Lakeview Gospel Centre giving away goodies Family Day to lift spirits

While drive-thrus have been one of the only ways recently to pass out food and beverages, a Bonnyville church is piggybacking on the idea this Family Day.

Lakeview Gospel Centre is offering hot chocolate and doughnuts on Family Day Monday from 2:00-4:00pm in a drive-thru style event with two draws for a pizza and wings supper from a local restaurant.

Pastor Dwayne from Lakeview explains that the goal is just to put a smile on someone’s face.

“It’s just to brighten someone’s day. It is Family Day and [we thought we would] give people an option if you’re up for a drive to swing by and warm drink and doughnut. No strings attached,” said Pastor Dwayne.

This act of goodwill dovetails with their first offering of mental health classes next week. The Sanctuary Course runs Tuesdays and Thursdays and is meant to be a way, through Zoom, to connect, learn strategies and reduce the stigma around mental health.

“When we say mental health, we automatically think mental illness, but we need to focus on being mentally healthy as much as we do physically healthy. And so just taking away the stigma of it. And so it’s three categories, we deal with it from your actual life, like social, and psychological as well as spiritual,” he said.

“We just felt that it’s something that was prevalent prior to COVID. And experts are saying that we’re already seeing an increase, but in the days and months to come even post-COVID, there’s going to be an onslaught or a tsunami, as it’s being said, of mental health challenges. Not necessarily that people will be mentally ill, but you might have a short stint of depression or anxiety, so it’s addressing those. Some things are just short-lived and who needs support, others are a lifelong challenge.”

Lakeview has gone virtual with their church services for the time being, due to public health restrictions.

The treats on Monday are free to kids and adults, but Dwayne Pastor’s larger offering for those struggling right now is this: “It will get better. We have it so good. We have so many blessings that we sometimes forget that we have. We’re here for the community, the church is here for their community. Don’t ever think that it’s us versus them or whatever the case, we’re in this together. And we’re for this community of Bonnyville.”