It confirms in my mind the deep and wide stream of generosity flowing through this congregation and its history of reaching out and caring and giving and sharing. It just comes naturally to this community of disciples to concern itself with others near and far. When the letter came to the Outreach Committee, it was a complete surprise because no one has ever thought about being even noticed for just doing what we naturally do, share. Yet it feels good to learn our generosity and caring has made a significant difference in people’s lives around the world.
Through its expression in the UCC, One Great Hour of Sharing supports health, education, refugee, agricultural, and emergency relief initiatives the globe over, many in conjunction with national churches and agencies on the scene. Although mostly an outreach of the major mainline Protestant denominations, OGHS works in conjunction with the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Relief Fund and the Jewish Passover Appeal. It is one of the longest-running combined assistance offering in the U.S.
And it was an hour, actually, at first. On Saturday, March 26, 1949 at 10 pm, there was a radio broadcast called “One Great Hour” to aid postwar recovery and rebuilding in Europe. It closed with a request that listeners attend their local church the following morning and make contributions. Its goal was “one million dollars in one hour.” American churchgoers responded and shared. The united effort set the groundwork for much mission giving since. The relief work of the separate denominations is supported under the overall umbrella of One Great Hour of Sharing. The ecumenical banner, theme, interpretation, and “branding,” provide a unified invitation, despite denominations’ separate agencies (along with Church World Service) often delivering the aid. There are amazing stories of inter-denominational relief response. It is a far deeper and richer meaning for “sharing” than merely sharing offering money; it is sharing help and hope.
Like many congregations, First Congregational has a deep and faithful history of sharing through OGHS, and as we end our month-long emphasis on Palm Sunday, I will simply remind you of the good works done through this offering over the years and encourage you to be generous yet again this year. Not for the recognition, but for the benefit of those aided.
I’m also going to suggest that you take an hour to explore onegreathourofsharing.org and www.ucc.org/oghs/ and learn about all the ways people all over in difficult situations have been helped through OGHS. And, obviously, I hope that inspires you share more generously. Use the envelopes in the pews or mail it to the church office. Sharing is incredibly powerful.
I’ve written much this Lent about forms of prayers, finally last week encouraging you to take some action based on your faith in the world. While we do not often think of our financial resources as a form of devotion arising from our spiritual discipline, they really are an expression of our faith. When it comes to helping Christ’s care-worn sisters and brothers, our contributions are powerful prayers of intercession. Our money works on behalf of the Gospel.
Prayer works… particularly if you work at it! Particularly when you share it.
In Christ,
David
Texts For Sunday Worship:
From the Epistles Philippians 2:5-11
From the Gospels Mark 11:1-11
No comments:
Post a Comment
Share your thoughts on this post in a spirit of love for God, yourself, and each other. All comments are checked before posting. While you may post anonymously, we encourage you to leave your name!