One Sunday afternoon, I found myself reflecting on that morning’s service and the potluck lunch that followed. Such connection moments are woven into the fabric of The Salvation Army’s Whitby Community Church in Ontario.

I began thinking about what truly connects us: geography, language, faith. Then deeper still: presence, trust, vulnerability. And those quiet relationships that grow into more.

Ports and Gifts

I found myself recalling an online article written by caseworker and family outreach co-ordinator Meredith Chin. During a fierce storm, a weary, rain-soaked cyclist came upon Whitby Community Church seeking refuge. Over a hot coffee, he remarked, “You guys really are a port in the storm.”

Meredith knew he was speaking of more than the weather.

For him, the church was a physical port. For others, that and more. A port waits and receives. Much like a gift but flowing the other way. Yet this was not my experience there. I arrived broken, but it became far more than a port. The church offered me the gift of worshipping God in ways I had never known, and the gift of family and kindness I would never otherwise know.

Shared Connection

I volunteer extensively in events and services at the church. I first saw this as my gifting of time, talent and treasure. This was wrong because I had misunderstood the shape of the relationship. 

I had been viewing this as something exchanged in one direction and then the other. This was beyond continuous back-and-forth transactions. What had formed was something sacred and mutual. This was not simply their kindness toward me, nor my service to them. This was God’s love, shared among us. 

Not a port nor gift. This was a shared connection, formed between hearts, bridges held together by God’s presence and unending love.

I see the world differently now. I see hope where I once saw despair. I feel empathy where indifference once lived. Words like gratitude and thanks fall short. LOUIS KYRON

When Bridges are Tested

Because of the connection I shared with my new church family, I see the world differently now. I see hope where I once saw despair. I feel empathy where indifference once lived. Words like gratitude and thanks fall short.

Perhaps there is only one word that fits: love.

“Love,” in its different forms, appears hundreds of times in the Bible.

For me, the Apostle Paul’s words live in my heart as love always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres (see 1 Corinthians 13:4-7). I learned to be patient, caring, thoughtful and understanding in all matters, and not just when it was convenient to me.

In the end, the lesson became clear. True connections do not travel in straight lines. They are not ports waiting to offer rescue, nor gifts passed from one hand to another. They are where hearts meet and God dwells.

Louis Kyron is an official member of The Salvation Army and attends Whitby Community Church in Ontario. A CPA with an MBA from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ont., he has two adult children.