By Pam Tinsley, reprinted from Living God’s Mission.
Last week I attended a breakfast to support our local interfaith organization, Associated Ministries. Most of the 400 attendees were community volunteers and leaders. A few clergy were also present. It’s clear that AM’s strength in the community rests in the hands of lay people who are committed to making our local community – and ultimately our society – more loving and just.
The breakfast’s theme was Hope Starts at Home. It was immediately apparent that each one of these faithful individuals is a beacon of hope in a world seemingly overwhelmed by hopelessness. Thanks to their commitment and partnership with community-supported businesses, they show that one person can act in faith and work with others to transform lives – not least of all, their own.
What they say and do can change individual lives, one-by-one. And when one person’s world changes, then that person can work to change another person’s world. We heard an inspiring story of hope from a woman who left an abusive relationship over a decade ago. With help from the AM community – including subsidized housing for herself and three young children – she overcame incredible obstacles to eventually earn not only a high school diploma, but then her bachelor’s degree! She is now employed by AM, walking with and serving as a beacon of hope for others.
In his inspiring remarks, Michael Yoder, executive director of Associated Ministries, shared the following quote from poet Clarissa Pinkola Estes:
Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely.
It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good. What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts – adding, adding to, adding more, continuing. We know that it does not take “everyone on Earth” to bring justice and peace, but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale.
Excerpted from Do Not Lose Heart, We Were Made for These Times ©2001, 2016
You and I are called by our baptism to be part of this small, determined group who are willing to persist in seeking and serving Christ each day – and always with God’s help.
The Green Room 