November 2004
East London
e-newsletter # 10

Dear Friends in the United States and in other parts of the globe,

As the days here are getting longer and hotter, one of our occasional treats is to sit on the second-floor porch of the Dros restaurant overlooking the Indian Ocean. We like their vegetarian pizza and enjoy the spectacular view.

The place mats on the tables (see photograph) read “Dros … ‘cause you can’t get too much of a good thing!”

It is obvious how the franchise understands “good”: not just bowls of fruit as in the picture, but huge platters of meat, beer served in five-liter containers, and enormous desserts. It is also apparent from the size and behavior of some of the patrons that they have had way too much of some of those “good” things.

When Americans sit down at the Thanksgiving table, we lift up our hearts in gratitude for every good thing we have received.

How do we understand “good”? Does “good” mean an overabundance of food? Multiple trips to the mall? The biggest car we can afford? A seemingly endless supply of energy resources? Unquestioned participation in a profit-driven economy?

Could some of the things we consider blessings actually be curses in disguise? We all have come to know that overindulgence in food and drink causes health problems. Is some of the food on our Thanksgiving table perhaps not a good gift from God but a temptation to sin? Are some of the things we are able to purchase at the mall perhaps not a sign of God’s blessings on us but the result of unfair labor practices elsewhere in the world? Are some of the comforts we enjoy perhaps not handed to us by God but in fact taken from other people who lack even the basic necessities of life?

Appropriate prayers for Thanksgiving might include repentance.

The view from the Dros porch also reveals people with very limited access to anything good or wholesome: some who try to make a living selling crafts to tourists; some who offer to watch cars in hopes of a tip; some who beg from passers-by; some who search the waste bins for things to eat or re-sell. Those of us dining on the balcony have a choice—to notice or to ignore those on the sidewalk below. The restaurant slogan certainly encourages looking away. The Joining Hands Against Hunger program calls us to invite the plight of the poor into our hearts and lives, even to our Thanksgiving tables.

May the familiar holiday prayer, “Keep us mindful of the needs of others,” not simply cover up our excesses but lead us to order our lives around what is truly good.

Ken and Susanne

To support our ministry financially

Contributions from individuals may be sent to: PC(USA) Individual Remittance Processing, P.O. Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700. Please write “JHAH South Africa” and “Designated Account # H000109“ on the check and on the cover letter. Send a copy of the cover letter to: Presbyterian Hunger Program, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202-1396. Or click on the "give" button below to contribute online.

Sessions may help the denomination to support us in the field by designating a portion of their annual GA mission giving to account # D506580.

Financial support for the educational and advocacy work of the JHAH Mission Group in the Presbytery of the Western Reserve may be sent to PWR, 2800 Euclid, Cleveland, OH 44115.

The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 61