Purpose & Activities
Today the Sovereign Order of St. John is a fraternal and ecumenical Christian association whose Members have a strong sense of its history and hospitaller traditions, who believe in the need to support local charities, and who enjoy the comradeship of like-minded people.
The Vancouver Commandery’s charitable objective is to support and advocate for hospice palliative care services in British Columbia.
The Commandery assisted in the organization of the B.C. Hospice Palliative Care Association, which today counts amongst its members 80 to 85 British Columbian hospice facilities. One of the first projects was to finance jointly with the Vancouver Foundation the writing and publishing of a Hospice Palliative Care Guide, a first in this field. Over the years, the Commandery has continued its financial support of the Association.
The Commandery is also an important sponsor of the B.C. Hospice Palliative Care Association’s annual conferences bringing together the leading practitioners, academics and government representatives from the Province and other parts of Canada.
In 2004, the Commandery commenced to giving awards to provincial hospices for direct palliative care.
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In 2006, the Commandery assisted the Vancouver Hospice Society in opening a thrift shop on Dunbar Street, partly to help the Society to earn funds and partly, to raise its profile.
In January 2007, the Vancouver Commandery Members made a commitment in cooperation with the Order of St. John Palliative Care Foundation to raise $3 million from Members and Third Parties for the naming rights to a proposed hospice satisfactory to the Commandery and its Foundation to be operated by Vancouver Hospice Society on the west side of Vancouver.
“Unfortunately, in end-of-life care, we do not have a vocal constituency: the dead are no longer here to speak, the dying often cannot speak, and the bereaved are often too overcome by their loss to speak.”
Dr. Harvey Chochinov, MD PhD
Testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Palliative Care, Feb 28, 2000
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