Family Promise
One of the standard “lines” that you’ll hear over and over again is that Love is our Mission. The focus of practicing our faith can’t just be ensuring that we get ourselves into heaven.  All of us are called to return the love of God that we have experienced in our lives by building up God’s Kingdom here and now.  Two weeks from now (September 29 ^th to October 6th) there is a wonderful opportunity for us to make a return to the Lord for his many blessings as we join with our fellow Christians (All Saints Episcopal and Trinity Chapel UMC) in hosting once again a family or two who have hit upon hard times and are looking to get back on their feet through the Family Promise Program. 
 
Family Promise teams with local Churches to help homeless and low-income families achieve sustainable independence through a community-based response.  Working together, they provide temporary housing and meals for homeless families.  Family Promise teaches financial literacy. They help the homeless find jobs and affordable housing.
 
Our list of people who are willing to help (3 weeks a year) with Family Promise has gotten very limited due to age, illness and relocation.  Volunteering can a blessing in that it will help your family put material things into perspective and instill a deeper gratitude for what you do have.  This is our faith in action at its very best.  There is a critical need for people to help as dinner hosts, evening hosts, and overnight hosts.  Please call Joanne Naylor at 912-433-6117 for more information.
 
I want to express our Faith Community’s deep gratitude to Bernie Goode who for many years lead our parish efforts in this good work of practical charity.  Bernie has always led by example.  Many a night it was Bernie who did the overnight hosting.  He needs to take care of his health and so is stepping down from leadership.  We are grateful for his great witness to faith in action.
 
Mission Co-op Sunday
Next weekend is the annual Mission Co-op appeal throughout the Diocese.  It is a day when we try to see beyond the barriers of language and culture to sense how our Catholic Church is truly universal.  We thank Sr. Henrietta Okoro for giving us a deeper appreciation for the Church in Africa.  She is a member of the Handmaids of the Holy Child of Jesus (H.H.C.J.).
I would be grateful to anyone who could help me show some good ole Tybee hospitality (meals and airport transfers) to Sr. Henrietta while she is with us next Saturday through Monday.
 
Handmaids of Holy Child of Jesus, the first indigenous congregation of women religious in English-speaking Africa, was founded in Nigeria in 1931 by Mother Mary Charles Walker, an English nun, member of the Irish order of the Sisters of Charity, a woman of profound charity who opened several clinics and hospitals in southern Nigeria.
 
EMAIL SPAM and SCAMs
There is an email going around offering processed pork, gelatin and salt in a can.  If you get this email, do not open it.  It’s spam.  Oh, I got a million of them!  But seriously folks…..
 
Be smart about EMAIL SCAMs.  I hate it but it is part of the fallen world in which we live that hackers will use my good name to try to rob people.  So, a few weeks ago I was alerted to an email scam which was supposedly from me asking for help in the form of a gift card. This is a scam!  I will never send an email asking for favors or gift cards.  If an email is from an address other than [email protected], it most likely is not from me.  And you should never respond without checking with me first.  Put my cell number – 706-267-1073 – in your contact list, so you can text me if there is ever any question.  I do not always have my phone on me, but I usually check it every few hours.  It is the best way to be in touch with me if there is an emergency.
 
No doubt unscrupulous evil people will use the misery of those suffering in the Bahamas to scam good hearted people.  Be careful in responding to pleas that come from sources that you can’t verify.  My favorite charity for International Aid is Catholic Relief Services – CRS.org
 
 Fr. Jerry Ragan