Directed by Hope: Bruce Reith on mission

Hope Mission is a social care agency that has been operating since 1929 in the Province of Alberta, Canada. Along with their more than 3000 volunteers and full-time staff that includes chaplains, counselors, nurses, chefs and more. Hope Mission serves, strengthens, and uplifts those who are hungry, homeless, and hurting, young and old alike. This means that they provide shelter, housing, food and clothing, along with recovery and spiritual care. Additionally, Hope Mission works alongside their local communities, churches and schools.

In this interview with Joy and me, Bruce Reith, who has been the director of Hope Mission for going on thirty years, shares some of his history and thoughts which are, not surprisingly, hope-filled and inspiring.


M: Thank you for taking the time to talk with Joy and me about your work with Hope Mission. We have heard nothing but good.

BR: Joy, I know you do chaplaincy work in Halifax helping ex-offenders connect with family, communities and resources right?

J: Yes. So along with helping them connect, I just generally try to be an understanding and empathetic agent of grace and healing to my fellow brothers and sisters. But speaking of connections, I wouldn’t be able to do this without the encouragement, support, and prayers of family and friends. They are so important. Integral, really.

BR: I know what you mean. My dad has passed away now, but especially after he retired he supported me a lot. For example, in one mall there were hundreds of stores. And my dad would go to every single store and talk to the manager and try to get support for me and Hope Mission charity projects. This meant that he got a lot of turkeys and socks and oranges during Christmas time. Often he would get, literally, hundreds of turkeys for me, which was a joy to me because they went toward supporting various families in need.

M: For the sake of our readers, can you give us the layout of what Hope Mission does?

BR: Well, Hope Mission, and its work with the poor, the homeless and those suffering with addictions goes back to 1929. And right now we run, among other things, a twenty-four-seven homeless shelter. To complement that, we have a round-the-clock crisis diversion group: and that’s us basically having ambulances that go 24/7 which work with the local EMS service. This means picking up people off the streets and bringing them back to the shelter. Basically, it helps take the pressure off the EMS and police in the area. We also just completed the new shelter facility in Edmonton called the Herb Jamison Centre. It was a sixteen million-dollar project.

M: Oh, wow.

BR: Yeah, we raised eight million from over 4600 different people, and the rest came from the provincial and federal governments. And despite the pandemic, we got everything done in time and within budget.

We have a men’s recovery program, and a woman’s recovery program for those who are suffering from addiction or a life on the street or other difficulties And then after they graduate from the program, which is a year, we are able to offer affordable housing as well. We have seventeen suites for the women and fifty-two for the men. And the facilities have, along with laundry facilities, food services, and a medical clinic with full-time nurses. We serve 50,000 meals per month.

J: 50,000?

BR: Well, yeah, because we are handling between 600 and 700 homeless people.

M: Now, you also have school programs too, right?

BR: Yes. Our daily lunch programs serve thirty-seven schools across Alberta with nutritious food that we make in our kitchens. We also work with schools to help some of the families that are struggling in various ways. So we send out nurses to check on families, and see how they are doing. And the schools are happy for us to be involved. We also deliver family-sized frozen meals. And we try to deliver really good, nice stuff. We do lasagna and stir-fries, that kind thing. And a lot of meat. Meat, of course, is expensive for people to purchase, right? But we get a lot of meat donated to us, thankfully.

We also have a couple of summer camps for kids: one outside of Calgary near Bragg Creek, which used to be a Boy Scout camp, and another one an hour west of Edmonton. In general, we have up to a thousand at-risk kids in the summer, and in the winter our recovery programs have opportunities to stay at these camps for retreats. Then we have Bethany Homes in Wetaskiwin. This is a program where kids come from all over Alberta to spend time with horses. It’s called Horses for Hope.

M: Can you tell us a little about Horses for Hope?

