Remember the recent post about avalanche? This quote came up and I had to share it with you. There is a great sense of helplessness in the world right now; especially in the United Sates. Mother Teresa had wisdom to share with us regarding this sense of helplessness.

We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.

SAINT MOTHER TERESA

Bob volunteers at the local food pantry once a week. We were going together on a separate day, but it got to be too much standing on the concrete with shoppers for a couple hours. We might go back though as the Inter Parish Ministry foodbank is swamped by people in need.

There is an evening “drive through” that was averaging 20 neighbors a week. Last week they had over 100 at that one event. Much of the food is bagged in advance. The staff was bagging food at 8 AM on Tuesday to try to provide for the drive through neighbors for Tuesday. Usually the bags are filled by volunteers.

One week I was amazed there was no shampoo to give out. V05 shampoo is about $1.25 a bottle at Walmart. Recently I found some environmentally safe shampoo at a resale shop in downtown Batavia. I bought what they had to try to make my “drop in the ocean” contribution.

What might you provide to your neighbors in need? I do not mean, Pat, next door. The IPM ministry is not calling those who come in need clients. We are referring to them as neighbors. And they are our neighbors.

Toilet paper, paper towels, diapers, shampoo, soap, canned foods, peanut butter, bread, so many needs. They tell us that a cash donation to the ministry is the best. The ministry can buy things from The Freestore Foodbank at better prices than we can obtain.

I find it disgraceful that we are supposed to live in the richest country in the world and we have people who are hungry, unhoused, un-cared for. Please do your part to help out in any way that you can where you live.

Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can. John Wesley’s Rule of Life