Defending the Cause of the Fatherless

A verse from the Bible that is shaping and defining our lives is Isaiah 1:17 — to “seek justice, encourage the oppressed, and defend the cause of the fatherless.”  As most of you know, this has become deeply personal for Cacey and me, but we want to do more to make it a widespread mission.

Next Sunday is a very special day for us. On the one hand, it’s the first-ever Orphan Sunday, established by a diverse group of organizations supporting adoption and orphan care, including Cry of the Orphan Campaign, Show Hope, Christian Alliance for Orphans, Focus on the Family and Family Life Today.

Steven Curtis Chapman will perform a live concert, anchored by presentations from several leaders in the adoption and orphan care movement, among them Jedd Medefind, who prior to his leadership of Christian Alliance for Orphans worked in the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives and before that as Chief of Staff to my State Senator, Tim Leslie.

The other reason that Sunday is a special day for us is that two years ago, we were in Seoul, South Korea. We had just met our little boy for the first time, and we were preparing to get on a plane and bring him home to his forever family (then consisting of four grandparents, sixteen siblings and inlaws and three cousins).

So this Sunday, we’re going to be celebrating two years of Spencer coming home, while working on ways to start raising awareness about the dramatic need that exists among the world’s children. Over 143 million of them have lost a parent; some 87 million have lost both parents. Most of them live in poverty and have very few chances to succeed in life.

Whether it’s supporting foster care, domestic adoption, international adoption or supporting overseas orphanages and shelters, there is much that we can do as the richest country on earth to support these 143 million children who need help.

The Orphan Sunday live webcast starts at 2:00PM Pacific Time this Sunday, November 8 — and while you’re at it, follow @OrphanAlliance and @ShowHopeNow on Twitter!

UPDATED 11/8: Heavy load on the Orphan Sunday site. Here’s the direct link to the webcast.

Are you engaged in orphan care and adoption? If so, please share how in the comments and let’s make this everyone’s cause.