Dear Mayfield,

This time last year, a number of us had paid for tickets and were planning to attend a Broadway in Chicago musical production, Come from Away, months later in the summer.  Come From Away is the compelling story of actions taken by folks in Gander, Newfoundland, a small Canadian town, on September 11, 2001 and the days following. They provided unbelievable hospitality to almost 7000 stranded travelers and crew members from 38 planes that landed there. When I first read about Gander in 2018 and again last spring and summer when I was anticipating our field trip to the theater, I asked myself over and over, “What was it in the background, culture, or values of these ordinary people in an ordinary town that prepared them to pour out such love and hospitality in the wake of a wrenching tragedy?” Newfoundland is a rocky island, the eastern most point of Canada, with their own time zone, one half hour off from Atlantic Time. If someone is stranded there, for whatever reason, they are clearly in trouble. For Newfoundlanders, there is only one thing to do then. They must figure out what is needed and offer it. No one in Gander awoke on September 11, 2001 with any knowledge of what would be asked of them in a few hours. They were simply prepared to show up.

This week I received a comprehensive email from Church World Service (CWS) detailing the ways those of us who have supported CWS have assisted them in preparing for this season of Covid-19. One Great Hour of Sharing gifts are funneled for many needs through CWS. Whenever we have made health kits or school kits, those are a CWS project too. CWS funds have long been used to create educational resources for handwashing education around the globe, particularly in areas where safe water supplies have been an issue. That CWS email is attached with today’s Web Notes. We prepare for particular situations when we know they are coming now. We prepare for other more general situations knowing that at some point they will be on our doorstep.  CWS, with gifts from us and a host of others, is in a constant state of preparation for a time such as this.  Peace, Martha