December Pastor's Note

I often write something a little more reflective for the Pastor’s Note. While I think we could all use that, especially after the last month, sometimes extrospection is just what we need. 

• This month, volunteers at the Clothes Closet will distribute gift bags to the children who accompany their parents, thanks to your contributions. 

• International students staying in the dorms at Bridgewater were able to “shop” from a pop-up pantry before the Thanksgiving break, stocking up on food they could easily prepare with limited equipment.

• Children who have been orphaned or who have no adults able to care for them will receive brand new shoes, clothes, blankets, and jackets, thanks to support from the Loaves and Fishes fund and the faithful work of Haresh and Hamitha Nag.

For the last number of years, we have also supported Amistad, a ministry in Bolivia that provides housing and other support for children and families. This past year, thanks to contributions like ours, they were able to:

• Unite 23 groups of biological siblings in Villa Amistad, Youth Houses, and Independent Life. These sibling groups would have otherwise been separated from each other in different orphanages if they hadn’t come to Amistad.

• Award full university and technical school scholarships to nine young adults. Each of these young adults is employed and came to Amistad at least 18 years ago! 

• Fortify 65 families to prevent child abandonment to orphanages. This is achieved through a comprehensive model including a parenting school, family development plans, tutoring, nutritious meals, counseling, home and school visits, microloans, and housing assistance. While these families have historically been single mothers with at least two children, they are now receiving more cases of two-parent homes with fathers who are willing to be actively involved in the caregiving and schooling of their children. 

In 2025, Amistad will open an Amistad for Families program in the Municipality of Quillacollo, where they plan to serve at least 35 families in their first year. 

I’ll wrap this up with an extended quote from writer Howard Zinn: 

“To be hopeful in bad times …is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act…

And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”

Grace and Peace,

Stephanie