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Thursday

Have you ever used the phrase “just friends”? I was in New Orleans recently, and I was overwhelmed by a memory of an old friend named Bill Ellis. He was a student clergy and a former Baptist pastor. He commuted three hours each way to help us start a church in Shreveport, Louisiana.

My favorite memory of Bill is the time he traveled with a group of us to paint the outside of a New Orleans church over Fourth of July weekend in 1992. That church was very poor and small. I suspect hell is cooler than New Orleans on the 4 th of July. Although Bill was in the final stages of AIDS and could not paint, he still went along and brought us all water so we wouldn't become dehydrated.

After Bill returned from New Orleans, he never left home again, but his friends attended his every need. We went by at mealtime to feed him and, in the end, to change his diapers. He never lost his sense of humor, and we never lost our love for him. In the end, those who were just friends became Bill's fairytale family. We carried him into the presence of the eternal grace of God, and, even today, we carry him in our hearts. Everyone needs a family like that.

Blessings,

Michael Piazza
President, Hope for Peace & Justice

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