A year ago we decided that it might be time to change Parkdale Neighbourhood Church’s name. This wasn’t a new idea, it just finally felt right. While we are very truly “church” for people, we don’t function as a church organization, meaning we are not supported by our members. This has been a huge stumbling block for us. We’ve long thought that maybe a name change would help people understand the scope of our work.

I’ve discovered that choosing a new name is HARD. How do you capture the essence of PNC in a word or two? How do you suggest that we are very rooted in the neighbourhood?

A lot of time has been spent asking the people of PNC what this place means to them. This has very much factored into the process. Just yesterday at the drop-in I was asking people to write down some of their thoughts about PNC. Here’s what one friend wrote: “Without the PNC many community members would go hungry and/or cold!…Many of us would be lost without the PNC”. How beautiful. People consistently use the word “safe” to describe how they feel in this community. I know that I use that word too.

While it isn’t yet time to announce the fruit of our labour, I thought it appropriate to warn that this change is coming. So, don’t be surprised when we finally unveil it.

What a journey this is.