You bring a gift of hope.

Your gift brings not just hope, but also heart. It is not just making a difference in folks who live on the streets or in abandoned trailers, homes, and buildings. The elderly and disabled live in drafty apartments and homes. And like the homeless, many have no one. They are alone. And that is where you bring hope.

He sets at home, alone, all alone. He thinks his life has been forgotten. And in some ways, it has been forgotten. But not by Christ. That is why delivering food is far more than just dropping off the food and hurrying off to the next delivery.

The best part, the most rewarding part is not dropping off some food. The most rewarding part is sitting in his living room and listening to his story. And knowing him by the name his mother gave him but it has been a very long time since hearing it, being called by it.

I repeatedly say that what we do is very simple. We feed folks. But many times we feed not just the body but also the heart, and the soul. Listen and you will hear. Listen and be the son who seems to have forgotten his father. Listen and hear what your new friend wants to tell his father. Listen. He is special. And you also are specially chosen by him to visit Christ.

The Monastery of the Holy Martyrs and Orthodox Workers needs your help today.

It is not just the food that we take that helps. Many times elderly and disabled in their apartment are waiting to talk to us. Our listening is what they look forward to. And to be honest, many times that is the best part of the day. More than once I have been met at the front door by a grandmother dressed in her Sunday best. She points and tells me where to put the food. And then says, "I made some special tea for us. Set in the special chair." The special chair is where her husband set before he passed, where he looked at her, where smiled at her, and where he listened to her. I like her tea and love the stories she tells. I don't know who gets the most, me or her.

It is not just food that we take to folks that help, that makes a difference, that brings hope. Many times elderly and disabled in their apartment are waiting to talk to us. Our listening is what they look forward to. And to be honest, many times that is the best part of my day. It brings hope not just to them, but also to me.

More than once I have been met at the front door by a grandmother dressed in her Sunday best. She points and tells me where to put the food. And then says, "I made some special tea for us. Set in the special chair." The special chair is where her husband sat before he passed, where he looked at her, where smiled at her, and where he listened to her. I like her tea and love the stories she tells. I don't know who gets the most, me or her.

The Monastery of the Holy Martyrs and Orthodox Workers serves the homeless and the near homeless, the disenfranchised and marginalized, the poorest of the poor, the unseen, the unheard, and the unwanted. We serve all who Christ brings to our doors or takes us to on the streets. Your help continues to make this possible.

Orthodox Worker Outreach Teams need more folks who want to listen. Yes, you will be bringing food to folks. But you will be much more than a delivery boy.

Traditional Orthodox Christianity. Serving God by Serving the Poor and the Poorest of the Poor in America's Inner Cities and Missions. Bringing the truth of Orthodox Christianity to the disenfranchised and marginalized, the poorest of the poor and forgotten...the Message of the Stable. “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John9:4-6.

Monastery of the Holy Martyrs - Syriac Orthodox

Orthodox Workers

Gift of Hope

By Orthodox Worker / Monastery of the Holy Martyrs

Gift of Hope

From a Compassionate Heart -- Your Heart