Mercy is not only to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked and to give shelter to the homeless, but also to heal the brokenhearted and to show the way out to those who have no way. Mercy is to break the bonds of injustice from a person’s life and to set them free from bondage. There are countless people on this planet whose inner life is tread under foot so badly, and the fire of their dreams and actions is quenched to the extent that every path of hope is covered with a thick layer of ashes. Mercy is to turn those ashes into fire and to anoint the mourning ones with the oil of joy.
That is why Jesus the Savior came to the earth. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound… to comfort all who mourn… to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning…” (Is. 61:1-3).
God has bestowed merciful attitude upon each person and He is waiting for us to demonstrate this trait. And to some people He has given a calling to do more and to fulfill what is in HIS HEART. Today we call this Social Ministry. Without mercy, it is impossible to have results in Social Ministry. We can say that mercy is the spirit, and social work is the body.
The Social Ministry Center of the Word of Life Church in Yerevan has a multidisciplinary professional Team of psychologists, educational specialists, social workers, etc.
I want to present to you two examples of the teamwork fruits of our Center. One of them is a life story of a girl who, after experiencing abusive treatment together with her mother by their family members, escaped with her from their home; and the second is a beautiful theatrical performance of the alumni of our Social Center called “Little Red Riding Hood.”
The most important thing here is the fact that due to the tireless efforts of our multidisciplinary professional Team, the children were able to overcome their inner and outer limitations, to demonstrate such talents that probably would have never been revealed if not for the merciful people who had been by their side.
By the way, the performance is in English, and it is a shadow play, which in itself is exclusive for Armenia.
