‘One Single Act’ shares stories of kindness, compassion, courage

On July 1, 2025, the first day of her tenure as Dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Very Rev. Winnie Varghese stepped onto the cathedral’s front steps and issued a powerful call. Along with the Diocese of New York, she invited people across the diocese and the neighboring community to perform or acknowledge one act of generosity, compassion, kindness, or justice each day – and to share it on social media for 100 days. The campaign, called #OneSingleAct, spread with the same kind of grassroots energy that fueled the “Pay It Forward” campaign.. 

Now, Varghese expands upon this idea in One Single Act: Gestures of Kindness, Compassion, and Courage That Change Us and the World. In a series of vignettes and essays, Varghese shares personal and enlightening reflections on the extraordinary ripple effects of seemingly small acts of care. Grounded in the fundamentals of Christian Spirituality, she explores how both individual gestures and collective efforts can strengthen communities, inspire hope, and create lasting change.   

Through moving real-world examples, Varghese shows what one single act can look like in practice:  

• a group of women coming together to bring gentle soap into a prison, restoring dignity to incarcerated people and helping them prepare for life after release;  

• parishioners who donated the cost of just a single day’s meals to World Central Kitchen, helping provide more than 100,000 meals to people facing hunger;  

• simple gestures, such as a handwritten note tucked into a lunchbox or a small treat left on a coworker’s desk, that remind someone they are seen and valued.  

Together, these stories reveal how both humble and ambitious acts can become catalysts for personal transformation and global renewal. 

Winnie Varghese. Photo: Brittney Ezna

About the author: The Very Rev. Winnie Varghese is the dean of the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City. Previously, she served as rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta, priest and director of community outreach at historic Trinity Episcopal Church in New York, and rector of St. Mark’s in the Bowery in New York. Dean Varghese serves on the Board of Trustees of Union Theological Seminary; she chaired the General Convention’s Committee on the State of the Church from 2015 to 2018, and she served on the Board of Trustees of the Episcopal Divinity School from 2013 to 2016. She is also a published author, editor, and podcaster living in New York City.