St. John’s Parish will again show its solidarity with others who are in need by collecting funds for a Lenten gift. This year’s gift will be: “Giving Hope to East Africa” – Supporting East African Refugees Fleeing Drought and Famine. Throughout Lent, the plight of these refugees will be shared with you in our weekly parish bulletins and on the parish web site.
For many years, in preparing for Lent, St. John’s parish has made the decision to reach-out as a community to one particular suffering, amid so many in this world. We establish this connection during Lent, a season of prayer and giving, when our parish has a rich history of sacrificial giving. Recent examples include: text books and teacher stipends for an impoverished school in Haiti, a computer lab for an inner-city school in Lowell, medical supplies for a hospital during the earthquake rescue in Haiti, support for a solar energy project in the Congo for the missions of the Sisters of Notre Dame. Our Lenten gift strengthens each of us individually and the parish as a community of faith, as we give witness to Christ’s call to “Love one another. As I have loved you” (John 13:34).
This year, in solidarity with people in East Africa, whom we do not know but whose suffering calls us to respond, we will collect funds to support the refugees fight to stay alive, as they attempt to escape drought and famine. Lent’s clarion call to love extravagantly is what this Lenten ‘gift’ is all about. How blessed we are, from far-away Massachusetts, to be able to enter these refugee camps, to be a part of what eases the pain.
Next Week: One Family’s Plight
