Rev. Dean Henderson is taking faith to the streets.Every Friday, Henderson sets up a sandwich board outside St. Andrew's Cathedral on Blanshard Street offering free counselling to anyone passing by. Since January, hundreds of visitors have pulled up a chair.
"Some people who hear what I'm doing think I'm a nut," Henderson, 47, said with a laugh. "But the response has been really surprising."
It's an unusual idea from an unusual priest.
The Roman Catholic Church, which demands priests take a vow of celibacy, allows Anglican ministers with families to convert.
So unlike most Catholic priests, Henderson is married with four young children.
After being ordained in summer 2007, he was assigned to the University of Victoria and Camosun College campuses.
The university has a non-denominational office and 13 other chaplains, but Camosun has no prayer facilities.
That prompted Henderson to borrow a folding table, spend $150 on a sandwich board inviting comments, questions or concerns, and set up outside the cafeteria for three hours each Thursday.
"As Catholics, we can sometimes feel like we're on the periphery -- nobody wants you," Henderson said. "But there were almost a dozen people coming by each day."
Encouraged, he took the sandwich board and table to St. Andrew's. Every Friday since January, rain or shine, Henderson has been sitting outside from 9:15 a.m. to around noon, seeing about eight people each hour. Visitors of every denomination have included the homeless, Protestant ministers and government workers.
In six months outside, Henderson said he can only remember one negative incident. In March, an elderly homeless man grew angry and began yelling and talking irrationally, telling him to leave.
Otherwise, Henderson said the response has been largely positive. He does not pass out flyers or solicit people to sit down. When not counselling, he usually reads or prays silently.
Outside St. Andrew's, most passersby supported the idea.
"I think it's great so long as people aren't being harassed," said Jennifer Long, 32. "Some people need someone to unload their baggage on."
Henderson said many residents are searching for support, religious, emotional or otherwise. Because the number of chaplains and nuns has declined on Vancouver Island, he said they are rarely the first outlet for help.
"People won't go into the church, but they're looking for someone to talk to, some help to be offered," he said. "Sitting in the booth, you feel that hunger."
Henderson said the sandwich board helps maintain his own faith. Several weeks ago, a middle-aged woman drove past the booth three times before pulling over. She had suffered a family health crisis and was struggling to cope.
"We talked for 40 minutes about what she was going through and what she was feeling," Henderson said.
"I think she felt better having talked with someone, and I felt wonderful for being there to help her. Without the sign, she'd never have come in."
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