Jennifer Nunes focused on living the gospel in new role

By Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News

Located at the corner of 20th Street and Avenue O in Saskatoon’s core neighbourhood, St. Mary Parish in Saskatoon has embarked on a deeper and more intentional initiative of Mission and Outreach.

The new ministry was formally established this spring, with long-time parishioner Jennifer Nunes hired as part-time coordinator to build relationships with those in need and organize urgent assistance, as well as to network with other helping organizations in the community, and encourage greater engagement both by parishioners and by others throughout the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon.

Nunes has been hard at work establishing the ministry, with appeals for help already going out on a newly-created Mission and Outreach website and Facebook page, and the coordination of volunteers and donations to respond to immediate needs in the neighbourhood.

“My vision and hope is that this ministry will open the hearts of those in our parish and throughout our diocese, so that we will see the face of Christ in those we are meeting on the street, and so that in return we too will be the face of Christ to those we serve,” says Nunes.

Mission and Outreach Coordinator Jennifer Nunes with parish volunteers who recently distributed donated pizzas to people in need around St. Mary Parish in Saskatoon. (Photo by Jennifer Nunes, Facebook)

Growing need leads to greater outreach

The creation of the new position reflects an intentional deepening of the parish response to the profound needs in the surrounding neighbourhood, says pastor Fr. Kevin McGee. The new parish ministry has developed after two winters partnering with the Salvation Army to open the much-loved and iconic St. Mary Parish Hall as a wintertime overnight warming location for those without shelter.

“We want to really put into action the call of Jesus to be a presence of healing to those who are often the most forgotten in our society; to be able to extend the ministry of St. Mary’s Parish beyond our Mass experience,” McGee says.

“Our Eucharistic experience of Jesus is lived out with our neighbours and in an intentional way with those who surround our church and who live here on our streets. This ministry is about being intentional about how we are that presence of Christ in the world.”

The painful realities of poverty, homelessness, addictions, and mental illness are evident on the streets and alleys that surround St. Mary Parish and nearby St. Paul’s Hospital. “We live that reality of our neighbourhood, and we see that every day,” says McGee. “That reality is on our front steps. We see it in those who are homeless, those who are the most vulnerable, those whose lives are stories often of great loss and trauma.”

He adds: “It has involved a change of focus, and it is creating a new context for St. Mary’s. If there was hesitancy and sometimes even push back, it was because this is something so profoundly different than what we were called to do in the past, and change is not always easy… That’s where conversion comes in: we are changing in a way that is life-giving for others and for ourselves.”

Convergence of factors

The new ministry has come about over many months, prompted by a convergence of a number of factors, he notes. This has included a worsening homelessness crisis, an increase in poverty and addictions, the experience of opening the parish hall as an overnight warming location the past two winters, and how that in turn has led to parishioners like Nunes reaching out and establishing relationships with guests at the hall.

The idea of a formal, dedicated parish ministry of Mission and Outreach further developed in conversation with others – including with Mildred Moy the leader of Catholic Street Missionaries, which provides outreach ministry on the streets of Vancouver to those who are marginalized.

“Mildred brought insights about her work in Vancouver… we talked, and she wound up being invited to come to Saskatoon to speak,” relates McGee. “And hearing her, I thought perhaps St. Mary’s has an opportunity to provide a position – to provide something similar to the work being done in Vancouver, brought to life through a coordinator – someone that would plug in to the need, and really connect with the Gospel.”

Journey of awareness and compassion

A life-long parishioner, Nunes was serving on St. Mary Parish Pastoral Council when the question of opening up the hall as an overnight warming location was first raised. She describes feeling “caught in the middle” between those in her beloved faith community who were deeply concerned and opposed to the idea, and those who dearly wanted the parish to move forward.

In that time of uncertainty and stress, Nunes describes how she turned to her children as part of her discernment. “Their response to the idea of opening up the hall was immediate and unwavering: ‘Yes.’ There was no hesitation—only conviction that this is what Jesus would want. I realized I was over-complicating things. Their ‘yes’ reminded me of Mary’s  — faithful, humble, and wholehearted.”

With the ultimate decision to move forward with the warm-up location in partnership with the Salvation Army, Nunes says that her family realized that “we can’t just be people of words, we have to put action to it.”

