Who could have imagined the disruption and loss our communities and world would experience in 2020: COVID-19, wildfires, hurricanes, flooding, political and racial strife, unemployment, and more. That no one is immune places us in automatic solidarity with one another. As our agency strives to assist those in need, we, too, feel the impact and we are doing our best to find new ways to address greater needs with fewer resources. For example: 

 

• While we may be called upon to address the needs of one or two small disasters in a typical year, with COVID-19, we are still responding to one long continuous disaster.
• Last year, Catholic Charities distributed $10,642 to individuals affected by disaster; this year we've given almost $75,000 to those affected by the pandemic . . . so far. 
• For 18 years, we have supplemented funds with our Annual Charity Wine Tasting Event, but this year the event was canceled for health and safety reasons.
• Last year we greeted people in the office with encouragement and a warm smile; this year, we respond by phone, Zoom, Telehealth, masks, and doorstep deliveries even as our own staff members juggle illness, quarantine, and virtual home school for their kids.

We continue to assess and respond to the needs of individuals for whom life is hard right now. Health crises. Unemployment and underemployment. Broken hearts, broken lives. This is especially tough with Christmas coming on. Last week, a single mother with 4 children wrote: "I became unemployed due to COVID back in March and remain on unemployment. I [am] wondering if you had any programs available for help with Christmas for my children?"

    

It’s into this kind of darkness and hopelessness that God speaks: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who lived in a land of gloom a light has shone . . . . For a child is born to us, a son is given to us!" (Isaiah 9: 1-6)

    

As followers of Christ, we are called to be messengers of this Hope that Jesus came to bring. When the darkness threatens to overtake us, we shine with whatever we have and remember that the darkness is not forever. When we light a candle, string our houses with lights, or plug in the Christmas tree, we declare to the darkness: “A light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5). This year, please give the gift of hope and shine your light in the darkness with a generous and compassionate gift to the Catholic Charities Annual Appeal. A prayerful gift of any amount can be exactly what someone needs to get through the month or to provide a little bit of Christmas for their children. The thought that someone cares can bring just enough hope to carry someone through to a new day.

 

 

From all of us at Catholic Charities, we pray that God bless you and your family with an extra measure of comfort, joy, and hope throughout this advent season. 

 

Sincerely,

 

Debbie Snapp

Executive Director

 

 

blog comments powered by Disqus