World Kindness Day
Thursday, November 13
World Kindness Day takes place each year on November 13. It is a day for promoting the practice of kindness to others and to ourselves in a world which can sometimes feel cold and cruel.
May it be a reminder that one simple act of kindness can have a positive ripple effect on individuals and communities across the world. Kindness is contagious!
Kindness, one of the “fruits of the Spirit of God,” is a quality that followers of Jesus are called to cultivate. Is it possible to be an Unkind Christian? No!–there is no such thing! Not according to Paul, who in our lesson for Sunday admonishes us to “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as Christ forgave us.”
This is why we are currently exploring the possibility of starting a “Kindness Kids” program at Algiers UMC to help cultivate qualities of compassion and empathy among our children and youth. We are not born knowing how to be kind. This is a quality we learn and must practice.
On Thursday let us celebrate World Kindness Day by choosing an act of kindness. Perhaps one of these?
Buy coffee for the person in line behind you.
Contact a friend ask how he or she is doing.
Bring a meal to a homebound person.
Bring a can of food to a food pantry.
Sweep a neighbor’s sidewalk.
Give a compliment to a passerby.
Hold the door for someone.
Leave a kind note in a library book.
Let someone have your place in the checkout line.
Donate to a helping agency.
Send a card to brighten someone’s day.
Smile at someone who looks sad.
Volunteer with a local community organization.
Thank a soldier.
Be kind to yourself.
But why just on Thursday? Why not everyday? How about this Sunday? There is no better way to start a week of kindness than at church!
See you soon!
Callie
