Dinner for Eight

I don't understand those who are so judgemental of Reverend Rapp and her friends. Things are tough for a lot of people now. I'm amazed we live in times like these. What I get out of this essay is, you can lose material things or other aspects of life (health, job prospects) that you took for granted, but there can still be something precious left. As the Beatles said, I get by with a little help from my friends.

This is for all those comments that have no empathy or sympathy for Ms. Rapp's group. I read this article the day after Thanksgiving, immediately following a day where my family dwelled on all the positive things in lifer that we have, instead of what we don't have. My husband and I are both in Real Estate. Our income has been cut 65% from last year. We have drained our homequity and our savings. We now have to look at taking what little is left from our IRA's and our daughter's college fund in order to survive. We are probably going to loose our home if things don't get better. We have never sold houses to people who couldn't afford them or lenders who did those types of loans. SO DON'T BLAME US FOR THE ECONOMY. Instead consider those of us whose income has dissapeared through no fault of our own and can do nothing about it. I don't hear anyone out there trying to help the people in the Real Estate Industry who are loosing their homes! We have both been in Real Estate for over 20 years and we can't even find jobs at grocery stores or gas stations. All I'm asking is try to have a little understanding. Not everyone is a master of their own destiny. I think Ms. Rapp's group should be comended for finding a way to stay "sane" in all of this turmoil.

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This article is dripping with melodrama. If the recession that we're now in has utterly destroyed the finances of Ms. Rapp's group, then I'd say they were guilty of poor financial planning. I know plenty of middle class people who were VERY thrifty with their money (no blowout NYE parties and no fancy vacations), and they are doing just fine right now. On a side note, Ms. Rapp should probably reconsider fueling her group's dinners with "lots of cheap wine," especially considering half the group suffers from "severe depression" of one form or another. --Not Buying It in Fargo, ND

To Alicia and my beloved friends at Riviera UCC and in the Palm Bay/Melbourne area... My prayers today are lifted up for you. That through all your wise and thoughtful planning, sometimes things don't work out as hoped (not as planned), and to have you all know that you have the best thing out there: one another. Through your cries our God answers (Psalm 55:17, 72:12), and God's loving embrace is there to comfort (Deuteronomy 1:31). I've never been one to prooftext biblical passages, but I will do what I can with the resources God has given me to help out. I love you all. Greg - Fort Morgan, CO.

Reading this article brought back memories from childhood. My parents were members of a havurah - which means "fellowship" in hebrew. Our temple put the group together based on some basic questions. After 45 years the friends still get together 1 a month for discussion and during the holidays + birthdays etc... They knew me before I was born and I am grateful to them and my parents for having them in our lives. Through all the highs and lows in life they have never stopped being there for each other. It was my other huge family. My parents and a few other couples divorced and one thing that was not negotiable to be split was the havurah. One thing I have learned is that it's important to keep friends and often times the best entertainment is a lively discussion with different views and unconditional love and respect for each other.

One of the cornerstones of the American Dream used to be a higher education. Now the Dream is about paying the bills. How did we get here? Can we actually recognize that we are indeed in a recession now? Seriously.

My family is finding solace in getting together more now than we have in the past. With our parents aging, and both my brother and husband facing precarious employment situations, we find it comforting to come together for laughter and support. Now that money is scarce, we are coming to understand that many of the best things in life are free, and time spent in the fellowship of those we love tops the list. Whether we are having dinner or watching a football game, there is such comfort in simply coming together and sharing our lives. Though the difficulties suck, the upside is learning what really matters in life are the relationships formed with others.