The Grace Cafe
323 Talbot St N5R 3H8 Saint Thomas, ON, Canada

Hard to explain what is going on..a definite & fairly sudden change w our Guests.. & not a change for the better! Pix: our door window broken in a fit of childish pique by a Guest, now nicely boarded in by my diligent husband! Nice & safe now & being priced out! And as always McBains will do the door signage. Big thx to them!! So everyone was fed w Turkey Pasta Soup, various salads, sams, goody bags & the usual ocean of coffee! Much in the way of ToGo food went ...too. But there is a much more unkind response .. even a backlash of anger in most responses. It has every time left us surprised & shocked. Quite a change & an air of entitlement too. Still my faithful Volunteers continue & do not complain ... Of course, this is being taken in hand.. for those who badmouth Volunteers there WILL be consequences & it will be a long cold winter for them indeed! And as most know, if apologies r made & there is sincerity then mercy is given...it is the thin edge of the wedge. Now closed after a boisterous am & yet we r up & running for tomorrow & always Biggly thx to Donors!! See more

‘ Monday Monday.. can’t trust that day..’ from the song & certainly it was an extremely complex & volatile day! Hmmm.. cut to the chase.. smashed door window.. I am not giving details.. it did NOT have to go this way..so much anger & grudges, bitterness.. Well anyway... the door will be repaired & as always our fine Police stepped in & settled things down.. yet the undercurrent of nastiness is still there.. but ONWARD nothing daunting! It’s at this point I remind myself that it’s harder than u would believe to give away free food. But we continue as always ( ‘Just serve’) & very many ate & got warm & were cozy & that’s what we had in mind! Now closed but we r all set for what comes next tomorrow & into the future!! ABSOLUTELY!

A tremendously busy day with many donations at the front door & many at the back door & lots of talk, concerns & laughter in the middle .. always going strong! Why? Oh why wasn’t I this popular in High School!!! Just askin’.. Pix1: our friend from The Flying M restaurant with some stylish & super cozy hats & scarves!! VERY nice! 2. From the Knox Church at Fingal a nice donation of needful things! It ALL goes into the mix to help sooo many! 3. ToGo Meals packag...ed & in the fridge & ready to go today. A nice array & they were gone in a flash! Nicely prepped! A super busy day but not too crazy & no Police were called! But it just didn’t stop at all !! And our Volunteers worked at many jobs like crazy! Bless ‘em! So now closed but remember it’s our 6th Anniversary Bash this Saturday & we ARE ‘loaded for bear!!’ It will be fun & we will REJOICE over all the many adventures that The Lord has brought us thru!! Oh ya!! See more

The Sunday Blog: hard to believe that Christmas Day is over.. takes forever to get here & then done in a flash! But it always brings joy & fun & reflection! Pix 1; our new blackboard which will often have statements of note.. we hope... to encourage & uplift.. 2-8: just could not keep up w the mega donations pouring thru the door! As we examine each one it is clear that MUCH work & thought & effort went into each one! Please do NOT be offended if u have b...een left out of this list! We r just overwhelmed! If your donation did not get given at Christmas, remember there r MANY dark cold mean days ahead & your gift will go to those in need then... it ALL helps !! So BIGGLY thx to the Seventh Day Adventist Pathfinder Girls, St Annes’s School, Monseigneur Morrison School, John Wise School, Celebrate Recovery, & The Fellowship Church! Also to ALL who ran in the door, handed myself or a Volunteer their donation & ran away anonymously!! Whoo! That really happened a lot!!! It is APPRECIATED & will go out soon if it has not already found a home! Now back tomorrow & so on into the future! It was nice to have 2 days off but we fuss & worry over our Guests! Well back at it soon! Blessings & ! See more

The Boxing Day Blog; Wow! That was quite the challenging Christmas! So hard to keep Distancing & let only 1 in at a time while many r standing in the snow & wind! But we did it & MUCH thx to our Door Minder who put up with a lot of hassles! Blessings on her! And we did not do our group shot this year also due to distancing.. so these Pix r from the last 4 years!! Sweet! (This was before Distancing was required.) Most of them r still w us & Volunteering their little h...earts out.. but some have left due to health or personal reasons! Blessings on ‘em! Now closed for today & also Sunday! ( whaaat?) Yup.. some much needed rest for us all! And a REMINDER: we r backatit Monday & we r NOT on Lockdown being an ESSENTIAL SERVICE & we continue serving ( of course) w all Health Unit Protocols in place & HAPPY to be able to do this in the coming cold cruel months! So.. ONWARD & blessings from us at the Grace Café!! See more

