Spring cleaning

Its becoming warm again - thank you God! And with that, comes thoughts of spring cleaning. We are told that we have enough socks to last for the next bit but there is a request for t-shirts and sweaters for the homeless. So, as you tidying up your closets, if you find such items as these and you no longer have a use for them, please pop them into the Diakonia bin as there are those who still face chilly mornings and evenings who will put them to very good use indeed.

Goodie Bags for the Homeless at Church

DIAKONIA goodie bags for the homeless. Please take a bag home from church and fill it with

Things like soap and washcloth, tooth paste and tooth brush, hair comb or brush, lip balm...and of course chocolate and treats!

Please have them back to the church by January 1st-- they will be distributed around Theophany. Place the bags in the DIAKONIA bin-- if it gets too full we will get a box.

Diakonia

 Handmade Cards

for Sale at church

$3/each or 2 for $5

all proceeds, including cost

of materials etc., to benefit

Doctors without Borders

See Angelina or Maria

A word from the street

Our Diakonia bin, the bin where you place all those warm clothes and blankets, was again full to overflowing when those who gather these gifts picked them up for distribution early...6 am early...Sunday morning. In the past, the numbers who would come were mostly men with perhaps 2 or 3 women in a group of 50 arriving. This morning saw the numbers evenly divided along the gender lines. One man told the group distributing the warm items along with hot chili and applesauce that he slept on the grass last night. It was below zero in the early hours and he woke to frost on the ground all around him. The chili was especially welcome as that kind of cold can only be fought from the inside out. And he was grateful for the warm blanket he took away with him as well.

This cold is only beginning. There will be more frosty mornings with more cold to the core bodies to serve hot chili, applesauce and blankets to. Please keep them in your prayers and please continue to provide these needed items.

Its getting cold

As announced today in our parish, we are beginning again to collect blankets and socks for distribution to those without four walls to live within. Also needed are mittens or gloves and hats of all types - anything to keep the cold out. Warmth when you have no home means life.

Please place these items in the Diakonia bin just outside the doors as you enter the sanctuary. And thank you so very much for this work to your neighbour!

The invisible and the political

Here is a link from the UK Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/famine

There are various segments about the famine. People comment throughout with some comments being more generous than others. I do not care about the politics. I do not recall Jesus telling us to check their identity cards before offering assistance or weighing whether or not the thirsty ought to be given that cup of water. People are dying. We can discuss later how to prevent another famine.

I read today that Dadaab can now be seen from space. It has even made its way into here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dadaab

What it has also done is disappear from the front page of our newspapers. How can so many be so invisible?

From the President of Doctors Without Borders

The following is a message from the President of Doctors Without Borders. He is very direct. He is realistic in what can and cannot be done.

It is the same with giving. It will be the same with our making cards to benefit DWB. Our offering is small. It will not solve the problem. But it is better than not offering anything at all. Will people die? They are and they will. But more will suffer and die if nothing is done.

Forgive the direct message. Starvation is an "in your face" event.

Please read the following message: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/sep/03/charity-aid-groups-misleading-somalia

And please remember to pray. The situation there is not going away anytime soon. And neither are we.

Keeping up with the Joneses

This is a FANTASTIC exercise for learning what life is like in less fortunate countries than ours! Have a look, and think about giving to charity in some way-- as you know, our own DIAKONIA ministry here at St. Herman's has a number of different projects on the go. Ask Angelina or Maria C. how you can help.

http://whoarethejoneses.org/


ps. The median family income in Canada  in 2009 was over $68,000

The making of cards....

We had our first card making gathering this past Saturday at St. Herman's and had such a great time, we are going to do it again. In fact, we are going to lead the choir. (Calm down, choir directors!) The choir is currently meeting every third Saturday and we will meet on the same day, just a wee bit earlier. To accommodate everyone's crazy life schedules, we will start at 9 am and end around 3 pm. We've already met for August so will next meet at the church on September 17. This past Saturday we had a pot luck lunch and if the choir promises to sing Nativity songs, we just might leave them something too.

These cards of course are being made in preparation to sell them for the work of Doctor's Without Borders. The most current news of the famine and the political situation there is terrible. The attached site from today's news outlines the theft of aid given for the poor. Grateful to see that this does not deter those trying to help as they look for creative solutions to this problem.

Please remember those in need and those who attempt to bring them aid in your prayers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/17/world/africa/17somalia.html

Canadian Government Matching Donations

The government is matching donations for a limited time via recognized charities. Here is a current link explaining the plan:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/canadians-raise-29-million-for-east-african-famine-victims/article2113590/

This is wonderful!

Famine update

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14283502

Please continue to pray.

We will meet at the church on Aug 13 at 10 am to make cards to sell with the aim to help even a little in this terrible crisis.

A cup of water

That is what we are aiming at - a cup of water given to those in need. Given in the love that God gives to us. We are organizing to make cards. Christmas cards. Summer has finally arrived here in the Lower Mainland and we are thinking of Christmas. The cards made will be sold and all of the proceeds, including whatever funds were needed to make them, will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. They are already on the ground in Kenya. It is an ocean of need. And we will help with our own cup of water. Our first organizational meeting and card making gathering will be on August 13 at the church. More to follow. Please join us. Please pray.

