HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — John McCallum knows the pain of struggling with grief and loss during the holiday season. But rather than sinking in sorrow, he’s using it to serve others.
McCallum, senior pastor of First Baptist Hot Springs, makes a point to write a personal letter to everyone in his church just before the holiday season who has endured the loss of a family member since the last season.
“One of our secretaries keeps track for me all year and gives me the list in early November. I write so many notes, I space it out over about two weeks. Then, I mail them all at the same time, so they get them before Thanksgiving,” he told Baptist Press in written comments.
He says the idea came to him while teaching a class on grief a few weeks before the holiday season. [Read more…]