'Under The Tent' is thriving under a church roof

You can tell it’s Under the Tent day at St. John the Evangelist Church because of all the bicycles. They’re parked outside, and some sit safely in the entrance hall.

Their owners are inside, enjoying coffee, snacks, hot soup, hot dogs, treats and whatever else is on the menu that day. 

This Fredericton northside church is open each Wednesday afternoon, welcoming the city’s most vulnerable population. Not everyone who comes is homeless. Some just need a little help or a chance to socialize.

“Some live very close to the wire,” said Eva Morton, one of the organizers. “Some live in subsidized housing. Some sleep in the woods up by Walmart.”

UTT origins
Under the Tent originated with Bill McLaughlin, who began the outreach mission several years ago in downtown Fredericton. Each Friday night and Saturday, a tent is set up on King Street across from Victory Meat Market. 

There the homeless are fed and other needs are met. It’s a thriving ministry that is vital to the wellbeing of marginalized populations.

Bill worked in prison ministry for years, but upon retirement, God directed him to help the homeless. He said he was too busy. 

“Then COVID hit and I had all this time. God asked again and I thought I’d better not say no again,” said Bill.

The concept of UTT came about because of a strange encounter downtown. He was sitting outside a coffee shop, putting in time before a meeting when he was involved in a big crash. 

The bicycle a woman was riding came apart, hit him and put them both on the ground.

‘Are you OK?’ he asked the woman.

‘I’ve never been asked that before,’ she replied.

He wanted to take her to the ER but she refused. However, she did not refuse his offer of prayer.

“So there I was on King Street, praying for her, and I heard this rattling,” he said. “I looked up and I was surrounded by homeless people, and they asked, ‘would you pray for us, too?’ It still brings me to tears.”

Once Bill was obedient to God, the opportunities presented themselves and Bill had a downtown street ministry.

“We’re a parking lot crowd,” he said, describing UTT. “We’re on the streets, in the corners — where heartbreak often is.

“What we see is unresolved woundedness,” he said of the people he cares for each week. “If you can’t get to the cause of the woundedness, you can’t break the cycle.”

The mantra of UTT is very simple. 

“It’s agape love. There are no expectations. We don’t judge. Come as you are,” he said. “It’s to bring hope. They lose their hope so we lend them ours.

“Now we have a community of people wanting to help. But it has to be a calling. If it’s not a calling, it can swallow you up.”

MARY JO
Mary Jo Roy lives on the north side of Fredericton, and knew her side of the river needed an outreach like UTT just as much as the city’s downtown did.

“I was seeing a lot of homeless people and God just placed it on my heart. I started talking to them,” she said. “God’s just changed my heart for them. This is not my comfort zone, but I’ve grown.”

She approached Bill and then began looking for a location. One choice did not work out, but then she thought of St. John the Evangelist Church, with its large parking lot, and approached the Rev. Canon Paul Ranson, whom she knew.

“Paul was very excited about it,” she said.

“She asked if they could use the parking lot, and I said absolutely,” said Paul. “Over the previous three years things had been getting really bad in the neighbourhood — not just the poverty, but homelessness, addiction and mental health issues.”

That was more than two years ago. By that fall, the weather was growing colder, and the parish vestry decided UTT needed to come inside.

“We were content to be in the snow, but they invited us in,” said Bill.

“We had a discussion at vestry,” said Paul, who now serves in the Sussex area. “It was silly that they were outside when we had an empty gym. Eva was central to making that happen.”

EVA MORTON
Bill and Mary Jo are not Anglicans, but they were using an Anglican church for their outreach. That got Eva thinking.

She discovered they weren’t using the kitchen, the showers or the laundry facilities, just the shelter of the building.

If she were there as the parish representative, she could help make all those extras — so needed for the outreach — more accessible. So she began coming.

“I felt the Lord leading me to show up,” she said. “I was able to give permission to use the kitchen, the showers and the laundry. I was the parish host.”

The vestry’s decision to move UTT inside was momentous. 

“It gave UTT access to everything,” said Eva. “That’s what the kitchen is for. People in the parish are pleased to host them.”

So now Eva joins the crew each week, chatting, handing out clothing, treat bags, coffee and snacks to first 25 people, then 35, and now 40 to 45 people each week.

“It’s what God’s given me to do. God put it in my hands, but it’s not just that,” she said.

“I look forward to seeing them. I’ve made friends with them. It’s the relationships too.”

JOANNE
Joanne has been coming to UTT since it began, mainly for the socialization that she and her brother often lack.

“I have friends here — all good friends through Under the Tent,” she said. “I appreciate all the people who are always so wonderful. They are always trying to help folks. Some people need more help and they give what they can.”

ANNE-MARIE
Anne-Marie and her husband, Mike, have been involved in street ministry for years.

“We have a heart for helping those less fortunate,” she said. “We want to be ‘Jesus in the skin.’”

Their journey began when Mike had a winter coat he wanted to donate to UTT. That led to a donation of boots, and by then, they were in. They volunteer each weekend at the southside UTT outreach.

“It’s not a fair-weather ministry,” she said, but added she loves serving coffee and baking for the guests.

DIXIE
Dixie volunteers because she’s a friend of Mary Jo’s.

“I have a heart for these people,” she said. “My nephew lives on the streets in Ottawa. We don’t always know where he is.

“One of the things here is you think that you’re blessing somebody, but you’re really being blessed yourself.”

And when they get low on supplies, “we put the word out,” she said. “People know what we’re doing and give. People give cash too.”

They can always use donations of food, cash, sleeping bags, blankets, hand and feet warmer packs, winter boots, underwear, socks, hats, scarves, gloves, track pants, and snow pants.

Like all the volunteers at the northside UTT, Bill has a big heart for the people he meets.

“What do they have in common? They’re hard workers, educated, an NHL draft choice, an EMT, a student just a few weeks away from defending her PhD. Why are they on the streets and you’re not? 

“They’re some of the finest people I’ve ever met,” he said. “And some of the safest people I’ve been around. They’re wonderful people, and there are a lot of believers here. A lot of them know the Lord.”

Photo captions:
1. Anne-Marie Madore (hidden) and Mary Jo Roy at the snack and clothing table, while visitors are welcome to take what they need.
2. The visitors come each Wednesday to St. John the Evangelist Church on Fredericton's north side for snacks, showers, laundry facilities, clothing, treat bags and friendship. (Eva Morton photo)
3. Bill McLaughlin is the founder of the Under The Tent outreach in Fredericton.
4. Anne-Marie Madore enjoys baking for the visitors.
McKnight photos