Happy (American) Thanksgiving, everyone!
Along with a great day of feasting, and recalling the things we should be thankful for, it’s also the traditional beginning of the Christmas season. So of course I would be remiss not to remind you that it’s a great time to order Calendars (CLICK HERE!) which we can send to your friends and family (I always wondered about that phrase, “friends and family”; but maybe I am lucky that my family also count as my friends). They get a great calendar, with the proceeds going to support our wrk here at the Vatican Observatory.
“…I am able to see sights I haven’t seen in 17 years….I am able to look in wonder on such vast creation and just ponder all that is.” Prison Inmates with Vatican Observatory Foundation Calendars.
Being thankful, and remembering friends and family, should also remind us of those who can’t be with family. For those who have been sent to prison, a calendar with the beauties to be seen overhead means a lot, when their night time views are limited to what they can see out a window. The quote in the photo caption came from one of a prisoner who had gotten one of our calendars.
When we first started producing these calendars, about twenty years ago, a Jesuit friend of ours who works in prison ministry, Fr. George Williams, asked if we could send some calendars to him to distribute. Since then a number of other prisons have joined in the program. I estimate that about half the calendars we print up, now go to prisoners. The need is especially great this year, since in-person ministry has been severely limited due to the pandemic.
Starting in 2017, we have dedicated anything we receive as part of our GivingTuesday drive (that’s Tuesday after Thanksgiving, or December 1 this year) to support the cost of those programs. You can take part in our GivingTuesday drive by clicking HERE.
(GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world. It was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past seven years, this idea has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. One of the best ways to get involved is in your own community. We’ve created a directory to help you find organizations, events, and ways to give back in your own community.” – www.givingtuesday.org )
In other news, Br. Bob Macke will be our guest on Monday’s “Moonthly” Meet Up, November 30, at 10am Tucson Time/1pm EDT. A recent post, available only to our Sacred Space subscribers, includes a link to the meetup.
Speaking of subscribers… as I mentioned last month, this is when we removed subscribers from our list who have decided not to renew (or whose credit cards expired). We hope they come back soon! But that means our numbers dropped from 217 to 198. But we have added more than a hundred new folkswho get notified of new postings, up to 10.591… welcome to all of you. Tell more people about our site! And if you can, please join the Sacred Space gang at a rate of $10 a month (hey, no more political donations… for a while!) or $100 per year.
