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One Great Hour of Sharing
Sunday, March 2nd
Sharing Resources, Changing Lives
“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have.”
– Hebrews 13:16a
For the early Christians, beneficiaries of Jesus’ own sacrifice, the old system of burnt offerings and temple sacrifices no longer made sense: a new offering of praise became the order of the day. But the writer of Hebrews tells them that saying good things to and about God isn’t enough. Our offerings should be more than the ‘fruit of our lips.’ More than our words, God desires our participation — asking us to share our resources to change people’s lives.
Sebastiana’s Story of Hope
Sebastiana has known nothing but poverty her entire life. A widow, she is caring for her nine children in the difficult environment of the high Peruvian plains. When the program Credit with Education came to Sebastiana’s village, she summoned courage to take her first loan of $64 to raise pigs for a market many miles away. “I knew others with loans, but I never dared to become involved,” she said. “I worked with what I had.” As a loan recipient, she received business training and her first lessons on child nutrition and illness prevention. Our gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing support the organization Freedom from Hunger which operates Credit with Education. The training – and the encouragement of other women in her village – gave Sebastiana the confidence that she, too, could productively use a loan. She hopes her children will have a better life than she has had. “I want to get whatever I can for my children.”
Source: Freedom from Hunger
One Great Hour of Sharing
“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have.” Hebrews 13:16a
Each year we have a huge nationwide offering to ease the suffering of our brothers and sisters world wide. One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) funds provide disaster relief, refugee assistance programs as well as education, health and agricultural programs that increase the quality of lives worldwide. Over 3 million dollars was generated in 2006 from this one offering. One Great Hour of Sharing has been a tradition of our church for many years.
The children of the K-2 and 3rd-5th grade Sunday school classes have put together what we call a “Kindness Quilt.” It is a large collage of photos and drawings that illustrates people helping other people. The “Kindness Quilt” includes members of our congregation helping others. Stop by and take a look. The “Kindness Quilt” will be displayed to draw attention to our One Great Hour of Sharing offering Sunday, March 2.
Please pick up a sharing calendar and make OGHS part of your daily lives. Mark Sunday, February 3 as the first day of this activity and follow the daily thoughts and ideas through Sunday March 2 the day of the OGHS offering. Offering boxes, sharing calendars, and other OGHS information are available in the Fellowship Hall throughout the month of February.
“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.”
Gandi
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