Give hope to those most in need

This year it’s the turn of my wife and I to organise Christmas for the extended family. I enjoy it, but wow, it’s busy! There’s so much to decide, so much to do and organise. Where are we meeting? When? What are we eating: ham, chicken, turkey, salads? Food allergies? Is it child-friendly? Are we bringing presents? When do we open them?  

Christmas is stressful enough when you’ve got enough. Yet for a growing number of people, there’s barely enough to get through the week already.

Over and over again, when speaking to Salvation Army Community Ministries staff, I’ve heard the same story. A story of rising housing and living costs that have left more and more people struggling to pay their bills at the end of the week. A story of increasing numbers of homeless people coming in,  of people having to choose between going to the doctor and eating.

From July to September, The Salvation Army in New Zealand saw more than 10,000 people needing food parcels alone—eight per cent more than the same time last year. Over the Christmas period, more than 17,000 families in crisis are expected to seek help from the Army. For those families, their worries and stress don’t stop on Christmas Day.

I wonder what Christmas looks like for them.

One of the conversations that stuck most in my mind this year was with a corps officer who was telling me about the sudden rise in elderly people from their neighbourhood coming in for help. She talked vividly about the indignity for people who had lived self-sufficient lives, but now needed support. She told me about a lady in her late 70s crying because of the shame and powerlessness she felt because—for the first time in her life—she couldn’t keep up with her rent and power bills, and still put food on the table. The memory of that conversation still makes me angry and upset. And so I wonder what Christmas looks like for that lady this year.

As Major Pam Waugh, head of Salvation Army Community Ministries, says, ‘How can we sit down to a nice Christmas Day meal, surrounded by loved ones, knowing there are thousands of families without anything to eat, let alone gifts under the tree? It’s not right and it’s time for us to front up and act as a community.’

At Christmas we want to remember the ultimate gift from God—it’s a time of hope, of refreshment and new beginnings. It’s also a time when we give gifts. The best gifts are meaningful and have a lasting impact on those who receive them. And so, this Christmas, The Salvation Army is asking people inside the church and out to give such a gift through our Christmas Appeal. As we’re phrasing it this year, ‘This Christmas you can give hope to those who need it most.’

You can donate to The Salvation Army’s Christmas appeal online at www.salvationarmy.org.nz or by phoning 0800 53 00 00.

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by Robin Raymond (c) 'War Cry' magazine, 2 December, pp3
You can read 'War Cry' at your nearest Salvation Army church or centre, or subscribe through Salvationist Resources.