn to us.

To donate to support the Saint Luke’s Out of the Cold Meal Program (from the drop-down menu of fund options, select #4 “Out of the Cold Meal Program”.