Grace Review -
A Monthly Journal of the
News from the Grace Care Center
By James A. Mitchell, VeAhavta Press Officer
Grace children pray
for ailing friends
It was a month of prayers and promises for both Grace Care Center
and Sri Lanka. Some were answered; others remain unfulfilled.
 The
children, elders and staff of Grace Care Center and Mercy Home
- not to mention their many friends around the world - patiently
hoped for the well-being of 11-year-old Tharshala Mahendran,
a little girl with a big smile and an ailing heart, and Mr. Chandradasa,
the “resident hero” known
as Mr. Gandhi. Open-heart surgery was successful for Tharshala; and in November
an amputation was performed on Mr. Gandhi, a delicate surgery from which he recovered
and is doing well. more
Meet Mr. Chandradasa, Mercy
Home ‘Hero’
 Every
knows him as Gandhi - Mr. Gandhi - with
utmost respect both the famous bearer of that name and to Mr.
Chandradasa himself, among the first to live in Mercy Home,
Grace Care Center’s residence for destitute elders.
There was concern last month that Mr. Chandradasa would no
longer be part of the Mercy Home community, an environment
he greatly helped create since coming to the complex last year.
In early November, Mr. Chandradasa successfully survived a
surgical amputation, a procedure whose outcome seemed uncertain
for days on end. He was recovering, although some complications
are further challenging his condition. (See this month’s
Grace Report and news updates for more information.) more
“Poverty is the Worst Form
of Violence”
By Eric Parkinson
 “Ultimately a great nation is a compassionate nation.
No individual or nation can be great if it does not have a concern for ‘the
least of these.’ Deeply etched in the fiber of our religious tradition
is the conviction that men are made in the image of God and that they are souls
of infinite metaphysical value, the heirs of a legacy of dignity and worth. If
we feel this as a profound moral fact, we cannot be content to see men hungry,
to see men victimized with starvation and ill health when we have the means to
help them....Love is the key to the solution of the problems of the world.” (Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Prize Lecture, Dec. 11, 1964.)
A recent article in a local San Luis Obispo newspaper addressed
the poverty present in my own community. more
Volunteer
Profile: Ernie Roide
 Occupation: Salesman
Age: 48
Favorite Activities: Spending time playing
and learning from my four children. I try to teach them about
social justice work and they teach me what really matters in
my life … what will be around in 20 billion years.
Favorite Quote: “Our lives begin
to end the day we become silent about things that matter...” Martin
Luther King Jr.
Sign: Capricorn
and a 5 on the Enneagram.
Biggest Bummer: That
it took 42 years before I realized you can't serve two masters;
you can't serve your country and your God together. One must
make a conscious choice between the two, between power and
powerlessness. Rarely are the two on same side of economic
and social justice issues. more
Copyright © 2006 by VeAhavta,
a Nonprofit Corporation (all rights reserved)
1190 Marsh Street, Suite B, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 ph:
805-542-9357
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