• JustLove

    Help Others – Feed the Hungry

      Check out the list of food pantries: volunteer, bring some food, say hello to a hungry neighbor in line. Lots to think about and do: “repairing the breach; delighting in the Sabbath; following Jesus; hanging out with sinners.” Plenty to do today, but these are too many for one day – and somewhat complex. We’re going to borrow some of these for another Lenten day. Tip: Remember those who do not have as much as we may have to eat. Make sure to donate food to a food pantry, or simply give food to someone you see on the street today.   Verse: Isaiah 58:8-11 Thus says the LORD:…

  • JustLove

    Hang with God on this Nameless Thursday

    No ashes chocolates, flowers or other give-aways today – not even a name for the Thursday after Ash Wednesday. So just quietly hang with God and rejoice in his invitation to live and love. Click here for today’s reading. Verse: Deuteronomy 30:16 If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous, and the LORD, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy.    

  • Commentary

    Drum Major Institute Prayer Service Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

    5th Avenue Presbyterian Church * Sunday January 14, 2108 * 4:00 PM Invocation – Msgr. Kevin Sullivan Almighty God, Creator & Savior; it is good that you gather us for these moments of hope and solidarity. They sustain us in a world too often devoid of these life-giving virtues. Thank you the blessed legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: a lofty heavenly dream of justice, wedded to gritty earthly action. We rejoice for the many acts of service and volunteering to be carried out this weekend. But, Lord, help us to not so raise up these deeds of caring that we domesticate Dr. King’s memory by failing to call…

  • Commentary,  Dominican Republic Visit,  JustLove

    Villa Altagracia – Apparel Factory & Workers – Day 4

      The day began with three generations of the Hodge family, 11 of us, and luggage, crowded into a mini-bus for a two and a half hour trip from La Romana to Villa Altagracia in San Cristobal, located outside of Santo Domingo. The driver had an interesting approach that included driving ten miles in the wrong direction, slowing down on open highways and speeding up in crowded city streets. Oh well. 

  • Commentary,  Dominican Republic Visit,  JustLove

    Our Visit to Hogar Niños de Cristo – Day 3

    Today, we spent the day with 36 boys and young men who now call Niños de Cristo and their dedicated staff their home.  We were joined by Donnie Hodge and his wife Ana.  Donny is the owner of Altagracia Apparel.  I’ll write more about this tomorrow after we visit his “fair wage and working conditions” factory in Villa Altagracia and talk with some of the families whose lives have been changed because of these jobs.    Sadly, some children cannot be raised and nurtured safely with their own families for many different reasons.  Niños de Cristo provides the “family” for about 40 of these youth in the Dominican Republic.  This…