Brother Ad Vermeulen O.F.M.Cap and Brother Caspar Geertman CMM launched a special initiative in mid-2025: the Colourful Inn on Wheels (Kleurrijke Herberg op Wielen). Their roles as guardian and superior, respectively, of a community of elderly, vulnerable fellow brothers are fulfilling, yet they sought a way to be close to other people as well.

This is how the Colourful Inn on Wheels came into being, a place for meeting and conversation, where everyone is welcome. Every Wednesday, they take turns to be at the Vrijthof in Hilvarenbeek and the Van Hogendorpplein in Goirle (two towns in the Netherlands). They are there to listen to the stories of people who drop by or are looking for a chat. Anyone who feels the need can also light a candle, pray together, or simply sit in silence for a while. And anyone who wishes can have a chair massage in the open air.

The initiative is a contemporary form of street ministry. Brother Ad and Brother Caspar are very grateful that they are able and permitted to do this work. They have noticed that this form of (street) ministry meets a real need. They dream of “a world in which people learn to see one another through the eyes of the Gospel. Eyes that do not seek out differences in order to distinguish, but humanity in order to connect. Eyes that do not ask: ‘Which group do you belong to?’ but: ‘What is in your heart?’” They hope that, through the Kleurrijke Herberg, they can contribute a little towards realising this dream, which is not only their dream, but the longing of so many people.

Source: https://www.cmmbrothers.org/