An interview with Anne Woolger by Renée James ⬩
Anne Woolger, founding director of Matthew House, Toronto, reflects on God’s calling to refugee ministry and all that’s unfolded in her 35 years of ministering in this field.
RJ: Tell us about how it all began.
AW: While having a quiet time during my university days, Proverbs 31:8–9 (NIV) jumped out at me: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
At the time, I had been writing for the Queen’s University Journal newspaper, so I naturally thought of it and wrote the words “Yes, through journalism?” in the margin. I just found this old Bible recently and I see it even had a date written next to it – December 12, 1983 – 40 years ago!
RJ: What happened next?
AW: Fast forward a few years from then and while at Tyndale/Ontario Theological Seminary I had a chance encounter with a refugee. Hearing his story changed the trajectory of my life. His was a heart-wrenching story of loved ones dying at sea during their escape from their homeland. I had assumed he would describe his arrival in Canada as the happy ending of his horror story, and Canada as a warm and welcoming place. But to my shock, he described his first few weeks and months in Canada as the most painful part of his journey. Why? Because he felt ostracized and alone – no one had truly “welcomed” him. Moved by his story, I wanted to volunteer somewhere to make refugees feel welcomed.
I found myself joining a church planting team with Danforth Baptist Church and landing my first job at a homeless shelter in South Riverdale (1988). The shelter had contracts with different levels of government to receive both government-sponsored refugees and refugee claimants (also known as asylum seekers).
RJ: What did you learn from this first job?
AW: My eyes were opened to the plight of claimants: They had no one to welcome or assist them upon arrival in Toronto, and they faced a huge shortage of decent and appropriate places for them to stay. Some were being forced to spend their first night in Canada in very rough City homeless shelters where they were being re-traumatized by the experience. By this time, I began to have a vision of establishing a Christian based refugee home for asylum seekers. The need was so great.
RJ: Of course!
AW: I tarried with this vision for many years, but I see God was refining me in the process.
RJ: Tell us more.
AW: Around 1990 I approached a group of leaders at Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec (CBOQ) with the vision. This led to doors opening to run some pilot projects during the summers of 1992 and 1993, where newly arrived refugee claimants were housed in the empty bedrooms of CBOQ’s Church House for each of these summers.
It was amazing to watch the refugees and CBOQ staff rubbing shoulders every day as they all shared the same dining room. Some lovely Baptist women helped out with these projects. Former CBWOQ executive director Audrey Morikawa was a real encouragement to me in the very early days and later, when Nancy Webb took up the helm at CBWOQ, she, alongside her late husband Clarence, were wonderful cheerleaders of my vision.
RJ: Did you have funding?
AW: I had hoped that soon the funds to open a house would drop from the sky, but they didn’t. Those early years, I kept sharing the vision of a refugee house and it seemed to fall on deaf ears. No one seemed to want to support something that didn’t exist.
RJ: That must have been so discouraging.
AW: I really wrestled with it and was getting very discouraged. Then I went on a retreat in Lakefield. I recall one morning during a quiet time asking God about my refugee house vision. I wondered if I simply needed to give it up. I sensed God respond: “Anne, house or no house, I want you to know me in it.” I realized that my relationship with God was more important than a physical structure (house), and God could draw more people to Himself through me as His follower – if I were walking close to Him – than through a big house structure where His spirit was not present.
This revelation led to a new prayer of relinquishment where I simply asked God to help me get to know Him better, house or no house. Thanks to His grace, after I prayed this prayer, amazingly, doors began to open. Within weeks we were offered a house on Dundas Street West to rent from the City!
RJ: Wow!
AW: There are so many stories I could tell of the miracles and tender mercies that followed our August 1998 opening day.
RJ: Give us some updates on what’s been happening since that opening day.
AW: Well, we are celebrating 25 years of welcoming the world! We have welcomed more than 2,000 refugee claimants from 102 different nations, from all walks of life: doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, those not able to read. But, all share this reality – a fear of persecution and the need for protection.
Matthew House, Toronto, spurred the opening of more than a dozen other refugee homes (and clusters of homes) across Canada and the United States.
RJ: God has been so good.
AW: Yes! In Toronto, we have opened a number of longer-term transitional homes where extra vulnerable refugees like youth or pregnant/single moms can stay longer to get extra support. By God’s grace, we are soon to open our seventh refugee house in Toronto. This one is “on loan” for us to freely use, from a generous owner who doesn’t need it for the next few years.
We also created a groundbreaking Simulated Refugee Hearing program (Re-course) to help refugee claimants prepare well for their refugee hearings. It’s been extremely helpful for claimants, and almost completely volunteer-driven supported as many retired lawyers etc. serve as volunteer adjudicators. We are in the process of making it a national program since the hearings are now done virtually.
That rented home on Dundas West was just the beginning.
A few years ago, after years and years of serious praying and visioning we were able to buy that original reception home on Dundas West from the City – at a greatly reduced cost. We are now in the process of renovating and upgrading it.
We have now embarked on an exciting new project –building a laneway suite in the back yard, overlooking beautiful Trinity Bellwoods Park! The old garage has just been torn down and pipes from the building site to the house have been installed. It will be a two story multipurpose building that can provide overflow sleeping space in times of need, but also excellent work/community space thereby enabling the main house itself to remain more like a home.
RJ: How has your role changed over the years?
AW: I have transitioned from the role of Executive Director to that of Founding Director and a wonderful young woman named Jacky Tuinstra has taken the helm of Executive Director. She is beautifully leading us through growth.
Since stepping back, I am actively engaged in more big-picture projects, especially advocacy at government levels. Through leadership roles with the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR), I’ve been deeply involved in many government negotiations to create more effective long term solutions for refugee claimant reception at other levels of their journey in Canada including their arrival at our borders, and at their Immigration and Refugee Board hearings.
I can see now how my original “calling” of being a voice for the voiceless is playing out – not as the journalist as I had originally presumed, but through my role with refugees.
RJ: Any final words for Baptist women?
AW: I could not have been so successful if it hadn’t been for many wonderful Baptist women who cheered me on along the way and helped this ministry to refugees get off the ground. Some wish to remain anonymous but have given huge donations toward our ministry which has had a giant impact on me and our work and to them I am forever grateful.
These are just a few names of key encouragers along the way: Audrey Morikawa; Nancy Webb; Esther Barnes; Bonnie Hartley; Betty Flowers; Sue Green; Kathy Clulow (former Matthew House Chairperson for nearly eight years); Barbara Simmonds and the helpers from Uxbridge she’d bring with her to our monthly dropins at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church; the women at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church who for many years regularly prepared Christmas turkey dinners for up to 200 former refugee guests and volunteers.
I am grateful that women like Barbara have continued to faithfully pray for and encourage me to this day! It really helps keep me going!
After 35 years in refugee ministry, and celebrating 25 years of Matthew House, I am so deeply grateful for the role of CBWOQ in our ministry. If it wasn’t for the faithful prayers, words of encouragement, practical help and gifts of funds from CBWOQ and Baptist women, I don’t know if Matthew House would be here today.