We at Myers Park United Methodist have good hearts. It’s our attention span I sometimes worry about.

Like so many other loving people in this world, it’s easy to become distracted by the seemingly endless cycle of calamity that fills our TV and computer screens. One day, an earthquake strikes Haiti and we pour out our hearts. But then another natural disaster comes – or maybe an oil spill or a terrorist attempt – and our eyes are diverted to the next big thing.

That’s why I was so moved Sunday morning as we offered people the opportunity to sponsor a child in Haiti. We are not forgetting. Our attention will not be swayed, even after we filled a bus with goods and shipped it to Haiti. Children in the Bayonnais region who suffer from poverty, disease and the aftermath of the quake will not be ignored.

Working with World of God, a ministry started by church member Allen Smith, the immediate hope is to secure sponsors for 100 children. The $35 per month per child will help provide an education through OFCB Ministries. Sponsorship tables were set up Sunday morning in the lobby – hard to miss for all the volunteers in green, red and blue T-shirts depending on their intricately planned role. You want something organized right, come to this church! The tables will be back Wednesday evening (May 12) for H.O.T. Wednesday and again Sunday morning (May 16). Sponsorships can also be arranged through www.worldofgod.org. Long after the goal of 100 has been reached, more sponsors are needed.

Heartbreakingly, in Haiti and elsewhere, there will always be children in need of love and support.

It was stirring to watch folks come to the table Sunday, refusing to allow their attention to stray. Many brought their sons and daughters to participate in a project that goes deeper than sending money. This is about starting a relationship, since sponsor and child will be able to exchange letters. Remember, all of life is about sharing hopes and fears and dreams, about building relationships. As families studied the sponsorship forms and stared at the photos of children in waiting, the babies being tended to in the nursery strolled through the lobby. Mothers accepted hugs on Mother’s Day. Worshipers prayed. The world was in the best hands possible.