Everyone has a birthday, and everyone deserves to celebrate the occasion, said Rev. Cathy Dahmer, of Trinity United Church in Lively.
That's the reason behind the third annual It's your Birthday in Memorial Park on Sunday. It's an annual birthday party for the homeless to celebrate as brother and sister, the day each of us were born, she said.
“Today is a mix of playing together, singing together, eating together, and to celebrate with each other the day you were born because everyone matters,” she said. “It shows we're more alike than we are different.”
The event started three years ago in a different form. Trinity United Church member started brainstorming ideas on how to get outside the church and connect with the community, and in particular, the homeless population.
“It started with volunteers standing outside, handing out Toonies and offering to buy people coffee,” she said. “That morphed into a conversation with homeless people in Sudbury, who couldn't really understand why we were doing it. As we talked, we asked them for their ideas. They told us they don't really have anywhere to hang out in the summer.”
The church came up with a barbecue, but they weren't done there.
At one point, I asked someone when the last time they had a birthday party, and they couldn't remember,” she said. “So, we decided we wanted to throw a birthday party for everyone who didn't get a party last year.”
Church members rallied behind the cause, baking cupcakes and getting everything ready. And, although it was a bit soggy this year, everyone was still having fun.
The Tremonics took centre stage to provide entertainment, and there were plenty of hotdogs, drinks, cupcakes and sno-cones to go around.
“The word is out,” Dahmer said. “Even though it rained, it didn't really stop people from coming out.”
