Mark vanDelst

It has been another energizing year being involved in life at the House of Lazarus. We have had our successes and failures; and continue to grow through it all. Keeping the mission of helping to build a stronger community and bringing hope to those in despair, our fantastic group of volunteers and staff have done their best to meet the needs of those who seek our services and offer a hand of support to those who dare not ask. We undertook our Strategic Planning activities this year. It was an enlightening process that brought the team together. Thanks to all in the community who provided input. We are now putting in place our major objectives for the next three to five years.

One new board member has joined us recently: Darlene Simms. We are thankful to have her join us. Unfortunately, Valerie Ardron decided to step down from the Board. We were happy to have her contributions and she continues to belong to our community as a volunteer. We currently have eight members on the Board of Director with a few coming up on their mandated one-year hiatus in the next couple of years. If you are looking for an opportunity to be involved in our community and want to stretch your skill set, consider joining us! It’s a lot of fun and if we have an over abundance of chocolate as we did a couple of year ago, it has sweet incentives!

I came across a great quote reading “Community and Growth” by Jean Vanier:

“As fears and prejudices diminish, and trust in God and others grows, the community can radiate and witness to a style and quality of life which will bring a solution to the troubles of our world.  The response to war is to live like brothers and sisters.  The response to injustice is to share.  The response to despair is limitless trust and hope.  The response to prejudice and hatred is forgiveness. To work for community is to work for humanity.”

I felt this sums up the underlying themes of the work and outreach provided through the House of Lazarus! Once again, through the support of our community, supporters, and partners, we are ready to take on the mission of community and hope for the years to come.