Oblate brother David MacPhee spoke with Christopher Adam about his work this past summer in East Hastings, Vancouver, and about how to simply serve the abandoned and marginalized with radical hospitality and without judging or expecting grandiose miracles.

East Hastings has long struggled with poverty, drug addiction and other social problems. How did working
in this environment help you develop as a Catholic?

Just walking through that area leaves an impression; drug usage is very present, as well as mental illness and prostitution. Working in East Hastings really brought alive the mission of the Oblates; of serving the poor and the most abandoned in society. It was good for me to experience that in a very real way. I came to realize that ministry is not about doing everything, but doing what you can, and this was something that I had to let go of during the first weeks there. You simply can’t do everything on the East-side and if you tried to, you would lose your mind.

The situation is that challenging?

The problems there are so complex and to be there for four months all you will really do is basic ministry to the poor. You would have to be there a couple of years, in order to gain the community’s trust and do any major social justice work. Something like poverty, hunger or drug abuse can’t be solved in four months.

Are the social problems in East Hastings significantly worse than in Ottawa’s Lowertown or in Vanier?

I worked on King Edward at the Shepherds of Good Hope during my first year in Ottawa and I found that the needs in East Hastings are the same, but the sheer magnitude of what’s going on in East Hastings far outweighs Ottawa. It’s somewhat of an anomaly, because much of Vancouver is quite affluent. On most days, we were giving out 500 to 600 meals; usually bags of food and a soup. Each bags contains a sandwich, some sweets and maybe some fruit. There are 500 people waiting in line each day and it is shocking to see this.

Beyond handing out meals, what was your role or responsibility in the area?

I worked at the Sisters of Atonement on Mondays. In the mornings I worked for the clothing store where men could come in once every 60 days to receive free clothes. I stuffed bags with the sandwiches and dished out soup, and on other days I would prepare for preaching on the weekends. I would also take a couple of Fifth Steps each week. During an AA program, the Fifth Step is when you confess to another person everything that might have led to your addiction and if you have hurt other people while you were addicted. On Fridays, I would work at the Listening Post—at one of the main intersections in East Hastings. This was a sanctuary, offering a prayer space and a place to meditate. I would be there for anyone who needed to talk.

What kind of new insight or perspective did this experience give you on poverty in Canada?

Before, when I was working with the poor, I heard the stories of people struggling with addictions and the stories of their pain and hurt. This time, I was more free to ask and hear in a new way—not just about how they got there—but about how it feels to be poor. This is a question that we don’t always ask. I got to see what poverty does to people.

And what is the impact of poverty on people?

It dehumanizes them. One of the best reflections I heard asked the question: what does it feel like to wait in line for food? Here is a line up, around the block. You wait in line and there is some sense of community, but then some guy like myself hands the food to you and you’re simply rushed along. There are a few miracle stories, but they are not the most joyous miracles; usually it’s on the level of “thank God, you’ve stopped doing crack, but it won’t be an easy haul from here.” Miracles may happen, but not in a grandiose way.

As an Oblate ministering in East Hastings, is your role aimed at alleviating the problems caused by poverty and addiction, or would you also work on prevention?

The issue is extremely complex. If you kick out the drug dealers, will that stop people from doing drugs? Probably not. Would it help? Probably. If you started addiction recovery programs, would it help? Probably, but you can’t force someone to quit an addiction. As an Oblate, witnessing to the poor is slow and tedious, but it is a process of listening and seeing what their needs are. They may be drug addicted, but perhaps what they really need is love. You’re not going to force anyone to quit drugs. You can simply be present and love them, recommend that they seek help. What they really need is more people to sit there and see what their needs are. This isn’t different than what any other church—including St. Joe’s—should focus on: simply, the encounter with one another. If I’m really loving that person, then that will produce healing.

Now that you’re back in Ottawa, what are your goals and plans this semester?

I am excited about doing the CP program at a hospital next semester. In terms of goals, I hope to finish up my BAC and theology.

How has the year started off for you at the Oblate House? I know that you are living and working with a new Oblate.

We’re pretty easy going at the house. My responsibility to Bradley is to be a brother in community. This is year number three for me in the Oblate House; my role is to continue to grow. I think that living with other people produces a certain amount of selfawareness and respect for each other.

How has your faith changed or developed over the past three years?

St. Paul University has allowed me to put flesh to my faith experience. The study of theology really does deepen the language, the experience and the meaning of living as a person of faith. The deeper you get into faith and spirituality, the simpler it gets. During intense formation, you enter into a process of finding what is most essential about Jesus and about your relationship with Jesus. I really think that over the past three years, my spirituality has become simpler, because when you’re looking for what’s most essential, the incidentals fall away.