By. Reverend Donn Brammer

I am going to share with you 4 words with short definitions, and 1 opportunity.

Pity. Pity is when we recognize another person is suffering.

Sympathy. Sympathy is when we care about another person’s suffering.

Empathy. Empathy is when we feel another person’s suffering.

Compassion. Compassion is when we want to relieve another person’s suffering.

In our Christian walk we go from seeing, to caring, to feeling, to doing, which leads me to the opportunity I was talking about. The Week of Compassion. We collect our Week of Compassion Offering February 17-24. Unless a special appeal is made, we only collect this offering once a year, so this is the opportunity I was talking about. This offering helps with disaster relief and supports long term development projects/programs.

Sometimes we see or hear about a disaster, a storm, an earthquake, a flood, a volcano, etc. and we want to do something to help those who have been affected. Our Week of Compassion offering does just that. All around the state, the country and the world, all year long, our offering helps to relieve other people’s suffering.

The fact of the matter is we are blessed with the ability to do something about suffering. Think about it, we can actually ‘do’ something. We can help. And chances are you probably will.

I’m sure you’re aware enough to catch the fact that there are steps in those definitions, there is an increase in level of maturity with each step. It doesn’t take a great awareness to recognize someone is suffering; it doesn’t take a saint to care that people are suffering; but it does take a person who is willing to ‘step up’ to the highest level and ‘do’ something about it. Please give generously, give graciously, give knowing your gift matters because people matter and God gives us a chance to actually ‘do’ something about it.

Thank you and God Bless .