For those of you not on Facebook, here is a status I shared on my page today regarding Orphan Sunday.

"Today is "Orphan Sunday", and as we go forward with our own understandings and opinions regarding this day and regarding the vulnerable children and families whom we are recognizing, let us go carefully and humbly, with open hearts and eyes and ears and minds.

May we learn from those who have lost children through injustice and other circumstances, and may we listen to the many who have experienced tough beginnings and who have life stories that are not like most. May we recognize our own privilege and power and fight for those without. May we speak truthfully and factually, recognizing that vulnerable children are never movements or fads or trends. May we learn and process with those who have different perspectives and beliefs regarding care for children and families. May we remember that families, even those that some deem as "less than adequate", have unique and complex histories and are people--REAL PEOPLE--with worth and value. May we not simply see statistics for shock value or as numbers to reduce, but may we instead see individuals to truly know and understand and love. May we be sensitive to those in our midst who see this day as an outward simplification of the real complexity behind families and communities and/or as a day that awakens their own loss and tragedy in losing a child or a parent.

May we understand that sometimes our "helping" is actually hurting. May we work together and may we work individually. May we understand that expressions of compassion come in various forms. May we love and act not to be recognized but because of our own understanding that we all need love and help, and that we're in this together.

Today, may we go forth together with grace, empathy, hope and compassion."