A big bumpy start to the day, with a miscommunication between 3 Guests which got nasty quickly w others having their say also. Pix 1. Finally Police were called to assist in their removal but still another situation erupted ! So much anger, drugs, theft, exhaustion & confusion! But finally peace reigned & everyone relaxed & life resumed... Let me say, that to contain a nasty situation, if you are told to STOP talking... DO IT! Everyone yacking on w their point of vi...ew only adds to the chaos. So STOP or u will be leaving! Nuf said! 2; Care pkgs from ‘ The Scott Street Ladies Group’ Very thoughtful & so kind 3. It seems every year that Messenger brings us Christmas cookies! They will go FAST!! Oh ya! 4. Cosmetic bags filled w many many needful items! We will give them out prudently & they will bring joy! Now done for the day & ready as always & praying on & continuing on ! Ubetcha ! See more

Another huge continuous flow of our Guests & trying to feed them & help them while at the same time.. we r working hard at distancing, masking & sanitizing..& let it be noted that MANY r NOT happy at the continual rules & corrections..BUT it must be!! Our Volunteers work HARD at holding firm to the rules and of course it’s just very complex! But right from the start everyone had a full array of coffee, food & Turken ( Turkey & chicken) Soup & LOTS of ToGo foods &... clothes, socks & mitts just flew out the door! Yup! Pix: a fave quote from Home Alone! ‘ Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal’! Brings lots of smiles & reminisce of that movie! And lots of emotion close to the surface daily.. tears, cursing, anger & acting out r present in too many lives! Now closed for the day & as always ready for tomorrow! NICE! See more

Well WOW! Our Christmas Day Lovely Celebration is done & done very well by our dauntless Volunteers!! Hugely attended & very difficult to keep distancing when it’s snowing & a freezing cold wind is hitting hard! But nonetheless we did & managed to feed a great many & had some fun too! Pix 1: The Cafe as we opened to a cold snowy bunch..7ish! 2. Our 6yr continuing tradition of a procession singing Happy Birthday Lord Jesus w lighted candles! It’s always very s...pecial! 3. A deer herd of Volunteers serving up Turkey, ham, gravy, stuffing, mash tatoes( very buttery) glazed carrots & pumpkin pie w whip cream!! YUM!!! 4-6: our Presents made every year by the same faithful group & these were received w joy! And surprise!! Well done & great BIG thx from all! 7: Even on Christmas Day there has to be nasty issues & since this could not be contained, the Police were called! We only call if we see no other solution & they are quick to help!!! BIG sigh of gratitude!!! But now we are closed... I even forgot to mention the Perfume Table which was greatly enjoyed for 2 days & so we think that will always be with us on special occasions! Now closed on Boxing Day AND Sunday BUT we r back on Monday & we continue serving to any in need despite the Lockdown! Safely!! ONWARD! And of course Merry Christmas! See more

Snowy Christmas morning 2020!

‘Monday Monday.. can’t trust that day’ & true to form it was a tremendously busy day ..just kept on goin’ & agoin’! And not too many issues apart from the sadness we all feel at seeing so many Guests in such bad condition & worse daily, it seems! But anyway all who came, were well fed & coffeed up & loved up too!! Yes!! Pix1: so much baggage when all things that u own must go with you each & every time u go anywhere! A very tough life... but the Cafe is here for ...ALL .. not just homeless but many who r poor or scared..& lonely! 2. A Guest commented that he liked the signs! Wow! He mostly snoozes & yet today he is reading our MANY signs! That’s a GOOD sign too!! 3. More Timmy giftcards have arrived! WHAT a huge blessing they are to soooo many!! BIG thx!!! Now closed for the day but already up & running for this Saturday.. our 6th Anniversary Bash!!! GLORY!! See more

Remember.. the Reason for the season..

The Sunday Blog; Whoo hoo! It has been SUCH a week! Oh ya! MUCH of absolutely EVERYTHING all the time! There was MUCH weather! MUCH bad/sad attitudes! MUCH food going out minutely!!! MUCH resolution w issues & nastiness! MUCH fun & jokes & good times w our Guests! And of course MUCH hard work from our hard workin, diligent Volunteers! Bless ‘em! Pix : A word about the true value of the $5 TimCard!! We have received SUCH great donations of these.. in large amounts ...& ( the Widow’s mite) also very small! ALL are tremendously valuable!! We are VERY careful how we give them.. if there is a full banquet size array of food.. then just eat & take to go.. BUT no TimCard. These r very VALUABLE during the times of dire circumstance.. early early or when ALL things r gone! THEN the TimCard!! Also we give to visible need.. eg. on the street a young woman dragging her cart along.. a ragged father & young son.. a couple in obvious physical distress.. cards for instant help & ! But Timcards given not wildly but as true need shows itself!! These bring instant joy & relief to so many.. truly a Christmas present & always a surprise! What? For ME? So BIG thx Donors! Y’all r doing GOOD! Now closed today but backatit Monday & into our 6th Anniversary Bash prep week & celebrations every day!! GLORY!! See more