"Ask God. Charity. Help those in need. http://ask-god.me Helping Hand Mission of The Order of Friends provides comfort to the poor, sick, old, and dying. Give now. You'll feel better!"
I am a webmaster in the area of San Fran and I was minding my own online businesses, when I came across this message on a blog. I like to think of myself as a Good Guy, but I could not get those three small phrases out of my mind -- "Ask God.", "Charity.", "Help those in need."
Something in my subconsious went off, like a gong, out my childhood, about a kinder, more loving world. I am a spiritual person, but don't belong to any church, synagog, or mosque. But I was caught by surprise by an honest plea for help wanted for a charity. But this is the internet, and you deal with all kinds -- I was suspicious. And I developed a slight stomach ache.
I have not been feeling good about all the problems we face as a country. The media has just about boiled and pickled my brain. (Sorry, about the strange mental image -- it's a Western thing.) And then, I am running between one job and another trying to stay on top of the Great Recession, and out of hot water. I'd been feeling like the whole country had been asleep at the wheel for the last 25 years( a good part of my life ) and that people are going from bad to worse. I'd like to help, but the problems are enormous. What can I do?
I woke up about 5 days ago from a restless sleep, worried about my problems, in a cold panic. What was going on! There was a shiver down my spine. My thoughts over the last couple years had been about myself and the world situation. And I was in despair over it! How do you cope -- without hope? Then, those three phrases came to mind -- "Ask God.", "Charity.", "Help those in need.".
I slept like a baby after that. Turns out that I'm a frustrated giver. I want to give back, but had been feeling impotent, unempowered, and unimportant.
Thinking about ~me~ all the time was making ~me~ sick.
The next day, I went back online and followed the link and discovered a ridiculously simple website. When I checked out the Helping Hand Mission, I found that it had been around for awhile, and was doing good work. There has been over 100 years of helping hands from the starting members of The Order of Friends to the present as was pointed out to me, when I contacted and talked with Brother Grace, who runs the place -- mostly.
"I keep the message simple," said Brother Grace, "because it's a simple message. Save the world one soul at a time. Give. You will feel better by contributing to a solution. And life does become better. There is a Bible passage, Proverbs 22:9 'The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.'"
I asked Brother Grace about The Order of Friends. I wondered how it came about. And he paused. Cleared his throat and continued in quiet and respectful tones. "A long time ago, I was at a relatively large multi-faith meeting, and we were talking about our united history in faith to one god. Somehow, in that meeting. All our differences disolved. We weren't just Muslims, Christians, and Jews, and some even without faith -- we were all still the children of God and one humanity. Each of the communities we serve are the very needy. That was something else we all shared in common. We all joined together forming The Order of Friends, the newer organization you have here today."
I asked about the internet campaign to help the poor, and told him how I ended up hunting him down.
He continued, after a pause to pull out a microwaved cup of coffee and take a sip. He'd come back from delivering groceries to a desperately needy family.
"Until recently, however, internet access was out of our reach. We didn't have a budget for it. We, now, use the website ask-god.me to gather funds for our Helping Hand Mission for the poor, sick, old, and dying. People go through PayPal and donate however much they want."
"You must have overhead!" I blurted, not sure exactly why it came out that way.
"Each member of The Order of Friends tithes, or whatever you wish to call it -- at $30 a month." Brother Grace responded without hesitation. He seemed to understand the problem I was having with a Fund that goes directly to the intended without middle-men taking out a slice for themselves. It just didn't happen in my world. I think that was partly why I had been feeling ill. My world sucked.
"Those gifts go specifically to the Order of Friends Maintenance Fund to keep the lights on -- barely!"
He chuckled again.
"I even tithe."
I had another revelatory moment. Everybody in The Order of Friends were volunteers!
"We all have other jobs we work at," continued Brother Grace. "Nobody has it easy. We charter weekly group meetings, make painful decisions with the donated funds, because there is so much need in our communities. You cannot believe how much those Helping Hand funds can help, and turn someone's life around. It really is a miracle to these folks in need."
Another thing I found fascinating about The Order of Friends was the multi-faith based nature of the organization.
"We are split into 3 sub-groups: The Church of Friends, The Temple of Friends, and The Mosque of Friends. We compete to raise the most funds for The Order of Friends Helping Hand Mission. It can be a lot fun at times. We get together often at The Order of Friends Cook-Out. We have a running gag, where The Church of Friends wear T-Shirts that say 'Team God'. The Mosque of Friends come wearing T-Shirts that say 'Team Allah'. And our Jewish brothers come wearing 'Team Yahweh'. The games can get competitive, and we trade T-Shirts, but it's all in good fun, and a good cause as well."
Brother Grace turned to the subject of politics.
"We, also, have an agreement among us. We accept that each others differing political views come from a good starting place and intention. And we all showed up to help. So, no blame, no pointing fingers."
I will admit that it was at that point I asked -- "How can I help?"
My hard-shelled, bombed-out psyche had finally been cracked. And my real early religious upbringing kicked-in.
Brother Grace chuckled slyly. "Ask God."
"Actually, as you know. In the Helping Hand Mission, every penny goes to help someone in need, so donate, or become a member. I keep the message simple. If your human -- and in need, we're willing to help out, if we can, and with the support of all who want to see the restoration of human dignity. My faith in humanity has never been stronger. And 'there, but for the grace of God go I' is my mantra."
So, this is where I, now, mention that I was so inspired by the conversation, that I did both. And, then, I posted this article to help out.(They really aren't very internet savvy, and could use more online promotion. ~~ Another reason I wanted to help out.:)
Any further details, or to help Brother Grace and the gang at The Helping Hand Mission of The Order of Friends -- go to their united, multi-religious, non-political fundraising website at http://ask-god.me/
Help those who are suffering in the world, and feel better by being a part of the miracle they need.
I guess, I better get back to my real world, online, work struggles.
I keep those three simple phrases in my head. And I'm smiling more every day. I'm feeling better.