Dear friends, supporters, and allies,
As we are living in tumultuous times, we keep in mind that not just now but always, we work with a fierce passion to safely provide the very best for our members and others around us. As we currently deal with the COVID-19 virus, farm workers are continually short on, not just cleaning supplies, but also food and other essential items to live, that have been horded by their local communities. In our collecting these essential items, supporters are directly helping, not just the workers, but the growers, our nation, and our world in protection of our food supply. This is a time to heal and to be a better place. It is time to become creative in how we share life together, in how we show concerns, and in how we live life. We are extremely grateful for the outpouring of support from many across the nation in the donations/supplies that have been made to the hundreds of workers that have received the much-needed supplies. Much thanks to the brave staff that followed president Velasquez’s call to deliver supplies on-site when many others would not venture out of their homes. We, as staff, are not required to report to these activities but volunteer to follow the principle president Velasquez adopted as his own measure in the following quote by the reformist Martin Luther in 1527. In responding to a deadly plague that hit his hometown of Wittenberg, he was asked whether one should flee from such a plague. He wrote to a friend how churches should deal with such a complicated matter:
“I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance inflict and pollute others and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me, and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me however I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely as stated above. See this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.”
Again, thank you all as we will keep you posted on matters as they unfold.