Community is what we make of it. In what has been a bizarre several years where we have become more isolated from each other physically and, in surprising ways, ideologically, we need to choose acceptance over agreement. What Sherry and I know is true of all of you, is that you are compassionate people. We believe that if we lean into this version of ourselves, we will have a better community. There will be less suffering, even as there might be more struggling. Greg Boyle, the Jesuit priest who founded Home Boy Industries in Los Angeles, talks about it this way: In the circle of compassion, we go to the margins not to serve people there, but to erase the line so that no one is standing outside the circle. We want this to be the hallmark of where we live, where we call home. 

This month we are inviting people we know to make food donations to the Deacons Cottage at Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church. The deacons package and distribute 250+ holiday food boxes beyond their normal community support. They serve people without discrimination who have a financial hardship.