BR: You know, when most people think of Hope Mission, they don’t think of horses! Out at Bethany Homes in Wetaskiwin, we built a greenhouse so that we could grow some of our own fresh vegetables, along with a 200×100 foot riding arena for Horses of Hope. And then we got this fellow from Utah, Rick Benson, a horse whisperer, to come help.

Funny story: So I heard about Rick while I was at a church service. I got his number and called him when he was up in the mountains with his cattle. Anyway, I told him that we wanted to help at-risk kids and he said, “because you are doing stuff with horses and kids. I’ll help you.” And ever since, he’s come up and helped us. And he gets us really nice horses that are well-trained. They are called “bomb-proof” horses. He also set us up with Elizabeth, a horse trainer from Texas who really knows horses, who comes up here every spring, and stays through the fall to lead this horse program. It’s just really wonderful to see what happens when the kids can feel cared for and also have fun with the horses.

M: That sounds very cool. And I love the thing of you having a greenhouse so that you can grow some of your own fresh food. You are doing “going local” right!

BR: It’s a lot of fun and a joy to see. The people who take care of that have done a really good job. And, actually, we grow flowers in the greenhouse as well. So, on Mother’s Day, we can give a nice fresh flower to the single moms, along with food hampers. And they are stunned because mostly these mothers are focused on just feeding their families, you know? They are just trying to help their kids, and to survive as best they can. So to get something for themselves too really touches them. It touches everybody’s heart there. It’s really cool.

M: I love that. You aren’t just about providing food and sustenance but are trying to touch their whole humanity.

J: Most people who get involved with the type of work that you do have a reason for doing it, whether that is from a specific moment, or conversation, or a series of events. What spurred you on to get involved in this stuff?

BR: That’s an interesting question. You know, when I went to university I was thinking that I would like to get involved with some form of recreation—be a recreation director in a small town or something like that. I’d run the swimming pool and arena. That sort of thing. Then I got involved in a Christian group at the University of Alberta and heard about an opportunity to go overseas for two years. It sounded interesting. After getting interviewed down in Dallas, I saw all the various job descriptions. The one that stood out had a lot of humor in it. I read the description of what I would be helping out with, and required to do, and the guy just had so much humor that I was attracted to join. But I had no idea what country I would be going to. Turns out it was Rwanda. While I was there, I was mentored by Dr. Earl Martin, who is now in his nineties but has been a missionary all his life. He does the missionary work, but also is incredibly wonderful in being a mentor – I still consider him a mentor. Anyway, the experience was just fantastic: my life and outlook were changed for the better.

M: It sounds like you were able to be a blessing, but that you were also blessed.

BR: I learned so much from the Rwandans. The part of town where I worked was rough, but we did a lot of fun things along with the work. So along with helping out with water projects, we got a soccer team going and other things. They called me “Padre.” It was just a wonderful and joyous experience to be with them.

When I came back to Edmonton, I really missed what I had done in Rwanda for two years. So I got on with Hope Mission as a volunteer, pouring tea and coffee. Then I started doing other things. They asked me to join the board after a while. And then later I became the director. So I have been with Hope Mission for around thirty years now. But back to Rwanda. When the genocide happened in 1994, the senselessness of it was horrible. I knew a lot of people and friends who were murdered—pastors, musicians, you know, people I had worked with and knew. After that I wanted to do something, despite being in Edmonton. So we started our preventative ministry. And now that ministry is a big part of Hope Mission. But it’s interesting how that all came about.

J: After all these years being with Hope Mission, you probably have a bunch of stories.

BR: Oh my goodness, I have lots of stories; it’s knowing where to start that’s hard. You know, serving at Hope Mission is such a joy to me. When I see a changed life, that’s just like ice cream on apple pie for me. Okay, I have one for you. So I like to walk. It’s partly how I take care of myself. I walk for a couple of hours to clear my mind. I find that I can think and pray as I think of things. Anyway, I was walking on a back street behind this Ukrainian Catholic church, just minding my own business, and I saw this group of people walking towards me. As I was passing them, this guy says “Oh hi, Bruce.” I turned to him and said, “Sorry, but I don’t know who you are.” So he says, “Well, I was addicted to drugs and living homeless on the street. Then I came to Hope Mission and you guys cared for me. I was hungry, I didn’t know where else to go, and you guys cared for me. Then I came to your recovery program. I got my life straight. I left, graduated from high school, and got a job as a tow-truck driver. One night in the pouring rain I helped a school teacher who had a flat tire. We fell in love and got married. And these are my kids.”

