CrossWalk Ministry

by Rev. Gail Fricker

CrossWalk Ministry is a good example of a ‘Church Without Walls’ – we do not have a building, but our ministry is very strong!

The group was founded four years ago by a group of women who had been hurt by the politics of their denominational church. They chose to leave it, but they still wanted to worship together, to serve God, and to continue doing ministry in their community. The online ministry of CrossWalk began. It now has up to 20 people joining from across Ontario.

Spiritually, everything they do is grounded in God’s Spirit. We meet every Wednesday at 7 pm online for an hour study group. This time usually has a short reflection based on scripture, some music, a time for discussion, a time of prayer, and often a spiritual practice. In 2025 I worked with this group to provide a six-week Lenten Study, a four-week Advent Study, and a five-week study based on the book Freeing Jesus by Diana Butler Bass. I also supported the group as they took turns leading weeks. I am not paid for this ministry, and there is no cost for anyone to join. We do however, pay a Zoom membership of $215 per year.

Containers waiting to be filled!

In addition, this group decided that they miss gathering in person for worship – many of them have not found other church homes, and CrossWalk is their only church. We decided to therefore meet four times a year for an in-person worship service, which I lead and offered Communion. We held these events at the Ayr Curling Club – opening our doors to anyone in the community, and provided a pot luck luncheon after worship. Many who would not attend a more formal church service joined us. We pay a total of $200 for use of the curling club.

CrossWalk also has a heart for outreach. They created a subgroup called Food for Friends which monthly prepares about 70 meals to support those with food insecurity. We work with other community partners to distribute the meals: It Takes A Village and The Community House. The Ayr Curling Centre allows free use of their kitchen, and the curling members support us by purchasing extra meals. In 2025, the cost of purchasing ingredients for this project averaged about $200 per month x 10 months – so a total cost for food was approximately $2000.

CrossWalk also partnered with Porchlight Counselling and Addiction Services servicing women and gender diverse people, and Bridges Shelter Centre, to provide sandwiches for the warming centre. Each week during winter, we have provided 90 sandwiches to the warming centre and approximately 50-60 sandwiches to Bridges. This is all done through labour and contributions of supplies/donations being provided by CrossWalk and Food for Friends volunteers. The cost for ingredients (bread, meat, eggs, tuna, cheese etc) is about $125 per week x 25 weeks, so a total cost for food is $3125.

At Christmas, members of CrossWalk donated warm clothing and toiletries for the Kitchener Womens’ shelter, filling several boxes.

As you can see, the average annual cost for CrossWalk to provide all their various streams of ministry exceeds $5000. The $500 funds received from the Casey and Beverly McKibon Pastoral Development Award went towards our annual costs to provide community based spiritual and pastoral ministry, and specifically helped offset the costs of our sandwich project.

The impact of the work of CrossWalk is huge. We have grown spiritually through our online studies; we have grown in our compassion through our outreach; and we have grown as a community. We have also impacted the lives of the many recipients that receive our hot meals, our sandwiches, and our donations of warm clothing. Our biggest challenge as we move forward is always finances – we are not affiliated with any charity, or any church denomination, so all the funds are donated from the members (without any tax benefit). We do fundraise a little through the sale of extra cooked meals, but we rely on the generosity of members.

As we move forward, I have no doubt that the work of CrossWalk will continue. I have seen the group grow in leadership as they take turns on Wednesday evenings. I have also witnessed a spark and enthusiasm for being Christ’s hands and feet through their outreach projects. In the months and year ahead, I will continue to encourage the group to always prayerfully consider what extra projects they wish to support, and to always reflect on what they have learned, and where is God in their work.