News from Justice and Servant Ministries

At the Annual Vestry meeting of the parish at the end of February, the proposed Operating Budget was not approved, and the Corporation was asked to review the budget carefully and to consider difficult decisions that would reduce the projected operating deficit. On April 27, the Corporation presented a new budget to a special meeting of Vestry.

The budget approved by the Special Vestry allocated the amount of $29,000 for Justice and Servant Ministries (JSM). This amount was $16,00 below the amount originally requested by JSM, and $21,000 below 2024 expenditures.

In order to adapt to the constraints of the approved budget, Justice & Servant Ministries has made three main decisions concerning programs and grants:

1. The weekly barbecue in July and August for the residents in the Halton Region housing complex at Margaret/Maurice Drive will be discontinued for 2025. This will reduce program expenditures by $5,500 and eliminate grants of $2,500 to our community partners involved in the barbecues.
2. Support for the Homeward Bound Program managed by Home Suite Hope, which supports a single-mother family by providing a college education and wrap-around support, enabling a family to escape a life of poverty, will continue, however, with a reduction of 56% for a total of $5,000. St. Jude’s had previously provided a grant of $11,500.
3. The grant of $4,500 to Onyx Initiatives to support three scholarships for Black students in their Building Bridges Program will also be discontinued in 2025.