Dear editor,Often I feel somewhat like T.S. Eliot when I contemplate the future of our world: “This was a decent, godless people. Their only monument the asphalt road and a thousand lost golf balls.”And then I once again encounter the generosity of spirit that is alive and well in our community and I am encouraged. The Mennonite churches in Black Creek organized a famine relief barbecue to support those suffering from the famine in East Africa this past weekend and the community responded. In a few hours, we received approximately $4,500 in donations and we are most grateful! One only has to pick up our local paper and look for this spirit and you will find it. Corporations, service clubs, charitable organizations and individuals are so often at work trying to make our world a better place for one another and future generations.This was the case on the weekend as many people dug deeper, including small businesses such as Devonshire Farms, Little Orca Bakery, Comox Valley Bakehouse and Stonecroft Farm, to support those suffering in East Africa.I particularly appreciate Marine Harvest Canada for their donation of salmon for the barbecue (and their suggestion for an excellent marinade recipe). I have noticed them behind the scenes supporting so many community events in the past. Thank you so much!It truly is the case that we strengthen our own community as we reach out to help communities less fortunate than ours. Thank you to the generous people in the Comox Valley, Black Creek, and Campbell River who have reached out to the most vulnerable people in this world and also strengthened the fabric of our own communities in doing so.Pastor Gordon Carter,Black Creek United Mennonite Church