Update on the famine

The famine is beginning to get media attention. Here is a link from just moments ago:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/africa-mideast/somalia-the-horror-of-famine-in-a-failed-state/article2104347/

It is not easy reading. Lord have mercy!

The Perfect Storm - it has arrived

A bit ago there was a post about the coming of a "perfect storm," that is, of all the conditions being right for great tragedy. Unfortunately, those in the know were right and it has arrived. On the Diakonia bulletin board will be found a clipping from the local newspapers outlining this horror. There is a refugee camp in Kenya which currently sprawls 50 kilometers and these same experts expect it to reach half a million in population very soon. The place has a name and is called "Dadaab." You will hear and read much more about it as the days progress. Those living there will not be so fortunate. They will have first hand knowledge.

In the midst of this tragedy there are heros. Doctors Without Borders are there. From the article: "Each death is a blow to the doctors and nurses who work around the clock and against the odds, but they know they must keep going. 'If you keep on thinking about the child who's died then you'll lose the others.'"

There are many good agencies who are being allowed again in the area (there were political blocks which have praise God been removed by those who set them up) who can use financial support. This is unfortunately a long term project as the article continues with: "Beyond the fences of the camp, the drought has ravaged many more lives - an estimated 10 million people need food assistance."

This is not oddly enough - not at least at this writing - front and centre in the news world. It is in the "B" section. You may have to search for information. We will try to keep it current here.

You may also have to search for options as to how you can help.The agencies that are again in the area most certainly will be grateful for your participation in their work. Most of us cannot go ourselves, but we can support those who do with funding and with our prayers. Never underestimate the need for prayer. And never underestimate the need for financial support, no matter how modest that is.

word is...

That the generosity of St. Herman's filled the trunks of those who distributed the warm clothing, blankets, socks, sleeping bags, and useful towels to those on the other end of plenty. Thank you, a thousand times, thank you! And please, keep the these items coming...the winter is only beginning.

Cold, very cold...

As noted in the previous post, we are collecting socks and warm clothing for those without these basics. This is expected to be the coldest winter in over 50 years. So not only socks are needed, but scarves, hats, gloves, blankets and towels. Why towels? The homeless are not able to use shower services open to them unless they have a towel. Like socks, they often get discarded as there is no way to clean or dry them once they have become wet and soiled. The bin will be emptied week by week of these items as they are distributed to those in need. Thank you for bringing these warm examples of love of God!

To warm the body...

As we have in the past, we are again collecting socks and other warm items for those who live without these basic comforts. Those that live on the street do not have the means to wash or even dry the socks so they need them and often. Before the weather even changed, and before the call for these items when out, they were already been brought by those who know how needed they will be. So thank you and please continue to deposit these items into the Diakonia bin set up for that purpose. You will notice that it is not long before the bin is emptied as these items find their way immediately to those in need.

And again, thank you for continuing as well to bring items of food - these too Sunday, by Sunday, are delivered to the food bank for distribution.

"When did we see you, Lord?"

The Perfect Storm...

For your prayers, there gathers in the east the making of a perfect storm. This is a huge beast, a famine of such magnitude that humanitarian groups have joined forces to try to fight it. The estimated numbers are that there are 20 million people at risk. This storm was created by years of drought, crop failures, climate change, political turmoil. The Canadian government recently (Sept 21/09) announced a contribution of $30 million to the World Food Programme. Here is a website with links to learn more about this human disaster in the making.

http://www.thehumanitariancoalition.ca/index.php/site/pastAppealDetail/east_africa_hunger/

Please pray and if you can, give.

Winter approaches....

This weekend is the civic holiday of Thanksgiving. And we with homes and food have much to be thankful for. And we thank God for this daily. Part of this thankfulness is giving to those who do not have such basics. As the first Arctic front descends upon the GVA this weekend, Diakonia encourages you to bring such items as you can for immediate distribution to those on the streets. Please bring socks, hats, gloves, blankets, and even treats that we can in our abundance enjoy at anytime for those who do not have the means to do so.

The Leprosy Mission Canada

Leprosy - also called Hansen's Disease - is an infectious disease caused by a germ. For those at risk, exposure to sneezing and coughing by a person with leprosy can cause the disease to spread. Leprosy attacks the nerves near the cooler parts of the body. When it isn't detected soon enough, those parts lose sensation. Sensory loss often begins in the toes and fingers, the eyes, ears or nose, and leads to blindness, clawed hands, ulcers and shortened limbs. But it can be cured. The Multi-Drug Therapy is a blend of three drugs: Dapsone, Rifampicin and Clofazamine. When leprosy is detected early enough, it can be cured within 6 months to 2 years. Of course, this takes money. And those exposed are very poor. The Leprosy Mission is devoted to ensuring that those who need these drugs, can get the treatment they need. Please read their website located at www.leprosy.ca and see what life changing work a few dollars can bring.