Love Isn't Just Words

As a kid, I attended church two or three times each week. I learned Scripture passages and hymns. But thanks to the life of our church community, I learned something equally important: that God loves me, people love me, and I can offer love, too. Weekly announcements from the pulpit let us know what needed to be done and rallied folks to fill the need with love. I learned that when someone has a baby, a chronic illness, or an infamous California wildfire threatening their home, love isn't just words. It's a meal, a hug, a safe place to evacuate, a loaned car, an invite to a family BBQ, and a hundred other uniquely helpful things. 

When I grew up and became a foster mom, I quickly realized that not every child enters life with that expectation of help in times of trouble. Some expect stress upon stress. That lack of community goes beyond a brain-knowledge, but sinks deep into a child's body, telling them that the world isn't safe or friendly. Some biological and foster families I met as a young foster mom didn't even have ONE person, let alone a community, to call on a hard day. I wanted to share the wealth of support I'd grown to expect with this foster parent circle I'd just joined.

Seven years into the Neighbor Program, some of our most enthusiastic volunteers come from churches. These volunteers want to extend their social circles to love and include foster and kinship families in crisis. 

​My childhood church friend, Christy Luis, volunteered with another friend to tag-team as Neighbors for a large foster family. "I have enjoyed creating desserts and healthy dinners for the family so much that I almost feel as though the Neighbor Program serves me as much as it serves the foster family. I am partially disabled by chronic pain and can’t volunteer in many capacities, but the Neighbor Program accommodated my situation. It means a lot for me to be able to serve a deserving family, even in such a limited way!"

Regan is a member of my church and a recent graduate of the Neighbor program. When we matched her with the H family, we happily realized that Regan's workplace is across the street from their home! She usually brings them a meal every other Thursday (though the commitment is only once a month) and doubles the recipe so they have leftovers or can freeze a meal. The family includes one child with several unique food allergies, so Regan found creative new recipes that avoided the problem foods while giving the family something they hadn't tried and could all enjoy.

When the Harms took in an infant on short notice, Regan enjoyed doing a little "baby shopping" and left a care package for the family. She tells us that it feels great to support children in foster care as a Neighbor to the whole family.

If you want to share love beyond the walls of your church, please email me at [email protected], and we'll get you connected with a foster or kinship family.
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By Hope Forti, Neighbor Program Founder and Director