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10 cents for each of Walter’s trees
On the first Sunday in Lent, a deacon of Fairbanks Union Church stood to introduce our One Great Hour of Sharing offering. He passed out the fish banks and a copy of the promotional Sharing Calendar to each member of the congregation and to the children of the Sunday school. Then he read the calendar entry:
Moringa tree seeds make a water-purifying powder. One Great Hour of Sharing helps get this tree where it can save lives. Give 10 cents for each tree in your yard.
We are a congregation of about one hundred and we get immediate feedback about ideas. So one person in the back of the church turned to the man sitting next to him and asked, “Well, Walter, how many trees do you have?” Walter raises Christmas trees on his farm. He thought for a minute and said, “20,000.” The deacon didn’t skip a beat and replied, “That’s our goal then . . .
10 cents for each of Walter’s trees!”
The small congregation set to work. We made up posters and sent out flyers, and Walter brought in pine seedlings to give to the children. Each Sunday during Lent, Walter described to the children what it takes to grow beautiful Christmas trees — water, air, good soil
and lots of care. And we had to adjust the original goal downward a little — to 5 cents a tree. But on Easter Sunday, when the coins in the fish banks and the One Great Hour of Sharing offering were counted, we had raised over $1,200! The next Sunday, when we announced we had reached our goal, Walter replied, “I guess I need to plant some more trees.” We intend to keep working to reach our original goal of 10 cents for each of Walter’s trees! |
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