Mr. Rogers, the children’s TV show host, said that when he was small and something in the news frightened him, his mom would tell him to look for the helpers, that there are always people helping. It made him feel better to know that there are always people helping their neighbors in times of trouble.
And among those helpers we always find people of faith. (Mr. Rogers himself was actually an ordained minister in the Presbyterian church!)
Our friends at Lutheran Disaster Response tell us that our church helps in times of trouble as part of a national coalition of helpers called VOAD, Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. The more than 100 faith communities and voluntary organizations of VOAD work together with local, state, and national government agencies to serve in coordinated and collaborative ways to prepare for and respond to disasters. What a wonderful way to love and serve our neighbors in times of trouble.
This message is excerpted from “Listening to Mr. Rogers’ mom’s advice” by Audrey Novak Riley from the September 28, 2017, blog of the Women of the ELCA. Today is the 14th Sunday after Pentecost. Today is Grandparents’ Day. Today is the anniversary of the 9/11/01 airline hijackings and suicide attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C., and rural Pennsylvania.
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