A Friend in Need

 

The end of the year holiday season is upon us, and I think we know what that means: it won’t be long until – despite our best intentions and the promises that we made last year – we will soon find ourselves in the midst of the hectic shopping trips, the crowded malls, the blatant commercialization, and the airports full of frantic, snow-bound travelers. There are so many different ways that the holidays can be a struggle, and I suspect that we each encounter at least one of them. If the “excess” and “craziness” of the holidays starts to get to you, I hope that you will take the time, make the time, to find at least an occasional moment of quiet to calm yourself and your psyche.

 

When we calm ourselves, as we take a step back, we can forget, at least for a moment, the craziness and the commercials. We can see at least glimmerings of the meaning of the season. Beneath the frantic energy and advertising, there is a noble and enduring hope that a better world can be, that we may move closer to “peace on earth” and “good will to all” in the new year that is about to begin. Our own personal peacefulness may be a beginning, but much hard work and sacrifice will be needed to spread our personal peace and good will throughout this troubled world.

 

And our world is troubled. It has been troubled for a long time. It was troubled in the time of the Maccabees’ revolt, commemorated in the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. It was troubled in the time of Jesus’ birth. And in this past year, in addition to the ravages of sickness and war, we have seen so many natural disasters strike so many people. So often the victims are those with the least: the youngest and oldest, the homeless, the hungry, and the sick.

 

Yet there are places that they know they can go for help. For more than twenty years, Carbondale ’s Good Samaritan Ministries has been one of those places. Good Sam has fed the hungry, provided shelter to the homeless, and helped those in need. And now, Good Sam finds itself in serious need. This year, in part as a result of the demands placed on its resources by Hurricane Katrina survivors, Good Sam is running a deficit of $50,000.

 

The Fellowship will undertake a special fundraising program on behalf of Good Sam in January, and other religious institutions in our community are doing what they can as well, but it will probably take more than that to solve the problem. So I am looking for some people with ideas and energy – and a commitment to the ideal of the Good Samaritan! – to help this “friend in need.” If you’d like to put some of your holiday energy into this worthwhile cause, please contact me!

 

In closing, I wish you and yours a special, joyous, and meaningful holiday season! May you feel the peace of the season, and share it with others as best you can! May the peace that you offer spread far and wide throughout our troubled world!

 

(signed) Bill S.