From lab technician to man of the cloth.
Rev. David Burrows stands in the Hunger Patrol storage room where clothes and shoes are kept before being distributed to the needy.
Staff photo/ANICE WONG
When St. Olave's Anglican Church's Father David Burrows decided to get ordained, the parish priest had three young children and a fourth one on the way. "My wife thought I was crazy," said Burrows, sitting in the church secretary's office on Friday morning, a blustery cold winter day. But Burrows, then a lab technician at Wellesley Hospital, said he'd always had a strong feeling he had to serve God. At 16, the Montreal native converted to Christianity, however soon learned he didn't feel he fit into the United Church. Burrows discovered he felt more at home at an Anglican Church. "I always wanted to minister to the less fortunate," said Burrows. Since arriving at St. Olave's, at the corner of Bloor Street West and Windermere Avenue 13 years ago, Burrows has been at the helm of the Hunger Patrol. Every Saturday evening for 10 months of the year, Burrows, along with two volunteers, loads up a van with two large thermoses of soup, boxes of baked goods and juice boxes, along with blankets, socks, shoes, sweaters, jackets and sleeping bags - as much as they can squeeze in - and head downtown to the Scott Mission, on Spadina Avenue. There, they ladle out as many as 60 bowls of soup to the long line-up of homeless at the street mission. In its earlier years, the program prepared one large container of soup. Now, there's a need for two. On this weekend's menu: paella. "We're the victim of our own success," quipped Burrows. "People do sure line up."As volunteers doll out the soup and hand out the juice boxes, Burrows stands off to the side giving people socks, underwear, coats and hoodies. "These guys are grateful. They're nice. Though many have trouble with drugs, some of the guys decide, 'I've got to get the hell out of here, I don't want to die on the streets,'" said Burrows.The church boasts a designated 'Hunger Patrol Room' where Burrows stores all the food and clothing donations. Bread and Roses Bakery on Bloor Street West donates as many as four to six boxes of baked goods, including cheese and spinach buns, cinnamon buns and pizza bread. "We don't ask for money, but people give us money. Big bags of clothes show up here," Burrows said. For the most part, Burrows and his team receive words of thanks and 'God Bless You.' He says 95 per cent of the homeless he encounters are quite polite.Only the odd time has he broken up of a fight or come into contact with a belligerent drunk. It's not something that fazes Burrows. Perhaps this is because for almost a decade, he has served as chaplain for 14 Division Police. He first learned of the job when a friend of his son's was going into the police service. "I heard they were looking so I put in an application," he recalled. Burrows goes on ride-a-longs with officers, in full uniform, which makes him look like a regular cop, even wearing a bullet proof vest. He has acted as a calming presence at domestic abuse calls, once offering reassurance to a young girl whose mother had been punched by her boyfriend. He has said prayers for the departed."Father Burrows is a very caring and compassionate man," said Lorraine Bell, a member of St. Olave's congregation and a Hunger Patrol volunteer. "He makes it his business to get to know his congregation and takes an interest in everyone within the fold. Over the years, he has taken in many people who have needed a place to stay and invited them into his home to live where Father Burrows and his wife Penny make everyone feel like a part of the family."When Burrows learned that Bell would be spending the holidays alone, he invited her to join his family and friends for Christmas dinner. One of the people who comes out to the Scott Mission for Saturday night soup also has a standing invitation to the Burrows' house for Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving and always leaves with plenty of left-overs."I like dealing with people. I have a very nice congregation," said Burrows about what he likes best about his profession. "I like dealing with people, whether it's at St. Olave's or street people."The Hunger Patrol is in need of hoodies, warm socks (sport socks), new underwear, sweatshirts and sleeping bags, if you would like to help out.For further information, visit http://stolaves.ca