Please try again between 9am and 5pm, Monday through Friday.

I was taking a photo of a beautiful church today in Calgary, Alberta when I noticed two things:

1. A number of adults who were drunk out of their mind at 2pm in the afternoon right outside the church.

2. The church was locked.

The first thing that came to mind was a variation of the title of my blog - the notion that if they finally realized that they had hit the bottom of the barrel and were open to help on a spiritual level, it would have to wait until Monday. Maybe they could leave their number and someone could call them back - if they had a phone.

It reminded me of the time I was trying to plug into a community soup kitchen last year during the Christmas season and I was told that the soup kitchen does not operate during the Christmas holidays (apparently because during the holidays when the need for giving and comradery is at its greatest, the volunteers at that soup kitchen prefer to spend time doing things other than volunteering).

I understand the reasons why the churches are closed. Acts of vandalism and similar things create the need to keep the churches locked. I also recognize that not every person out there who needs help actually wants help. On top of this, there are incredible people out there who give above and beyond and for those people, we should all be grateful that they serve so unselfishly and we should aspire to model them.

That being said, I wonder what additional service opportunities exist for us to plug into, collaborate on or in cases where there are not enough existing opportunities for servanthood, ways we can actually create solutions to help more of those in need.

Are our churches doing enough to help others? If the answer is yes, then let's salute those who serve and learn from them. If the answer is no, how can we empower our local churches, being a catalyst to make a difference in the lives of others?

Let's not be complacent in seeking solutions to make a difference in the lives of others.

Yours in servanthood.

Harry