All kinds of calls pour into the church office. Most are pretty mundane. There is the seeker, asking about our service times. There is the ministry team member, checking the date and time of the next meeting. There is the researcher, wanting to know if his grandfather’s great-aunt’s cousin’s nephew was a member back in ‘02. Then, there are the calls that grab at your heart-strings:
“Ummm, hi. Listen, I don’t know . . . you see, my wife is sick and needs some medicine and, well, we can’t afford it right now, and, I don’t know, I was wondering if maybe you could help us . . .”
“Hello? I was calling to see if maybe you could help me? I’m eight months pregnant and need some help paying my rent this month.”
“This is the church right? We’re not from here but our car broke down. We’re getting it fixed, but it’s going to cost more than we have with us and won’t be ready until tomorrow. I was hoping you might be able to help us with a place to stay tonight? It’s myself, my husband, and our four-year old son.”
And when I hear these voices I start asking myself: “Am I being scammed?” “How come they can’t take care of themselves?” “How did they get themselves into this problem?” “Don’t they have family they can call?” “Do they deserve to be helped, or am I just throwing away my time and money?” And, when I hear these voices, I also hear that of Jesus saying: “Whatever you have done for the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.” (Matthew 25:40) It is then I remember that Jesus didn’t ask if I deserved to be saved when he went to the cross.
“The poor will be with you always,” Jesus said. (Mark 14:7) And, unsurprisingly, his words have proven true as people’s needs consistently outstrip our resources for help. Though we provide $1000.00 a year in our budget for benevolent giving, it is never enough. I’d like to begin changing the balance sheet.
Carol and I planned on having a yard sale to clean out our garage and we decided to give a tithe of the proceeds to the church’s benevolent fund to give away to needy people in our community. We thought that many in our church family might like to join us. Last week, I asked the Church Council to approve holding a church-wide yard sale in the side parking lot to raise some money for the benevolent fund and they agreed. Anyone in the church who has some things they want to clear out of the attic, garage, store room, whatever, is welcome to come out on Saturday, October 27 and set up a table. All we ask is that you give a tithe to the church’s benevolent fund. We’ll be advertising throughout the community, so we should have a large turnout. Yard sale starts at 8:00am and runs until noon so plan to set up about 7:00am.
Pastor Will
