Matthew House, Windsor - History

A name that is synonymous with Matthew House is Anne Woolger. A bubbly and warm person, living in Toronto, Anne is a strong advocator for the rights of refugees. She is also a friend. It was her vision to have a home for newly-arrived refugees where Christ's love could be demonstrated. 

In the summer of 1992 she organized a 12-week pilot project to assist refugees at Baptist Church House, Toronto. Church House was the home of our Baptist offices; CBOQ, Baptist Women and Baptist Missions. Meetings, conferences and other related activities were carried out at CH. To accommodate people from out of the city, dorms and a kitchen for a meal preparation and a dining area were also available. Church House became the site for the pilot programs. During the summer the fourteen beds available were always full and 100 others were turned away. Anne was assisted by a core of volunteers.

Matthew House returned to Church House the summer of 1993 assisted by a grant from BW of $5000. It was another successful run and plans were laid to find a permanent location.

After five years of searching and praying, Toronto Baptist Refugee Services, the umbrella organization for Matthew House, Toronto rented a six-bedroom home in downtown Toronto. Opening on August 4, 1998 it was filled in two days with ten refugees. They turned away, on average, one person per day. Now, after twenty years of operation Matthew House Toronto operates four houses across the city- one reception house and three long-term transition homes. They have inspired the opening of additional homes across Canada, one of which is Matthew House, Windsor.

By the fall of 1999, due to its strategic location next to the American border, Anne was visioning a similar home in Windsor. She contacted Rev. Owen Bury of Sandwich Baptist Church asking to meet with Windsor pastors to discuss the possibility of starting a MH in Windsor. The pastors met occasionally to discuss the possibility of the ministry to refugees. Rev. Stan Mantle of Grace was one of the pastors attending. After six months of sharing ideas things began to happen. Pastor Stan received the following note from Anne.

“God is doing amazing and exciting thing among refugees! As a key border crossing point, I could see your church (and others in Windsor) playing a critical role in refugees’ stories.” Feb. 18, 2000

Anne was invited to be the guest speaker on Baptist Women’s Sunday that April. A fire was ignited! As Pastor Stan says she hit us with a double barrelled shot from the old and new Testaments.

“When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” Lev. 19:33-34

“Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourself were suffering.” Heb. 13:1-3

A meeting was held on May 15, 2000 at First Baptist Church for anyone interested in the possibility of beginning a refugee ministry in Windsor. A small group of interested people, from 5 or CBOQ churches attended. A number of concerns were discussed and it was felt that more information was needed about the legality of Refugee Claimants and the process of their settlement.

A second meeting was held in June at FBC with a representative from the Windsor Refugee Office of the Diocese of London. This office was the only church supported office helping newly arrived refugee claimants. Our guest, Mike Cassasola, worked more in the area of sponsorships but he was able to clear up some issues. It was now evident that if the venture was going to proceed someone needed to step forward as a leader. No one came forth. The meeting ended.

In September, 2000 -  having spent the summer praying and thinking about the ministry I, Joanne King, approached Pastor Mantle to see if anyone had come forth to pick up the ball. No one had and I offered to lead the initiative to begin to establish a Refugee Ministry in Windsor.

Throughout the fall of 2000, contacts were made and agencies visited to see just what was being done in Windsor. On October 30, 2000 a meeting was held at FBC with Sr. Helen from the Windsor Refugee Office. She cleared up many concerns. It was soon determined that there was a real need for a short-term residence for refugees. Nothing like it, or even close, was available.

Sr. Helen was asked to speak at the mid-week service at Grace on Dec. 6 and bring a panel of refugees to share their experience. An invitation was sent to our churches and a small but interested group gathered. There was a sense of excitement and calling at the close of the evening.

On January 5, 2001, twelve people representing five CBOQ churches and Anne Woolger met at Grace Baptist Church. There was a strong sense of being led into this ministry and 8 people came forward to establish a Steering Committee.

February 5, 2001 the new Steering Committee met at First Baptist Church. Joanne King was elected Chair. Rev. Ron Watson, Western Assoc. Area Minister was present and helped us get started applying for a CBOQ Launching pad grant in the amount of $30,000. The committee worked on many organizational items- the process of becoming incorporated, will we rent or buy, a house search and possibility of a loan from CBOQ if we purchased a house.

The year 2002 began on a high note as in February we were informed our Launching pad grant had been approved in the amount of $12,000. The organization received its Letters Patent in July. It was incorporated as Windsor Baptist Refugee Ministries, the umbrella organization for Matthew House, Windsor. The Steering Committee began to move toward being a Board of Directors. August 30 was the closing date on the purchase of a house on Drouillard Rd. with CBOQ holding the mortgage.

As the Steering Committee transitioned to a Broad of Directors Joanne moved into the position of interim Ministry Director. Rev. Doug Anderson of Forest Glade Baptist Church became the first Chair of the Board of Directors and Rev. Stan Mantle of Grace Baptist Church continued as Treasurer. Doug chaired the first annual meeting of WBRM held on February 3, 2003. He continued as Chair of the Board until Archie Glajch became chair in 2003. Archie continues in that role in 2018.

Work began in September with renovations to the kitchen- living area and in the basement to create a night manager’s bedroom, office and storage areas. On April 1, 2003, Matthew House opened and received its first residents. They were a young man from Congo; a single woman from Pakistan; and a family – mom, dad and two children, also from Pakistan. Our little three bedroom house was finally open and full.

Unfortunately, it was decided to close down temporarily to reassess needs and establish more staffing for the house. On September 8, 2003 Matthew House reopened and an official dedication was held at the house September 28. The staff consisted of a Director, Refugee Settlement Coordinator, Night Manager and House Manager. The Night Manager received room and board and the others were part time workers. Volunteers began to come along side to aid in the daily operations of the house. The house has operated continuously since that time assisting over 600 Refugee Claimants, providing them with a safe and welcoming first home.

Mathew House, Windsor was opened to provide temporary shelter, settlement support and connections to community. Refugee Claimants are our primary focus. We also provide settlement support for individuals not residing in our home.

We really did provide a warm and welcoming home for our residents. We came alongside them and helped them as best as we could at that time. Most of us were new to the refugee business and were feeling our way along. I am sure mistakes were made but the refugees were very forgiving and appreciated what we were doing. We tried to be a friend – someone who was there to listen if needed. We did very well with limited monetary resources. This was due to donations of food, clothing, furniture, a variety of household products and time. Our primary focus group was “refugee claimants”.

Joanne King

August 2018