OF GIFTS, LOVE AND FAITH

How do I feel about All Souls? I would say that to me, those magnificent paned windows with the light shining through them create the most awe-inspiring altar I have ever seen before. I would say that the music can make my skin tingle and the sermons can make my mind race. I would say that when I find myself in another church, it never feels quite right. But most importantly, I would say that I have not only learned, but felt the amazing and transformational power that giving to others brings.

At the risk of alienating myself at coffee hour, I will admit that I pray every morning to something I call God—some may call him Allah, or Brahman or Shivah or Zeus; Prada, perhaps, or maybe even Joe. It doesn’t really matter to me. All that matters is my concept of a power greater than myself. And so, one of the things I ask this God/“Joe” of mine is that I be able to use the gifts that I have received and pass on the love that has been given to me. All Souls has given me a remarkable opportunity to do just that.

Thanks to Faith Works Sundays, I started volunteering for the Booker T. Washington Learning Center in East Harlem—one of our many outreach programs. On my first day there, a little boy named Robert silently wept beside me because he couldn’t do his math. Robert was born addicted to crack cocaine. His mother is still on the streets and his six brothers and sisters had been living in shelters with their father, who is courageously trying to raise them as a family.

That was it! From that day forward, there hasn’t been a day when I haven’t thought of those precious children.

Not long after, I was reading with Robert on a rainy afternoon up in the sanctuary (at Booker T). We were both a little restless, unfocused, grumpy, and in my impatience, I put him in my lap and held him tightly trying to get him to focus on the book. In a few minutes, he had turned himself around in my arms and was tightly holding me. His needs were so much greater than just learning how to read or add 2 plus 2. We read that book over and over and over again.

I am not sure how best to describe the overpowering love I felt for that little boy at that moment. It was almost as if I could actually physically feel my heart opening and expanding. It was awesome. It was scary. And it is a moment I will never forget.

To be completely honest, I can’t say that any one of those kids is a better reader and I am completely sure they are no better at math. But I will tell you that I am better. They fill me up. They fill me up with an incredible joy, and with a wondrous high that I have only ever experienced through this simple act of giving to others.

In the words of the great Unitarian Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The only gift is a portion of thyself.” Volunteering is the best gift I have ever given to myself. For this gift, I will be forever grateful to All Souls.

Jennifer works on a Christmas card
with her pal Robert at the Booker T.
Washington Learning Center.

Of Gifts,
Love and Faith

In the News
at All Souls