I’m going to let you in on a little secret - people give to people, not causes, not organizations, not institutions, but people. Whether it’s the person asking them to give – the person they can’t say no to - or the person that will ultimately benefit from the donation – it’s people that inspire giving. Broken down into it’s basic elements, it comes down to two things - saving and changing lives, that’s why people give. Whether it’s changing someone’s life by providing the funds for a scholarship to attend school, or saving lives by donating to clean water projects in Africa. Or helping to save lives by donating to The Trevor Project, which provides a national 24-hours a day, seven days a week, toll-free confidential suicide hotline for gay and questioning youth.

A transcript of the Taize homily given by Jennifer Replogle.  Ms. Replogle is an Anglican Studies student at Virginia Theological Seminary and has completed a Master of Diviity from Princeton Seminary.