Pass the peace to those who have none

This will be a lonely Thanksgiving and Christmas season for a great many of us. In Florida, the economy has left thounsands of seniors in nursing homes alone for the holidays, according to Capitol News Service.

For others, the issues are more personal. There are many like GWFrink3, for whom the season of rejoicing is also a season of grief.

They need us, even as their smiles conceal their pain.

SouthernOne calls upon those of us who are well. Together, let us help those who are not. Without regard for how much we like them. Or, within some limits, whether they reject us (repeatedly) when we reach out.

Is this not the season which is founded upon celebration of such compassion and forgiveness?

The holidays use ministers up

Author: J. Samuel Burner

Merry you're fired and a very happy and prosperous new I quit.

How often do pastors leave not only the church where they're employed but also the ministry, either because they want to or because they must and can't get another job in their field?

According to SonScape Retreats, which specializes in helping vocational ministers, life pressures "drive 1,600 shepherds out of the ministry every month."

They go on to say:

That's 19,000 pastors each year - not including the missionaries and specialized ministers who add the pressures of crossing cultures and raising funds to the mix.

The intense combination of a frenetic Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years church activity schedule and church members facing holiday crisis can drain the most skilled and resourceful of ministers.

Reflect on it, and your credulity may not be strained by the report that, every Monday morning, 40% of all ministers consider changing professions.