But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. – I John 3:17-18
Dearly Beloved in the Lord,
Christ is Risen!
Truly He is Risen!
Perhaps you saw the pictures of our Women’s Ministry Service Project on Tuesday evening. Each month the ladies of our St. Anna community gather to deliberate the business of their organization, engage in fellowship and plan what good thing that can next be accomplished. This week’s “good thing” was to prepare 500 sandwiches for the homeless and hungry here in the Salt Lake Valley. Yes, 500 sandwiches. Pounds and pounds of ham, cheese, mayonnaise packets, baggies and, if you are counting, 1,000 pieces of bread.
I am so thankful for the willing spirit of the women in our parish. As predicted, more people came to help than typically come for the other meetings. Service projects bring out the best in us, and they bring out the most of us. As we will always strive to be a parish of service, works, action, compassion and caring, Tuesday night was beautiful and special. And the reality is, the actual sandwich-making part of the entire night only took about 20 minutes.
Of course, hours of preparation and the dedication of funds were all executed well before we showed up to nicely-organized work stations with detailed production instructions. For sure, the work of our project chairs, Ann Sasich and Pat Daskalas, went tremendously more deep than our own efforts…but hey, 500 sandwiches were made that night.
And the discussions around the tables were filled with laughter, as well as the prayerful contemplation for the dear souls who would hopefully appreciate the work of our hands. Empathy, Christian love and the camaraderie between Sisters in Christ marked an extremely lovely evening.
But that was then. Though it was a fantastic experience, now it’s time to move on to our NEXT opportunity to help!
I pray that you have been seeing the little flyers in the narthex for the Race2Erase Hunger. This Saturday at 3:00 pm, on the Feast of Ss. Constantine and Helen, we will gather next door to our church at the Brighton Stake Center to celebrate, with our friends of St. Thomas More Parish, the conclusion of our Virtual 5K Race.
For the past several weeks, we have had the opportunity to register for this race, complete it at our own leisure, and allow the proceeds to benefit the Utah Food Bank. If you have yet to register for the Virtual 5K, please go to www.race2erasehunger.com or visit our Facebook Page. As I said, all proceeds from registration go directly to the Food Bank. Please check the website and Facebook Page to see all of the different ways you can get involved in our efforts to combat continual hunger in the midst of our everyday lives.
Our “After Party” this Saturday will give us the opportunity to do as the ladies of our Women’s Ministry Team do so well; they get together, make new friends, celebrate their lives in Christ and assist people along the way. As we rent space on the campus of St. Thomas More, we are continually in contact with the lovely parishioners of their community.
I feel that it would also be a great expression of unifying behind a common cause, to get to know the folks of the Stake Center, who asked our parish to participate in this worthy effort. We were invited to help them, help the hungry. For that, I am extremely grateful. Being with us on Saturday is a perfect chance to introduce living icons and breathing expressions of Orthodoxy to our neighbors.
You may laugh, we certainly did…when Andrea and I visited our former parish just before moving there almost eleven years ago. It amused us to see that St. Nicholas is literally right next door to the Northridge Mormon Ward. “Welcome home,” we chuckled. Well, the chances of our parish being located next to a Mormon church here in Cottonwood Heights are, let’s say, slightly greater than the odds in Los Angeles.
But I am grateful for our neighbors and the love they display – both here and in California. Let’s get together for our common cause of easing the pangs of hunger in the bellies of local children and families. That’s what is pleasing to God.
As St. John the Apostle reminds us in the forementioned Epistle passage, let us “love in deed and in truth.” Once again, it’s time to help. Let us thank the Lord for the opportunity to serve and exhibit, in very real ways, His compassion and love towards humanity.
With Love in our Risen Lord,
Fr. Anthony