It’s amazing that the most affluent country in the history of the world is still trying to find the basic resolve and ingenuity to care for and feed all of her people. Watch “The Nightly News” on ABC at 5:30 pm as they focus on hunger and other critical issues in America and see how children suffer with not enough to eat and cannot get dental care in many places if they are on Medicaid. Without good dental care, medical problems can follow and then Medicaid becomes more taxed!
Of all the New Testament expressions about divine judgment, none is clearer than Jesus’ word about our need to care for others. Here is a quote from Pastor Peter Marty in “The Lutheran” magazine: The destiny of the righteous and unrighteous will be determined on the basis of how we attend to the voices at the bottom of the pile. How will the lives of those whose names do not appear on anyone’s cell phone contact list, much less the church’s prayer chain, figure into our love?
Notice that there is no heavenly entrance exam requiring individuals to profess their faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior…When it comes to judgment, there is no reference to some of the horrible crimes we consider to be deal breakers…The only circumstance that appears to damn us for certain is the belief that other peoples’ problems are not our concern.” Read Matthew 25:31-46: When did we see you hungry? When did we see you naked and clothe you? When were you a stranger? Jesus replies: “Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”
Rev. Marty: “We have this peculiar tendency to want to scratch the godly truth right out of Matthew 25: “I was hungry and you said I should get a job. I was thirsty and you said the poor would always be with you. I was naked and you told me you dropped some clothes in the Goodwill box. I was a stranger and you set up a task force to study me.”
It would be far more God-pleasing and make us brother and sister to Jesus if we did all in our power to see that we and this country cared completely and thoroughly for our people. Write your congressional representative that you want all programs like WIC and the school lunch program to be fully funded. You cannot abide the thought of food stamps being cut or Social Security benefits cut. Make sure your favorite presidential candidate remembers the poor and the children. It seems the government can always find money for wasteful projects (like employee parties?) and bridges to nowhere. Bring food for the Backpack Buddy program so that Long Beach elementary students have enough to eat over the weekend if their parents neglect them or have to work all weekend but still cannot afford groceries. Help pack up the food yourself. Ask your dentist about help for children on Medicaid. Find out if there’s a program you can support to pay their way. Help with the Clothes Closet in Long Beach or in your community. Support your local food pantry and stop worrying whether the people “deserve” it or not.
Mother Teresa told us to count the digits on our hand. “The gospel is written on all five----”You-did-it-unto-me. That’s the hand you’ll want to be using as Jesus appears on the news, at our church, in your neighborhood, at your school.

Congratulations to Laura Wilson, recently named STAR Student (Student-Teacher Achievement Recognition) for the 2011-2012 school year by the Mississippi Economic Council’s M. B. Swayze Educational Foundation! She was recognized in Jackson at an annual Education Celebration event. This award is based on academic excellence among all of Mississippi’s high school seniors.

We are saddened by the long illness and death of Adynia Wells. She died on April 4th. Her family requested that there be no funeral.

We are also saddened to hear of the death of our former member, Wynell McGalliard. She had moved to Hamilton, TX some 8 years ago. She died suddenly at 69 of a heart attack on April 18th and her family requests our prayers.

Hospitalized in April: Elaine Schmidtling