CJI’s annual Christmas Appeal focuses this year on the theme of light shining in darkness, based on the words of the prophet Isaiah: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined… For a child has been born for us” (Is 9:2, 6).
To read or download a copy of the Christmas Appeal folder, please go here.
In her Christmas Appeal letter, CJI director Madeline Lunney wrote:
As we prepare to celebrate this Christmas, it is challenging to consider the extent of suffering, neglect, destruction, violence and poverty in our world. Yet the good news of this season of hope is that a light shines into our darkness.
Maryam and baby Dijwar are Syrian refugees living in Lebanon. (Photo: Don Doll SJ)
From the time I was a child, Christmas to me has been about the possibility of miracles. While my experience as an adult tells me that true miracles are indeed rare, I can’t help but be amazed at the resilience and compassion of ordinary people in the face of great challenges.
In view of the scale of devastation after Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, to me it is miraculous that our partners at Foi et Joie (Faith and Joy) were able to begin almost immediately to collect and distribute relief supplies. It is miraculous that, despite the incredibly difficult situation in the Middle East, the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) continues reaching out to the millions of Syrians displaced by war, providing humanitarian assistance and education while promoting peace and tolerance.
By participating in Comparte, which supports inclusive economic development and sustainable agriculture, community members see hope in new approaches to farming or in the use of natural resources that will provide much-needed income for their families. And in India, through the Human Life and Development Resource Centre, people are able to share their experience and add their voices to calls for change. This too must seem miraculous to people who have been excluded and marginalized.
CJI has supported all of this work during the past year, with your help. Your compassion and generosity have brought light and hope to people struggling for survival, for justice and for a future for themselves and their families.
This Christmas, we ask you to renew this support. We appreciate that you receive many requests to help during this season. We ask you to give what you can to projects like the ones we profile in the Christmas Appeal folder.
To support the work of CJI this Christmas, please Donate now (Choose “Greatest Need” or a specific project, and write “Christmas Appeal 2016” in the message box. Thank you!)
