I’m standing in my kitchen making my mother-in-law’s famous dressing balls, watching The Bishop’s Wife, thinking of how fortunate I am. The kitchen is warm from the oven and smells of all things delicious. We have a Friendsgiving meal coming up, and I feel so fortunate to share it with people I know and love. This time of year hospitality and friendship go hand in hand. I want to invite you today to share in that sentiment with me and explore ways we can extend a hand of hospitality to others, and offer a heart of friendship to those in need.
Donate to Food Pantry
This time of year, many churches and outreach organizations experience low stock for things used to help those in need. One of our local churches serves over 700 families each month. When asked what their biggest need was, they reported it to be canned goods: Corn, green beans, canned potatoes, peas & carrots, and other vegetables. They can also use canned meats such as canned chicken or tuna, canned hams, or canned salmon.
If you have a local food pantry, I encourage you to reach out and see what their particular needs are. Most donations are tax deductible to you, and can mean the difference between having a meal or going hungry for someone less fortunate.
Donate Time and Attention
So many people are alone and this can be heartbreaking during the holidays. Nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and hospitals cater to those who need a helping hand. Reaching out to these establishments during the holidays, asking if you or a group can volunteer to come and read, do simple crafts, play simple games, or play music / sing can go a long way to making those who are alone feel loved and cared for.
Donating your time and giving someone a little attention doesn’t cost anything. It only takes your time and attention, but it can mean the world to someone who feels forgotten or left out.
Extend a Helping Hand
Last year, we discovered after the fact that our neighbor had spent Christmas Day alone. We were totally unaware of this situation. Had we known, we could have invited her to share in our Christmas dinner, put together an extra package to deliver, or walked over to give a hug and a cheerful Merry Christmas. This year, we will be more attune to our close neighbors and have a waiting invitation for them.
If you have friends, neighbors, or acquaintances that you know are struggling with something this year, try to find the time to check in with them, offer to lend a helping hand. Maybe they need a baby sitter so they can finish gift wrapping or shopping, maybe they need someone to mow or clean up their lawn before winter, maybe they just need you to sit with them and be a friend. Enjoy a cup of tea, share a cookie, or lend a listening ear.
The Lessons Behind the Bishop’s Wife
There are so many lessons engrained into the plot of The Bishop’s Wife. One is charity for all mankind. It doesn’t matter what our churches and cathedrals look like if we are forsaking the call to love others.
Another lesson is investing time in others. The character, Dudley, invests his angelic time into Julia, Debbie, The Professor, the blind man, the traffic guard, Sylvester, the mother with the baby carriage, the Priest at St. Timothy’s, Mrs. Hamilton, and the Bishop. There isn’t a single person in the story line that Dudley doesn’t invest his time into. Little acts like wearing an offered scarf, teaching a child to throw a snowball, listening to an old man, and being a light in the darkness of life all change the course of so many lives.
A third lesson is extending a helping hand. Dudley helps the priest at St Timothy with the boys choir, he helps the professor write his history, he helps Julia and Debbie not feel alone, he helps Mrs Hamilton realize the error of her ways, and he helps Bishop Braugham see the true meaning of Christmas again.
Finally, the sermon Dudley re-writes for The Bishop leaves the most valuable lesson to all of us regarding hospitality and friendship:
Tonight I want to tell you the story of an empty stocking.
The Bishop’s Wife, 1947
Once upon a midnight clear, there was a child’s cry, a blazing star hung over a stable, and wise men came with birthday gifts. We haven’t forgotten that night down the centuries. We celebrate it with stars on Christmas trees, with the sound of bells, and with gifts.
But especially with gifts. You give me a book, I give you a tie. Aunt Martha has always wanted an orange squeezer. Uncle Henry can do with a new pipe. We forget no one, adult or child. All the stockings are filled, all that is, except one. And we have even forgotten to hang it up. The stocking for the child born in a manger. It’s his birthday we’re celebrating. Don’t let us ever forget that.
Let us ask ourselves what He would wish for most. And then, let each put in his share, loving kindness, warm hearts, and a stretched out hand of tolerance. All the shinning gifts that make peace on earth.
Let us know in the comments below how you extend hospitality and friendship throughout the year, and especially during the holidays! We’d love to hear from you!
Remember, no matter where the road leads you, extend friendship, be a kind friend, do unto others, and don’t forget to forward your mail.
John & Billie
