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Stories From The Simple Abundance Charitable Fund
The following letter is from Althea Marshall, Co-Director of
Daily Bread in New Haven, CT. Daily Bread provides hot nourishing daily meals to men, women and children living with
HIV and AIDS. To support this life saving work, please contact Althea at
Daily Bread
c/o Church of St. James and St. Paul
57 Olive Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Dear Ms. Ban Breathnach:
In Ireland, there are many megalithic burial chambers dotted across the countryside.
One in particular, Newgrange, has long fascinated archeologists because it is believed to have been built in such a way that the sun's rays
penetrate to the innermost chamber on just one day of the year--the winter solstice. This year, on December 21st, a TV station decided to film this occurrence
to begin Ireland's celebration of the Millennium. It appeared unlikely that this project would
be successful as there was a 95% probability of cloudy skies on December 21st in Ireland. Also, there is only one tiny window,high above the entrance, which could allow the sun in. Newgrange was built 5,000 years ago. Could their
calculations really be accurate?
A miracle! After a particularly windy, stormy night, the dawn of December 21st in Ireland was beautifully still and cloudless. Right on time, the sun's rays crept along the paved
passageway to the hidden, totally dark inner chamber! Reflecting on this phenomena, I thought it was a perfect metaphor of the human spirit. Although there is suffering in this world, there is, in that darkness, the light of love, compassion, empathy, and sharing.
This is what the Simple Abundance Charitable Fund has meant to the Daily Bread volunteers and the Daily Bread program since we received notification of a $15,000 grant award during the winter solstice of 1998. These funds allowed Daily Bread volunteers to continue their mission to minister to the nutritional
and spiritual needs of people living in New Haven, Connecticut with HIV/AIDS.
On the threshold of a new millennium, as powerful new drugs enable people to live longer with the HIV virus, the Daily Bread program is literally a lifeline, providing the nutrition needed for those individuals to fight
AIDS-related illnesses including acute opportunistic infections. The support of the Simple Abundance Charitable Fund allowed Daily Bread volunteers to provide hot, nourishing meals to a group of men, women, and children on a daily basis. There are no words to express our gratitude to the Simple Abundance Charitable Fund Grant Award Committee for
giving honor and praise to the Christ-spirit which dwells within each of our clients.
May the new millennium be a "star of hope to light your world, a banner of peace once more unfurled, a song of faith forever new, a dawn of truth for all to view, a canvas of the Master's art, a lamp of love to warm the heart" (M.D.Hughes). Best wishes as the Simple Abundance Charitable Fund
continues to light the way for those in need.
Sincerely,
Althea Marshall
Co-Director
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