 So hearing about this gave me great joy. Hearing how his life was changed.

M: Lovely.

BR: Another time, there was a fellow named Cameron on the street, an addict, and needed a place to stay. Often these people have no place to go. So, he went through our Breakout program and accepted Christ. And then he fell in love with one of the women in our women’s program. So one of our staff performed the wedding ceremony, and now they have two kids. He also got trained and is an excellent carpenter. And later, when we tore down the old Hope Mission building and rebuilt the new Herb Jamison Centre—whoa, who would have thought?! Here was this guy helping to build it.

Should I just keep going?

J: Bruce, sorry for interrupting, but as you have been talking I have been trying to keep a tally of how many times you have used the word joy. I love that so much. I think that all too often there can be this problematic positioning of somebody who is providing service and somebody who is the service recipient, right? It’s kind of a one-sided, transactional thing. But what I am hearing from you is that there is a mutual reciprocation. That, while you are helping people, your life is being contributed to as well

BR: That’s the whole point, right? You know, I have been in a church where the pastor said, “Oh boy, I feel sorry for Bruce. He has to work at Hope Mission, and I would never work there.” But my calling is at Hope Mission. I love being there. This is my calling. Plus, I love the variety. I meet all kinds of people.

M: I bet you do. Another question for you, if you don’t mind: How do you deal with people who are results-oriented? And by that I mean, I would assume that you would have financial supporters— maybe volunteers and workers too— who expect results and transformation. They like to hear about a good testimony or a totally transformed life so they can check off their “good testimony” box. But that isn’t always going to be the case, right? How do you deal with that?

BR: Right, well, yeah: people struggle, and some fail. We have this one guy who has “failed” eleven times. He comes to us, then falls back; he comes to us, then falls back. Over and over. I just think that it’s good he keeps coming back! Like, if he is still living, if he is breathing, then there is still hope. And if that means he comes back the twelfth time and the thirteenth … you never give up on somebody.

This brings me back to Earl Martin, who is now ninety-five and whom I still consider my mentor. He told me that when he was first starting ministry, and when he was getting his ordination, that he was really sweating because he was preparing for all the theological questions he was going to be asked. And one of the guys on the ordination council was Peter Marshall, the famous Scottish preacher. He was also a Senate chaplain. Anyway, Marshall asked Earl only one question: “Do you love people?” This was the only question from that session that Earl remembered, his whole life. And I would say it’s the same question for me. Do you love people? I mean, if you are going to minister to people, you had better love people. If you don’t, you better work at the warehouse or somewhere else.

J: What I am hearing very much, Bruce, is that you don’t approach people as projects. You recognize them within their own unique stories. That even after eleven times of failing you still love someone. I remember early in my work here, where we had a fellow that just kept going back to prison because he committed breach after breach. It was really disappointing. One of my co-workers said, “But this isn’t the end of his story. God doesn’t exit his story at the point of failure.” It really helped me deal with setbacks. How do you maintain hope and grace and joy in the work you do?

BR: I have another story. I’ve got this fellow that I knew when I first started at Hope Mission. For most of his life he was in a mental institution or prison. He had addiction problems, legal difficulties, and the list went on. His mother was a sex worker and he had never met his dad. He was a case and a half, to say the least. Anyway, when he first came to Hope Mission, and we were talking in my office, he totally lost his cool right off. He was screaming and yelling, and then he punched a hole in my wall. That was how our relationship started. That was thirty years ago, but we still have this relationship going. He’s rough-looking, lives in the inner city, a tough-as-nails guy. And it’s not like he’s gone on to do great things; he has his struggles. But, you know, I just love the guy. He’s my friend. Though with some people love comes easier, and other times it doesn’t.

