My Neighbour's House

St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, one of the founding faith communities of the city of Guelph, invites its many brothers and sisters in faith groups throughout the city to help us build "My Neighbour’s House" in partnership with Habitat for Humanity (www.habitatwellington.on.ca). In the summer of 2009, we hope approximately 150 people will join with us as we construct this new home. Through multi-faith partnership in a meaningful service project, we also desire to build better understanding, mutual respect and a stronger community of all faiths. Financial contributions would also be welcome, as our goal is to raise $200,000 by early 2009.

Volunteers Building at Sunrise

Volunteers work on frame of house in the early morning light

St. Andrew's Presbyterian spearheading efforts to build Habitat for Humanity home, challenge all faiths

March 25, 2008 Scott Tracey Mercury Staff GUELPH The congregation at one of Guelph's oldest churches is challenging other local faith communities to put their money -- and their hammers -- where their hearts are. St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church is inviting members of all faith backgrounds to join them in a project called "My Neighbour's House," which will see a home constructed for a low-income family in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity Wellington County. Reverend John Borthwick of St. Andrew's said the theme of the church's 180th anniversary this year is "A place to call home," and during a brainstorming session someone suggested building a home to emphasize this theme. Borthwick contacted Diane Nelson, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Wellington County, to find out how to make this idea a reality. Nelson said as she explained to the minister, whom she calls "the inspirational leader" of the project, what went into a Habitat build, "he got excited about being involved in the whole thing, from the foundation to the roof." Borthwick presented the idea to his congregation "and they seemed to think it was a great idea." The local Habitat chapter plans to build two homes in Guelph this year and six next year "which is sort of a grandiose plan," Nelson acknowledged. One of the six homes to be built in 2009 will be My Neighbour's House. Borthwick said it was agreed the multi-faith build will happen next year "because we'll probably need that much time to do the fundraising. I don't think we'll have any trouble getting volunteers, but we need that much time to get the money together." The goal is to raise $200,000 to cover the cost of buying land and building the house. But Borthwick said while the goal is to create a home for a needy family, the project will also be a good opportunity for members of different faith backgrounds to work together. "It's a way of increasing our partnership with various faith communities and increase our knowledge and understanding of each other," he said. "Essentially our goal is to get to know people from other faith communities and work to do something good for someone." Nelson said doing a multi-faith Habitat project "has been a dream for me. "To have many faiths together brings the whole community together," she said. "It brings together people who maybe wouldn't usually speak to each other or who don't understand each other or even who wouldn't normally like each other." Anyone seeking more information about getting involved with the My Neighbour's House build can call Borthwick at 519-822-4772 or e-mail him at seventytimes7@rogers.com.