DEAR FRIENDS,

As I write this introductory letter for the 2000 Week of Compassion Leaders' Guide, it is late October, 1999. The theme for 2000, Gifts of Living Water, seems almost ironic. People in North Carolina are dealing still with 'deadly waters' that came from Hurricanes Dennis, Floyd and Irene. The same can be said for people in Mexico, Honduras, Ghana and India. On the other hand, farmers throughout the eastern U.S. and in numerous countries in Africa and South America are selling off livestock and losing crops because of the lack of water. But if it is an ironic theme, it is still a most appropriate theme. As we stand on the dawn of a new millenium, the world thirsts for gifts of living water. For 57 years, Disciples, through Week of Compassion, have provided gifts of living water to countless numbers of thirsty people refugees thirsty for their homeland, women thirsty for a new life for their families; children thirsty for a safe and sane environment; disaster victims thirsty for shelter and pastoral care; a village thirsty for a school, a well, a clinic. . . . We Disciples can give thanks that Week of Compassion gives us an opportunity to be faithful to Christ's bidding to give that cup of cold water.

Most of our congregations will celebrate Week of Compassion February 20-27, while others will select times more appropriate for their respective schedules. Regardless of the time your congregation makes its Week of Compassion observance, it is you, the pastors and outreach leaders, upon whom we depend to make Week of Compassion come alive in the congregation. This 2000 Leaders' Guide has been put together to assist you in that effort. It contains resources, materials and ideas you can use and also serves as a catalog for additional resources that are available from the Week of Compassion Office and on the Week of Compassion website: www.weekofcompassion.org.

As you plan your observance, I hope you will remember that our century is ending in the aftermath and in the midst of some of the worst, deadliest and costliest disasters ever. Because of the response of thousands upon thousands of Disciples throughout North America, Week of Compassion has made a difference in the lives of millions of people throughout the world. Because of the continued support from our members and congregations across the whole church, Week of Compassion will continue to be one way we can join millions of other Christians in the body of Christ to make a different world where all God's children share in the abundance of God's goodness.

For our partnership in the gospel and for its call to us to be "gifts of living water,"

I remain,

A friend and servant,

Johnny Wray, Director

Week of Compassion