Speak Out ... CAA meets the challenge
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During the 40 years that I have been with the Community Action Agency, I have witnessed numerous changes, from the reduction of services to the elimination of programs created to assist low income, vulnerable individuals. But there is one thing that has not changed during this time — the promise of the agency "to change people's lives, embody the spirit of hope, improve communities and make America a better place to live." Since 2002, when Calhoun and Cleburne counties were added to the Community Action Agency's service umbrella, there have been four distinct concerns that drive the service delivered in those areas: (1) The skyrocketing cost of heating and cooling homes; (2) the expense of transportation to and from various locations for low-income and elderly individuals; (3) food; and (4) emergency assistance. In fiscal 2007, CAA assisted more than 22,000 individuals, with 10,304 receiving assistance through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. CAA's food bank provided bagged groceries to 1,583 individuals. The agency's Child Nutrition Program ensures that all children attending family day-care homes receive nutritious and well-balanced meals. An average of 358 children received these meals monthly. Two-hundred and thirty-three individuals benefited from the Weatherization Program that makes repairs to homes. Transportation challenges were addressed by trolley passes. CAA reports 3,375 transportation trips this year. Six hundred and eight individuals benefited from the Gardening Program. The agency offered energy, financial and job counseling to more than 2,800 people, using the model "Teach them how to fish." One-hundred and ten obtained full-time employment. Twenty-seven enrolled in the computer classes in Anniston and Heflin, and 10 graduated. Information and referrals were provided to 796 people. Horace E. Sims Re "Writer misread the Bible" (Speak Out, Jan. 12): Writer Roy Fields of Anniston, a man who apparently considers himself a Bible expert, rudely stated that a man with differing views on the Bible "cannot read very well." It is not a book that is easily read and interpreted. Mankind created thousands of Christian denominations with differing interpretations of the Bible. Perhaps Fields is the only one of these whose members can "read very well." Even though I am a believer, I must admit there is no hard evidence that God wrote the Bible, or that God even exists. Martin Luther let his Protestants interpret personally. This led to the principle, "Let the Bible interpret the Bible." That won't work since the book is full of contradictions, translational and other errors. Once I knew a church that split over the proper procedure for the Lord's Supper, whether to offer the bread or wine first. These people apparently can't "read very well," or they would notice that one reference in the Gospels has Him serving the wine first. Another reference has Him serving the bread first. The miracles are questionable if you believe God created natural law. Do you really think God would break His own laws? Much of the Bible is not true. Jesus, a minor zealot, would not have gone before Pilate. He would have been summarily crucified. The Bible, regardless of whether God "wrote" it, still had to be conveyed in a manner understandable to Iron Age people. But to me, the telling part of Fields' letter is that he didn't offer, not once, to help the man he stated "cannot read very well." It makes one wonder whether Fields is a Christian. Jesus the Christ would not tolerate his rudeness or his disobedience to the Great Commission. Chief Anderson |
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