For more than 20 years, Deacon Robert Kinghorn has walked some of Toronto’s roughest streets with a simple mission: Show up, listen, don’t judge and don’t fix.

In his latest book, The Church on the Street: Ministry of Presence, Kinghorn captures the quiet power of his two decades plus of accompaniment among the city’s homeless, addicted and forgotten.

The book, published by the National Catholic Broadcasting Council, gathers a collection of Kinghorn’s most moving “Church on the Street” columns from The Catholic Register over the years. Through his first-hand observational accounts, columns look to introduce readers to the real people behind the statistics — those battling addiction, experiencing homelessness or trauma — while revealing the often unexpected faith, dignity and holiness he encounters among them.

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Ministry of Presence acts as a follow-up to Kinghorn’s earlier collection, released in 2019 by Catholic Register Books. He said it contains lessons and insights from recent encounters and follow-ups with familiar faces from the first book, with an added focus on companionship. 

“ Throughout the books that I write, I don't talk about success or failure in terms of them getting off (the streets), but rather showing how just being with them can do so much. My main focus is to show the holiness that's already there, the faith that people have in angels and in God, even though many have been through terrible things in their lives,” he told the Register. 

Kinghorn has a well of experience to draw from, having begun his street ministry in 2005, initially walking the streets around places like Allan Gardens in his clerical collar simply to “be the Church” presence among the marginalized. What started as personal notes on his own encounters evolved into shorter articles for church newsletters, then into an award-winning monthly column in The Catholic Register under former publisher and editor Jim O’Leary, who advised Kinghorn to adopt the name “The Church on the Street.” 

“At that time, I was really inspired by Msgr. Thomas Raby, who wrote these great, folksy articles about his weekly ministry experiences. That thought of doing something like that, even having  never looked for or wanted anything like this initially, really excited me,” he said. 

With more than two decades of lived experience ministering to those on the margins, Kinghorn recalls moments years past from his time on the streets as if they were yesterday. These stories bring to life the book’s central message of presence and human dignity. Kinghorn recalled a woman who, despite being deeply caught in addiction, offered him the comfort he had so often given her when he spoke of the passing of a friend. 

“There have been many stories like this one over the years, and they stick with me. Another woman sat with me and recited Scripture from memory. She had been in prison, a child taken away from her, and yet  she spoke to me about the good thief asking Jesus if He would be in paradise with Him. I’ll never forget her asking me, ‘Do you think He will ever say that to me?’ And I said, ‘If God doesn't say that to you, I don't think He'll ever say it to me,’ ” he said. 

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Across all of his collected stories, two core messages remain as hopeful takeaways for readers — holiness exists on the streets, and it is our job as the faithful to remember that the marginalized have a history and continued dignity as children of God. 

“I’m hopeful that my message hopefully comes across in all of the articles, that when you simply show up and listen to people, you can give people hope, remind them of their humanity, and even heal them,” he said. 

NCBC is also releasing a five-part video series on pastoral ministry with Kinghorn, intended to be a resource for parishes and volunteer organizations. The street minister said it will be based on his decades of training experience, with an emphasis on pastoral ministry being simple, but not easy. For him, the focus remains on “being” with people rather than constantly “doing” or seeking measurable success.

Kinghorn will also be present at book signing events after all Masses on May 30 and 31 at North York’s Blessed Trinity Parish. 

For a man who admittedly would once be content with taking a zero in English and harboured a strong dislike of literature, Kinghorn is slowly cementing himself as a compelling voice through the moving moments he has facilitated on Toronto’s margins.

For him, it might still be as much a blessing as it is a curse. 

“ I used to tell people that I don't want to be a public figure, can you imagine that? Here I am on the cover of books, and that might be the most stupid thing that God has ever done,” he said behind a Glaswegian laugh. 

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To purchase The Church on the Street: Ministry of Presence, see books.friesenpress.com/store/title/119734000522596152/Deacon-Robert-Kinghorn-The-Church-on-the-Street.