Doug Green, a man who served the poor

Doug Green, the recently-deceased chaplain of Edmonton's Hope Mission, was remembered for his compassion for the poor in a column in the Edmonton Journal.

Green's call to serve the poor got its genesis when he gave his life to God:

Doug Green landed in Canada during the Second World War and trained as a pilot in Calgary under the Empire Training Scheme. During this time, Doug recalled, 'God spoke very definitely to me through the Gospel -- but also through an air crash involving two of my fellow Australians. It was this that challenged me to fully surrender my life to Christ.'

At age 60, Green took an early retirement package from his employer to focus on serving God. He served Hope Mission in many ways:  as a board member, full-time staff member, and mainly by providing hope to the people who walked through the shelter's door. Green is an excellent example of God's call on us to help those less fortunate, and he felt that he met God through serving the poor.