Leaving the
Mustard Seed like losing a child
by Doris Fleck
For Pat Nixon to leave The
Mustard Seed Street Ministry which he founded 26
years ago was "like losing a child."
On December 29, The Mustard
Seed announced that CEO, Pat Nixon, was stepping
down from the organization. His last day was New
Year’s Eve.
Although Nixon said the
decision looks like it was made quickly, it was
actually based on months of discussion between
himself and the board of directors and finalized in
October, 2010.
In a personal interview in
January, the Order of Canada recipient explained,
"Though it’s very hard for me to walk away from that
which I know and love, on the other hand, it’s
pretty exciting too."
With different opportunities
in the offing, Nixon doesn’t want to jump into
anything new too quickly. In the meantime, he is
eager to get involved in other local initiatives
that work with the poor and homeless including the
Calgary Dream Centre.
| Jim Moore, executive
director of the Dream Centre, said, "Pat is
a remarkable man, his passion for the
homeless is contagious. Both in public and
private he is always the same, his passion
to help others never ends."
This passion can be seen
in the legacy Nixon has left through the
Mustard Seed. Thousands of lives have been
transformed through this ministry in
Calgary, Edmonton and Mountain Aire Lodge in
Sundre. Everyday the Mustard Seed feeds and
shelters over 1,000 people. But Nixon’s goal
was never to just "hand out a sandwich." His
innovative ideas now provide opportunities
for the homeless to upgrade their education,
get skill training and apply for jobs in the
community or at the Mustard Seed.
Though Nixon
frequently gets stopped by people on the
street who thank him for helping them change
their lives, he maintains his mountain peak
experience was seeing the churches in
Calgary become mobilized. |
 |
Watching hundreds of people
from diverse denominations step out of their pews to
meet the needs of the homeless by coming to the
Mustard Seed is "where I find my thrill," Nixon
said.
Brent Trask, pastor of Rock
Pointe church, recently said that Nixon was a
catalyst through which the church started to get
involved in this community.
With Nixon’s wife and six sons
all involved in the Mustard Seed over the years, his
family modeled this approach. Street people were
often invited to Nixon’s home for a meal and many a
night one or more of his sons gave up their bed for
the homeless.
"My greatest legacy is my
family," Nixon said. "When we sit around this living
room…, we talk about how we can serve God."
As Nixon moves on to new
challenges he said, "I’m looking for another miracle
and if I can be a part of it, I’m a fortunate guy
because I’ve already been a part of some big ones."
Nixon went from a 15-year-old
panhandler with a grade seven education to becoming
the CEO of an $18 million-a-year operation.
"God has done the miracles,
"Nixon marveled. "He took a street kid who was
scared to speak to anybody and He chose to work
through him."