Greetings, friends!
Happy New Year to you and your families! 2016 is here, and I
can’t believe it! With the beginning of a new year around the corner, I have
paused to reflect on my time here at Amate House, where I have been blessed
with the opportunity to serve as Executive Director. Although this will be my
12th year here at Amate House, time has flown so quickly that it
seems like I arrived only yesterday. Many faces have come and gone, and it humbles
me that 375 Volunteers have served with us since I began my work here. Much has
changed, yet much remains the same.
Looking to this upcoming year, I am sure many of you have
goals for 2016. For me, my New Year’s Resolution is to continue to tell everyone
I meet about Amate House and the incredible work that our Volunteers are doing.
Although I’ve talked with hundreds of people about our vital ministry over the
past 12 years, the fact is that so many people in the Archdiocese still do not
know about Amate House.
I half kidded with Cardinal Francis George - God rest
his soul - when I pleaded with him to take Amate House out of the “Archdiocesan
Witness Protection Program.” Just before Christmas, I met a newly ordained
priest and I asked him if he knew about Amate House. Sadly he said no, but
quickly informed me that he was still “under warranty,” which was a great line
that made me laugh.
It is my hope that you,
who have selflessly and graciously supported us throughout the years, will make
a New Year’s Resolution to tell everyone you meet about Amate House. Talk to
your pastor about having an Amate House Volunteer come and talk to their
Confirmation candidates. Talk about Amate House at cocktail parties, community
gatherings, and family reunions. See if you can tell one new person a day about
Amate House and how our Volunteers put “Love in Action” every day all across
the city of Chicago.
Will Amate House ever be a house hold name? Probably not,
but in a time when all across the world we have been made witness to so much
darkness and despair, it is necessary to look for the light around us. I have
no doubt that we can – and will – find it in the eyes, hands, and hearts of
over 800 individuals who have made a commitment to embodying Amate House’s
tenets of Community, Service, Faith, Stewardship, and Social Justice over these
past 32 years. Let us all try our best to bring the light of “Love in Action”
to all those we meet in this upcoming year.
Again, my best to you and your family, and may this year be
filled with God’s blessings!
John Lucas
Executive Director of Amate House
