Caring for the Vulnerable

In 2018, following his annual prayer retreat, former rector John Yates shared with our congregation that there was a theme of prayer requests regarding foster care and adoption. In their notes to John, many parishioners disclosed that they were prayerfully considering adoption or foster care. A number of our parishioners had already adopted and/or were involved in our community’s foster care system, and additional parishioners had expressed interest in learning more. In response to this growing trend in our church, we are excited to continue building an organic network of people in our church who care about foster care and adoption.

Caring for vulnerable children is near to the heart of God. It is, in fact, one of His identities. David, in extolling God in Psalm 68, proclaims, “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation. God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity” (Psalm 68:5-6a).

The possibilities for involvement are as numerous and diverse as each of our circumstances. Everyone in the family of God has a valued place and a valid role to play. The fatherless, the single professionals, the married-with-kids, the empty-nesters--all have an integrated place. We need each other. We enrich each other. Maybe many of us are not in a place in life right now in which we can adopt or foster, but there are other ways that we can be supportive. Here are just a few ideas:

  • deliver a meal to a new adoptive or foster family

  • run errands for an adoptive or foster family

  • babysit the kids for a few hours, to give the parents a much-needed date

As we all prayerfully consider what our roles could be in this universal mission, here are several Scripture passages reminding us of God’s care for the vulnerable and oppressed, namely orphans.


Deuteronomy 10:17-20
For the LORD your God … is unbiased and takes no bribe, who justly treats the orphan and widow, and who loves resident foreigners, giving them food and clothing…

Psalm 82:3
Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy.

Psalm 146:9
The LORD watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow; But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.


Deuteronomy 16:14
And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your gates.

James 1:27
Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

 

Psalm 68:5
A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation.


Kristina Kroon is an elementary teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools. She has been part of The Falls Church Anglican since 2015. She enjoys being part of the Flower Guild, Welcome Team, and Young Adults Leadership Team.

You're invited into community • On Nov. 10, Orphan Sunday, our church family hosted a lunch and panel discussion on adoption and foster care. For more information on how you can be involved in these efforts, email Ann Thompson.