August 19, 2021
My Dear Doubters of Great Faith,
This has been a week that finds the news wires simply chocked-full of humanitarian crises, with the devastating earthquake in the country of Haiti, and the collapse and fall of the Afghanistan government. The scenes from both of these unfolding situations have been jolting and heart-wrenching, drawing us back from our own day-to-day life struggles to engage with lives that are lived, even in their normality, so completely differently from the ones we experience in Dallas, Texas.
I’m not sure what classifies something to rise to the level of the label “humanitarian crisis” – is it number of lives lost, severity, horror? I do know that by the very nature of labeling something “humanitarian,” that whatever has happened is being connected to me, to us, in ways that we may not be able to see, to feel, to touch, or to taste, and yet we still most definitely are affected.
Case in point – the entirety of the human race, every one of us, is currently engaged in a “humanitarian crisis” with a virus. What happens to any single one affects every single one of us. It should now be abundantly clear that there are no successful isolationist viewpoints. Virus simply won’t be isolated. We rise or fall in this battle together!
It is absolutely no different with an earthquake, or a tsunami, or the welfare of women and children, people who are now under totalitarian, abusive rule. However distant these people may be, their humanity is tied more closely to ours than you may even realize or imagine. How we respond to the world around us speaks directly to the condition of our own humanitarian crisis, the crisis of our individual souls.
If you’re like me, you may be wondering, “Which way do I turn, when there is so much suffering, pain, and sorrow? There is plenty of need right here in Dallas, Texas.” That is true. The answer to the question, “Which way do I turn,” is the answer that God always calls us to. It’s the great call of our Christian faith, and of all the Abrahamic traditions. Turn away from self, and turn to the divine that we know resides in each of our fellow human beings. And then DO SOMETHING!
We Doubters are a people of resource, in time and treasure. First, we can pray! And then, invest the resource you have been given in easing the suffering of those who are far off, and those who are near. For those who are far off, the quickest surest way you can assist in a crisis is through The Episcopal Church’s Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD). You may donate through a check in the offering plate designated “ERD,” or on-line. No amount is insignificant.
Gateway of Grace (gatewayofgrace.org), founded by the Rev. Samira Izadi Page, Episcopal priest of the Diocese of Dallas, specifically works to welcome refugees from over sixteen different countries and six religious backgrounds. As the situation unfolds in Afghanistan, they are strategizing how they will stand in the gap to provide holistic care to the refugees who will no doubt show up in Dallas from Afghanistan. Gateway of Grace is holding a Zoom prayer service Friday, August 20, at 6:30 pm. (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83018531908) There are links to donate to this worthy ministry from their webpage.
This Sunday, we will welcome Carrie Headington, Canon Evangelist for the Diocese, and also founder of the Dallas Champions Academy, as our guest preacher. In her role, she is uniquely situated to help direct our response to humanitarian crises that are taking place both at home and abroad. I hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to be with us in worship, either on Zoom or in person. You won’t want to miss this!
With all that is going on, it can seem overwhelming, to the point of paralysis. But we cannot allow our souls to ignore the humanity all around us. Because the humanity we will be ignoring will be our very own. God is calling us to turn. And we can do it. Our souls depend on it!
Yours in the faith,
Fr. Christopher+
