Open to people of all religions, cultures and orientation, The Regent Park Community Ministry offers fellowship and support to local residents, especially those experiencing poverty or marginalization.
We seek to build bridges and partner with our neighbours, as well as other non-profit and faith-based organizations, to deeply engage with and advocate for Regent Park community members. Supported by the United Church, we are a faith community that strives to be intimately connected to God’s work of reconciliation, justice and love.
Our History
Sometimes the best thing you can do with a church building is… tear it down! Regent Park Community Ministry is a ministry without a church building, but with a unique history. Our office is located in the Fred Victor / Toronto Christian Resource Centre (CRC) building at 40 Oak Street.
In the early 2000’s, the Regent Park United Church had a vision of what it could look like to use their land to serve their neighbourhood. Instead of building another typical church building, local United Church congregations got together to think outside the box.
They asked questions like:
What does the neighbourhood actually need?
What does it look like to “be the church” in a relevant, present and engaged way?
How could we be the best stewards of this property, in the heart of a neighbourhood with over-represented poverty, violence, and inequity?
Their response was to use the land for supportive housing and creative community space, which was named the Christian Resource Centre (CRC). Throughout this process, an innovative, mobile faith community started (then called West Don Area Ministry project) before evolving into Regent Park Community Ministry. And we continue our presence in this building through today.
Throughout the CRC building, there are refurbished pieces of church properties (some from Regent Park United Church, others from other nearby churches). These serve as visible symbols of the church being made new in this space (like the one pictured here).
Today, our mission is more effective because we work in the same indoor and outdoor spaces as other Regent Park residents, groups and organizations.
Our Partners
Partnerships are vital to doing integrated, relevant, community-centered work in our neighbourhood and beyond. You’ll find an alphabetical list below of the organizations and groups that we partner with on an ongoing basis. We are always open to working with new partners, so please get in touch if you are interested in collaborating. Plus, be sure to check out the incredible work our friends are up to at these many wonderful organizations and churches!
Our Team
The Regent Park Community Ministry consists of a Community Minister (a full-time staff person), volunteers and a Board of Directors.
We strive to work as a diverse team in our continued exploration of what it looks like to be present to the neighbourhood. Our board includes community members from Regent Park, long-time practitioners in the neighbourhood, and United Church of Canada folks committed to making the church present for the neighbourhood in unique and meaningful ways. They come from a variety of religious, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.
If you are also interested in getting involved, please contact Angie.
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Angie Hocking
Community Minister
Angie’s passion for supporting the marginalized and helping the church connect to the needs of those outside their doors is evident in her full-time work at Regent Park Community Ministry. Prior to this role, Angie worked in community drop-in settings alongside folks experiencing homelessness at both Church of the Redeemer for 10 years and Evergreen Centre for Street Youth for 5 years. Beyond her day-to-day work in the community of Regent Park, she is also a speaker, trainer and partner on issues of homelessness, poverty, community building. Angie is also an ordained Deacon in the Anglican church. In her free time, Angie loves spending time with her daughter, husband, and her dog Lucy, listening to comedy, and creating things.
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Phil Nazar
Board Chair
Phil has been moved by the gospel of social justice and inclusion for his entire adult life. Living and working with those on the margins has been a natural outpouring of this, including his work on housing, community development and worship while on staff at the Toronto Christian Resource Centre. Phil has been involved with Regent Park Community Ministry since its inception. In his spare time, Phil is also motivated by playing hockey and being married to Paula, but not necessarily in that order.
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Deany Peters
Board Member
Deany has lived in the Regent Park Community since 1981. She’s worked as a Community Development Worker at the Regent Park Community Health Centre for 30 years, served on numerous non-profit boards, and received the Sir James Woods Award for Community Development in 2013. A former teen mom who experienced many inter-sectional social and economic barriers, she’s now blessed with six adult grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
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John Deacon
Board Member
John’s relationship with the United Church city ministries began in the mid-1960’s with the Toronto Christian Resource Centre and continues today at the Regent Park Community Ministry. He knows that embracing marginalized people is the best way to embrace Jesus. A former employee benefits executive, John is also a fun-loving husband, father and grandpa, a guitarist, the author of Marnie’s Place and a writer who shares thoughts and prose about faith, life and advocating for street-involved folks at www.homelessguide.com.
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Katherine Robb Corlett
Board Member
A member of the United Church of Canada and specifically, St Andrew’s United Church, Katherine is an enthusiastic supporter of thriving urban ministries. She joined the Regent Park Community Ministry team years ago to explore a different kind of ministry that happens outside church building walls throughout the week, not just on Sunday mornings.
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Jim Marshall
Board Member
As a former United Church staff person focused on economic justice and social policy, Jim cares deeply about the inclusion of marginalized voices and advocating for needs such as affordable housing, employment and more. Jim joined the RPCM board because this Ministry amplifies otherwise forgotten voices. He values the on-the-ground advocacy work that RPCM is engaged in, as well as the pastoral care the Ministry provides for neighbours experiencing poverty and displacement. Jim has been a member of the East York Barbershoppers (a barbershop chorus) for 26 years. He and his partner, Deborah, are active members of the Metropolitan Community Church and lived for a time at the Sumach, a seniors' residence in Regent Park. They are also parents of three and grandparents of six.
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Debra Dineen
Board Member
Debra has lived in the Regent Park community since 1989. She has worked for and with many local organizations and was a founding member of the Regent Park revitalization committee, as well as the Executive Director of the Christian Resource Centre from 2007 to 2012. Debra currently runs a social enterprise that operates across the city.
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Dr. Nicholas (Nick) White
Board Member
Nick is passionate about food justice, community building and new forms of worship, which is what brought him to the Regent Park Community Ministry. Now retired, Nick was a researcher with the Toronto Catholic District School Board for 25 years and worked in behavioral biology prior to that, including a seven-year stint at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Nick is an active member of Kimbourne Park United Church and looks forward to enhancing programs and ministry in the Regent Park neighborhood.
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Volunteer
Learn more about RPCM and how you can get involved.
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Follow Us
Find out about upcoming events and projects in our Facebook Group.
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Donate
Your monthly, annual or one-time donation makes a difference for folks in Regent Park!
LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Regent Park Community Ministry acknowledges that the land that we work on has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to share this land.