Ginus (67): "That looking out for each other has always been the foundation of the church"
."Every diaconate in this country has the adage 'help the one who has no helper' in its banner. That is what the diaconate has been doing from time immemorial; the deacons are the social face of the Protestant Church. The diaconate helps people in need. And how do people come into need? A divorce, layoff, illness or sudden homelessness is usually the cause. Our help is always brief and certainly no substitute for what the government must do. Government agencies are bound by various deadlines and regulations before they can provide assistance. Until such time as the government may and can provide the necessary assistance, we can be the necessary safety net. This is help in the form of basic necessities. That help, that looking out for one another, has always been the foundation of the church. The command in the Bible is very clear: clothe the naked, feed the hungry, give attention to the sick and prisoners, take in the stranger and bury the dead.
Bound to the old familiar
.In our three churches: the Paas- en Kruiskerk in Amstelveen and the Pelgrimskerk in Buitenveldert, we collect from churchgoers in order to help our fellow man with the proceeds. We still collect with the old-fashioned collection bag. Due to corona, we have been digitally celebrating our church services for the past two years and as a result, "tickers" and QR codes have become a bit fashionable. But the majority of people are still wedded to the old-fashioned collection bag.
The eyes and ears we don't have
We have a number of causes for which we raise money. De Regenboog Groep is one of them. The special thing is that De Regenboog does a lot of work for many different people with a variety of problems. Problems that most of us don't know about. De Regenboog Groep knows how to find people and people know how to find De Regenboog Groep. The De Regenboog staff knows, through years of experience, exactly how and where what help can best be given. Our church organization does not have the manpower to map all that out. Hence our financial support for De Regenboog Groep.
Text: Sander Kersten and Jola Gosen | Image: Tessa Posthuma de Boer
Do as Ginus and collect.