Next Sunday, November 8, we will pause for a special day we observe each year called Orphan Sunday. On this day, we seek to inform, inspire, and challenge our church to consider the incredible need for foster care and adoption. Throughout Scripture, we see that our Heavenly Father has a heart for the most vulnerable, especially the fatherless.
Exodus 22:22–23 — "You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry…"
Deuteronomy 10:18 — "He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing."
Psalm 10:17–18 — "O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more."
Psalm 68:5 — "Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation."
These are just a few of the many passages that reveal God's heart for children who are without the care and protection of their parents. As believers, we are called to reflect that same heart through the way we love and care for others.
I realize that not everyone is called to foster or adopt. The reality is that fostering and adoption are hard. They require sacrifices of time, money, relationships, and opportunities. But while not everyone can foster or adopt, everyone can do something.
This Sunday, November 8, we will share several practical ways you can get involved in caring for these children and supporting the families who have opened their homes to them.
Two of the simplest ways to get involved are through our Giving Tree and supporting foster and adoptive families within our church.
Beginning November 8, our Giving Tree will be available with gift tags representing children in the foster care system. Our desire is to come alongside foster parents and help lift the financial burden of purchasing Christmas gifts, while showing both the children and their caregivers the love of Christ in a real and tangible way.
We also have several families within our church who have stepped up and answered the call to foster or adopt. Find one of these families and simply ask, "How can I help?" Sometimes the smallest acts of kindness and support can make an incredible difference.
But perhaps you've been considering taking that next step yourself—opening your heart and home to children who desperately need a safe and loving place to belong. We would love to talk with you about what that might look like and help connect you with the right people to begin that journey.
My prayer is that we would continue to be a church that doesn't simply talk about God's love for the vulnerable but actively demonstrates it.
May we continue to be the hands and feet of Jesus!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor JD
James 1:27 — "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." (ESV)