When visiting our partners and seeing their work, I am constantly reminded of the tremendous impact of your gifts to Week of Compassion, and the ways you give new life in many corners of the world. On a recent visit with partners in Afghanistan, we met a young widow in Bamyan. Her husband was killed in a bombing, leaving her to care for their three daughters alone, challenged by existing poverty and a disability that makes it almost impossible to work. As a woman in her 20s, and with only daughters and no sons, she is unable to take care of herself and her family, as women are forbidden to be outside the house without male accompaniment. Usually resorting to begging for meager subsistence, this widow and her children have connected to Week of Compassion’s local partner, ensuring they have enough to live on.
In her gratitude and generosity, she welcomed us into her tiny mud hut home and invited us to hear her story - a story that now includes the simple gifts of food and clean water, shelter and healing, and education for her three growing girls. The mission of Week of Compassion continues to be vital in providing relief and hope to communities all over the world. The work of bringing wholeness in a fragmented world requires many of us, across the whole church, and many partners. We each play an important role, and together, we not only provide relief to others, but also lift each other up in this holy work.
This truth is made plain in the story of the generous widow, found in Luke 21. Week of Compassion follows her lead, when as Disciples we bring an all-that-we-are offering, receiving unexpected gifts from unlikely places, and take seriously the gathering and sharing of resources for the sake of those in need. In the gifts we bring, others find what they need. In the act of giving, the impact carries beyond the giver. Blessed by God’s mercy and multiplied by God’s grace, these are truly GIFTS TO LIVE ON.
This year, we mark the 80th anniversary of the very first Week of Compassion offering. Recent months have seen increasingly severe and frequent natural disasters in the United States, even as the world witnesses ongoing war in Ukraine and the Middle East, earthquakes in Morocco, drought in the Horn of Africa, and flooding in Libya, impacting those regions for years to come. Communities are gaining traction in long-term recovery after devastating tornadoes in Kentucky, repeated hurricanes in Florida, and catastrophic wildfires in Hawaii. Such natural, political, and climate crises continue to increase the numbers of displaced persons worldwide. Over the past 80 years through Week of Compassion, Disciples have responded to needs around the world, constantly evolving to meet new challenges. As Rev. Dr. Dawn Darwin Weaks, who wrote this year’s sermon starter and scripture commentary, has said, “We honor the courage of those who came before by being courageous now!"
When we step forward in faithfulness, as the generous widow did, our gifts combine and the abundance of God’s compassion overflows, even in the face of challenge, fatigue, and uncertainty. It is about so much more than dollars and cents. Week of Compassion is where Disciples respond to the challenges and the blessings we see and experience in the world. Week of Compassion is a full-body-of-Christ response. Our General Minister and President, Rev. Terri Hord Owens has often said, “When Week of Compassion is there, the whole church is there”.
Over the last 80 years, in communities recovering from disasters; among those creating new lives after fleeing their homes; and and when creating hopeful futures in the face of extraordinary challenges, you have been there, because you are Week of Compassion. You continue to share GIFTS TO LIVE ON, with compassionate generosity. Thank you for your constant support and partnership, throughout the year, throughout the world.
In gratitude,
In her gratitude and generosity, she welcomed us into her tiny mud hut home and invited us to hear her story - a story that now includes the simple gifts of food and clean water, shelter and healing, and education for her three growing girls. The mission of Week of Compassion continues to be vital in providing relief and hope to communities all over the world. The work of bringing wholeness in a fragmented world requires many of us, across the whole church, and many partners. We each play an important role, and together, we not only provide relief to others, but also lift each other up in this holy work.
This truth is made plain in the story of the generous widow, found in Luke 21. Week of Compassion follows her lead, when as Disciples we bring an all-that-we-are offering, receiving unexpected gifts from unlikely places, and take seriously the gathering and sharing of resources for the sake of those in need. In the gifts we bring, others find what they need. In the act of giving, the impact carries beyond the giver. Blessed by God’s mercy and multiplied by God’s grace, these are truly GIFTS TO LIVE ON.
This year, we mark the 80th anniversary of the very first Week of Compassion offering. Recent months have seen increasingly severe and frequent natural disasters in the United States, even as the world witnesses ongoing war in Ukraine and the Middle East, earthquakes in Morocco, drought in the Horn of Africa, and flooding in Libya, impacting those regions for years to come. Communities are gaining traction in long-term recovery after devastating tornadoes in Kentucky, repeated hurricanes in Florida, and catastrophic wildfires in Hawaii. Such natural, political, and climate crises continue to increase the numbers of displaced persons worldwide. Over the past 80 years through Week of Compassion, Disciples have responded to needs around the world, constantly evolving to meet new challenges. As Rev. Dr. Dawn Darwin Weaks, who wrote this year’s sermon starter and scripture commentary, has said, “We honor the courage of those who came before by being courageous now!"
When we step forward in faithfulness, as the generous widow did, our gifts combine and the abundance of God’s compassion overflows, even in the face of challenge, fatigue, and uncertainty. It is about so much more than dollars and cents. Week of Compassion is where Disciples respond to the challenges and the blessings we see and experience in the world. Week of Compassion is a full-body-of-Christ response. Our General Minister and President, Rev. Terri Hord Owens has often said, “When Week of Compassion is there, the whole church is there”.
Over the last 80 years, in communities recovering from disasters; among those creating new lives after fleeing their homes; and and when creating hopeful futures in the face of extraordinary challenges, you have been there, because you are Week of Compassion. You continue to share GIFTS TO LIVE ON, with compassionate generosity. Thank you for your constant support and partnership, throughout the year, throughout the world.
In gratitude,
Rev. Vy T. Nguyen
Executive Director, Week of Compassion
Executive Director, Week of Compassion