The family started seeking concrete ways to help and to connect personally with those seeking shelter – starting with a Christmas Eve distribution of gift bags of small necessities. “With my sons beside me, and friends occasionally joining us, we began to serve those who felt forgotten by the world. We met people, we built relationships,” she says in her testimony about the impact of these encounters, looking into the eyes of someone and asking their name, getting to know their challenges.

“Supported by generous hearts—from businesses and schools to parishes and individuals—we offered food, clothing, hygiene supplies, and the consistent presence of love and dignity.”

Nunes says that this experience as a family placed in her heart the longing to do more, and a conviction that God was calling her to sacrifice other things – including her successful Sweet Sensations business — to apply for the new role of parish coordinator of Mission and Outreach ministry.

A recent Facebook post introduced the new coordinator of Mission and Outreach at St. Mary Parish, Saskatoon. Social media will be one way that Jennifer Nunes will  connect, build awareness, and put out the call for urgent assistance: www.facebook.com/stmarysoutreachsk.

Intentional heart-felt response

McGee adds that the hiring committee interviewing candidates for the role identified Nunes as the right person for the task. “It is a position that requires a heartfulness, a deep heartfulness, and Jennifer has a heart for this and that was key,” he says, noting that “when you have a heart for others, you are willing to make sacrifices, and Jennifer has made some great sacrifices to do this. I like to say sacrifice is God’s love language. It is how we give ourselves away.”

Nunes reflects that stepping into this new position offers “the opportunity to continue this work in a formal way, with greater potential to collaborate with other incredible community services, build lasting partnerships, and create meaningful pathways for many others to join in this growing movement of love and compassion.

With the heart of a mother, she also expresses a hope to help form the next generation to respond with compassion and empathy to those who are suffering, pointing to how her own children helped her see more clearly the Gospel call of Jesus to care for those in need.

She adds: “At the heart of it all is one question: What does it mean to be the Face of Christ? For me, it means showing up in the hard places. It means seeing the person for who they are, not simply the weight they carry. It means offering dignity instead of judgment. Being fully present so that others may feel heard, known, and loved.”

Mission statement and logo

A prayerful time of spiritual preparation by a parish steering committee has produced a mission statement for the new ministry:

“As disciples of Jesus, we aim to foster enduring relationships of solidarity and mutual blessing between vulnerable and unhoused individuals in Saskatoon, particularly in the St. Mary’s neighbourhood, and Catholics throughout the Diocese of Saskatoon. We seek to achieve this by addressing the spiritual, corporal, and emotional needs of the unhoused population. In doing so, we create opportunities for our Catholic community to experience spiritual enrichment through the sharing of their gifts.”

A logo has also been developed that visually shows the meaning behind the new ministry, depicting an image of the wounded Christ reaching out to help someone, surrounded by a heart, with a cross reminiscent of the cross atop St. Mary Church in the background.  

A logo has been designed for St. Mary Parish’s new ministry, along with a mission statement.

“The logo says everything that I am hoping to communicate about this ministry,” says McGee. “It is the heart of Jesus and it is also about how we are called to become that heart for others…. And we don’t meet Jesus without meeting him in his wounds. And those wounds are the Body of Christ who we meet in our brothers and sisters.”

Initiatives underway

A new website for the ministry has been launched at www.stmarysoutreach.com. It includes a “wish list” of needs, and upcoming events, including a community barbecue to be hosted by the parish on Aug. 27.

A Facebook page has also been set up as a way to connect, build awareness, and put out the call for urgent assistance: www.facebook.com/stmarysoutreachsk.

A recent post highlighted the work of the first group of volunteers to join in street Outreach and Mission outside the church, handing out donated pizza to “very grateful brothers and sisters.” Donors also provided water bottles, snacks, hygiene products, and ice cream.

A number of parish Mission and Outreach volunteers recently assisted in distributing pizza donated by a local business. (Photo by Jennifer Nunes, Facebook)

“It was a joy to be out in our own neighbourhood—building relationships, offering a listening ear, and sharing Christ’s love in a tangible way,” wrote Nunes. “Together, let us continue to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community.”

“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)

For more information about Mission and Outreach at St. Mary Parish, contact Jennifer Nunes at jnunes@rcdos.ca or call (306) 292-7592, or visit  www.stmarysoutreach.com

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Kiply Lukan Yaworski is the communications coordinator for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon: rcdos.ca. Communications and Catholic Saskatoon News are supported by gifts to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal: dscf.ca/baa.