Stewardship Sunday with a Bowl of Chili

lifeatctk ♦ November 6, 2014 ♦ Leave a comment

Sunday, November 16, is CTK’s Stewardship Support Sunday, during which the congregation is invited to bring their prayerfully-considered pledges forward to the altar and lay them before the Lord, committing to Him and to their fellow members their tangible, financial support, thus enabling the church and its members to establish a solid foundation from which to implement its mission and ministry. This is actually a very moving procession of sorts. Adults and children bring their pledges together; the children experience the idea of actively participating in the ministry of the church and the adults feel the seriousness of the commitment as they approach the altar. Our congregation has been greatly blessed through its members’ giving and we praise the Lord for His rich bounty and blessings. Tithing and sacrificial giving is not taken lightly here.

This year, on the very same Sunday, we are gathering in the Fellowship Hall after the 11:00 service for an event called “Chili Bowl for a Goal,” a lunch and silent auction to raise funds for the children served by the not for profit organization Trinity/HOPE, which provides a daily meal for children attending Christian schools in the ravaged country of Haiti. “Beans and rice” are the daily fare, and it is often the only meal these hundreds of children are privileged to eat during any one day. Bless the folks at Trinity/HOPE; theirs is a never-ending task of raising funds and awareness among people who have a hard time fathoming the degree of deprivation and starvation that exists in that country. Through a free-will offering for a thick bowl of chili, and through bids on silent auction items ranging from cooking lessons to beautifully elaborate gift baskets, the members of our Faith in Action Committee hope to continue the pattern of giving to “our” school in Mandou and continue to feed those children who hunger both physically and spiritually. The good people at Trinity/HOPE make sure to serve up a fine helping of Jesus’s love along with the beans and rice.

So as we bring forward our pledges on Nov. 16, and then join in fellowship over a bowl of chili afterward, we will have on our minds both our blessings and our obligations which Christ has offered to us. We praise the Lord for His abundant blessings as we seek ways to share them for others’ spiritual and physical well-being. We pray that the Lord will guide us in being good stewards of our earthly wealth so that others can enjoy the wealth of God’s grace in heaven.