I generally don’t wear a suit and tie, but one day I was heading to City Hall or something and I needed to be professionally dressed. I came across this obviously intoxicated guy asking me for a sandwich, so I got him one. Next minute he is chucking the sandwich at me, and my tie and jacket catch it. The thing had slobber all over it. Then he proceeds to tell me to ef-off. I remember standing there for a minute, thinking. And I was like, okay, how do I love this person? But the love is the integral thing. Just to finish the story, we talked later when he was in better frame of mind. But yeah, what I am saying is that we don’t give up. We are to love people as they are.

M: Can I ask what kind of volunteers you typically have working with Hope Mission?

BJ: We have over 3000 volunteers across the province from all walks of life that mainly help with serving meals in the shelter. Now, with Covid, that has really affected us and we haven’t been able to have as much volunteer support.

J: This might be a bit personal, but I wonder if you consider yourself more introverted or extroverted?

BR: Wow, I am definitely an introvert. So I love the one-on-one conversation. That’s what I love to do. When I’m in a meeting with thirty-five to forty people, I just don’t feel as comfortable. When I am in a situation like that, I get out for a walk to clear my head. I do not get energized by being in larger crowds, that’s for sure.

J: I find it very heartening that you identify as a more introverted person. I think that sometimes we think about people who do significant things, like what you are part of, and there is a certain assumption about what kind of personality has to go along with that. We can lose sight of the fact that God uses all of our personalities and temperaments in precisely the way we were fitted for.

BR: I think God uses our weaknesses too. And when we think that we don’t need God, that’s when we get into trouble. Another story. I remember meeting a very charismatic and successful businessperson. He told me pretty straight, “You’re no leader.” Just outright. He said that because I’m not extroverted and don’t like being the center of attention. So I told him, “You know what? I am not … but I am a follower of Jesus Christ, and he’s the leader.” That kind of set him back a bit.

Another story to prove the point about me not sticking out: For twenty-five years I have been the MC for the yearly fundraiser banquet we have at Hope Mission. And these events are kind of a big deal. There are usually up to a thousand people. There are testimonies shared by our gals and guys that are pretty memorable. Anyway, one year the event was pretty big, and I was acting as MC, as usual. The next day these three senior ladies came to Hope Mission. The one told me that they had been at the banquet the previous night but had forgotten their checkbooks, so they were just coming in to give a donation. At which point one of the ladies looked at me and asked, “Were you there last night?”

M & J: [Laughter]

BR: So you can see, I am an introvert. I don’t like to stick out. But so what, right?

M: I assume that you have lots of support.

BR: Oh, for sure. All the people, along with the managers, are a great group of people. It’s an honor to work alongside everyone.

M: One of my favorite questions to ask is, “If you had the chance to talk to all the pastors—and they had to listen— what would you tell them?

BR: I would ask them to have the gift of giving. Many people, and churches too, are tight with their money. Their assumption is—and I have heard it so often—that if we give our money to overseas work, or to some mission, or to something from another denomination, then we won’t be able to pay our bills. But God doesn’t seem to see it that way. So what I am saying is that when people help and are generous, good things happen—God blesses them. But many churches don’t have the gift of generosity. And when they don’t, they are really missing out.

M: Do you have any final thoughts to leave us with?

BR: Yeah. Most people think of reasons why they can’t help, or where they can’t help. We need to think of reasons why we can. We often think, “Well, I don’t know the Bible well enough,” or “I am too young,” or “I am too old,” or “There is something I have to learn first.” No: don’t think that. Just go. Get involved in something. Just look around and you will find something you can get involved with. I know too many people who have talents and giftings, but they think of why they can’t. But don’t worry about the can’t. Think of the reasons why you can.