Happy April Fool's Day! Have any of you been fooled or pranked today? While this is a day for practical jokes I want to talk with you about something that is no joking matter; cancer. As many of you know a cancer diagnosis hits you like a ton of bricks and it's as if cancer says, "The jokes on you!" Cancer can take the fun out of living. This is no joking matter; but rather life and death.

So in April 2012, JCPC sponsored the first Atlanta CanCare training. CanCare believes that "cancer is hard, but it doesn't have to be lonely so during our inaugural Atlanta training we certified 24 local CanCare volunteers in class #57.

This past weekend, we trained 17 new CanCare volunteers for clas #89. Our training was hosted by Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Roswell, GA.

The goal of these CanCare volunteers is to provide "a survivor by your side." Nobody should have to go through cancer alone. Since that first April training class, CanCare Atlanta has trained almost 130 cancer survivors and caregivers to fulfill this mission. Praise the Lord!

The power of survivorship is hope; hope that the cancer patient will not only survive their cancer but also learn to thrive so that the joy returns to their life. As you can see on the smiles of these newly minted CanCare volunteers that the joy of giving back is one of the true spiritual practices to which we are called.

St. Paul emphasized the spiritual practice of giving back this way;  ^"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God."

All CanCare services are free in the spirit of God's grace. However, we do need funds for our operating expenses. So I'd like to invite you to our annual Concert 4 a Cause Fundraiser. We will have tons of fun together while fulfilling the calling of helping others in their troubles through providing a survivor by your side.

Click here for more information on Concert 4 A Cause.

Prayer for Today

Gracious God, keep us mindful of others and kind in our responses for each has their troubles to bear. Teach us to bear each others burdens through sharing the love of Christ. Amen.