Religious Holidays - Time for Reflection

For the millions of people in the world who have strong religious beliefs Easter weekend is one of the most powerful celebrations of the year. Millions of people around the world will gather and renew their faith over the next few days. This year the Jewish Passover is also this weekend. 

I've written about this almost every year since 2005 so instead of writing a new story, I encourage you to read some of the articles I've written in the past.

I could have created a brand new article, but I' only be repeating the same themes that I've talked about in the past. I don't think the Christians create a new Bible every year. The scripture and themes that will be in sermons this Sunday will be the same scripture and themes that faith leaders have pointed to for over 2000 years.

If you click into some of the tags on the left side of this blog, such as poverty, public health, violence, etc. you'll see that the level of suffering in the world has not changed in the past year. It has grown with the Russian invasion of the Ukraine. 

The only thing that has changed in my own activities over the past year is that the www.tutormentorconnection.org site is no longer working and all links point to the http://www.tutormentorexchange.net site.  This is now where my web library is hosted.

When I first started writing this blog in 2005 I was leading a direct service tutor/mentor program, which I had done since 1975.  That continued until 2011 when I left that role and formed the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC.

I miss the direct involvement in a tutor/mentor program, but not the stress of trying to find funding to keep the bills paid and the program operating from year to year. I have even less cash coming in now than before but I'm only responsible for myself and my family. I'm still depending on others for the money and talent needed to keep the Tutor/Mentor Connection operating.

I continue to draw from my experiences of leading a single tutor/mentor program to share ideas that others can use to help similar, volunteer-based tutor, mentor and learning programs grow in high poverty areas of Chicago and other cities. 

I hope that as you reflect on your faith you will also spend time reading past articles and take on a role that helps these programs do more to help kids move through school and into adult lives.

In the Easter article I wrote in 2008 I talked about the "Give us this day our daily bread" part of the Lord's Prayer.

I still look for this "daily bread" as well as a "bakery" that might provide enough "bread" to help me build out the ideas of the Tutor/Mentor Institute and provide more consistent daily operating support and talent to thousands of small volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs operating in neighborhoods of Chicago and other big cities.

I do a lot with a little. I've been blessed in many ways because of the work I do. Many young people and volunteers have also been blessed because of the tutor/mentor programs I've led and that are led by others.

I have hope that in the coming months others will step forward with the talent and resources needed to continue to do this work. Visit this page if you'd like to make a contribution. 

Note: the graphic at the top of this article was created by one of the Korean Interns who worked with me in January/February 2012. Read about this project here.