How congregations are promoting the offering

One Great Hour Rap

by the Rev. Angus Crocker
parish associate
Two Rock Valley Presbyterian Church
Petaluma, California

(stomp, stomp, CLAP — like "we will, we will rock you")

What is the gift that we can give
To help the poor and the hungry live?
What is there, now, that we can do
In the flood and the mud, and the earthquake too?
To meet the real needs in emergency,
To patch up the wounds of society,
To build self-sufficient community?
What is the gift for you and me?
ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING.

And here’s something else we can see:
The overhead is almost free.
We give to the church and the church, we see
On the site is in charge of the charity.
It’s not like a dole, but a plan to be
The local church in ministry.
No fat executive salary,
The gifts that we give go to the needy.
ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING.

And when Jesus comes to his glorious throne
He will call in his sheep, and invite us all home.
For we gave to the hungry, set the prisoner free
And find as Christ said, “Loving them, you love me.”
Fill the box that’s a fish and bring it to God.
Through our gifts and our love, it’s in His steps we trod.
So when you are thankful, that God has loved you,
Then we know about something that we can do.
ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING

©2001 Angus Crocker

Small church, big ideas

The congregation of Mission at the Eastward. Photo by Scott Planting

by Scott Planting
pastor, Mission at the Eastward

I’m writing to tell you how one small church in rural Maine supported the 2006 One Great Hour of Sharing.

On the first Sunday in Lent, a deacon of the church stood to introduce our OGHS offering. He passed out the fish banks and a copy of the promotional “A Sharing Calendar” to each member of the congregation and to the children of the Sunday school. He gave as an example:

Moringa tree seeds make a water-purifying powder. OGHS helps get this tree where it can save lives. Give 10 cents for each tree in your yard. $____.

We are a small congregation 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 ... ten cents a tree for each of Walter’s trees!”

The congregation set to work: we made up posters and sent out flyers, and Walter brought in small pine seedlings to give to the children. Each Sunday during Lent Walter described to the children what it takes to grown beautiful Christmas trees — water, air, good soil and lots of care. (We had to adjust the original goal downward a little to 5 cents a tree.) On Easter Sunday, when the coins in the fish banks and OGHS offering was 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 still might reach our goal of 10 cents per tree.

“THE AMAZING RACE”

2008 One Great Hour of Sharing Kick-off Program
First Presbyterian Church
Wilimar, Minnesota

The Amazing Race kick-off project at First Presbyterian Church in Wilimar, Minnesota. Photo courtesy of First Presbyterian Church

Each year First Presbyterian Church in Wilimar, Minnesota, puts together a kick-off program for One Great Hour of Sharing in order to generate enthusiasm and encourage all ages to participate in this important offering. This year’s program was modeled after the popular television show, “The Amazing Race.”

The morning of the kick-off, each person entering the room was given either a red, yellow, or green sticker. Shortly thereafter, all were instructed to meet with the others in their color group and select four members to represent them in a series of relay races that would focus on the universal needs of all people: food, water and shelter. Each team had to include one person in elementary school, one in junior or senior high, one working adult and one retired adult. After selecting their teams, groups sat together in designated areas and cheered for their respective relay teams — pompoms were provided!

Food

The audience members were asked to think about how we view “food” in the United States, and the consensus was that most of us have enough to eat and that we really don’t think about it too much — you might even say we have a “flippant” attitude. So, the activity that followed consisted of team members flipping a slice of bread in the air and catching it on a plate. As teams finished, they stepped on a special mat to determine first, second and third place, with each team winning a bag of pennies* that represented various items that could be purchased with OGHS donations:

• $200 for fishing nets for villagers in Asia striving to feed themselves
• $125 for one goat, which could provide milk for a hungry family
• $15 for a set of garden tools (hoe, shovel, rake) to help tend a garden

Participants emptied their coins. Photo courtesy of First Presbyterian Church

The coins were then taken to a “banker” who kept track of the winnings for each team. During this process the audience was asked to think about the fact that after the relay was over we would be throwing away the three slices of bread, yet many in the world would be appalled at our wasteful ways.

Water

The audience was asked to imagine that when they went home that day, half of the town would have clean, safe, running water and the other half would have no water at all. The consensus was that people would be UPSET, and would be demanding that city officials take care of the problem. In fact, even those who had water would be upset, as many of their friends and relatives would be without. But city officials would tell the residents that there was neither money nor supplies nor the “know-how” to pipe water into the affected area. Instead, they would be instructed to bring their buckets to a ditch on the outskirts of town and help themselves to whatever they needed. The audience then agreed that the townspeople would be even MORE UPSET! However, the facilitator pointed out, in countries such as Guatemala half of the people do not have clean, safe drinking water. Why, the audience was asked, are we not equally as upset about that?

In underdeveloped countries women and girls travel an average of 3.6 miles each day to fetch water, which is carried in vessels balanced on their heads. Our relay race consisted of team members balancing a book on their heads as they traveled a designated course. 1st, 2nd and 3rd places were again determined, and prizes were given out:

• $834 to purchase a water pump which can provide safe, clean water for a small village
• $100 to purchase the piping needed to bring the water to the village
• $35 to purchase the hardware needed for installation (wrench, bolts, seals)

The audience was reminded that the lack of running water carries a “double whammy” as it usually means that, because of their chores, girls are often unable to attend school.

Shelter

The facilitator pointed to a tent that was set up on stage and asked the audience what it represented — most said “camping” and agreed that “roughing it” for a week or so can be fun, but they wouldn’t want to live that way for an extended period of time. Yet when wars and disasters strike, tents are often the only viable options for shelter until permanent housing can be constructed. Holding up a “tinker toy” model of a house, the facilitator reminded the audience of the individuals from our own congregation who recently traveled to Louisiana to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina and how funds from OGHS assisted in that effort. Our relay race consisted of team members working in pairs to construct smaller versions of the “tinker toy” house, using toothpicks and miniature marshmallows as the building materials. After they finished, the teams learned of their prizes:

• $90 to purchase a Family Shelter Kit (tent, ground sheet, plastic tarp, and four blankets
• $30 to purchase a wheelbarrow for construction work
• $20 to purchase a carpentry tool set for home construction and repairs

As coins were taken to the “banker,” they were evenly distributed into small red, yellow, or green cups, as determined by each relay team’s winnings. There were enough cups so that every member of the audience would receive one. While the final tally was taking place, a discussion ensued about the global impact of OGHS and how small groups of people (like the relay teams) working together could really make a difference in the world. The audience was encouraged to contribute to OGHS, with an emphasis placed on the use of the Fish Banks and the Sharing Calendars.

The facilitator then directed the audience’s attention to the phrase, “The Amazing Race,” which was printed in bold letters at the front of the room. It was pointed out that one could remove the “G,” replace it with an apostrophe, and place the G next to the word, “race” — thus forming a new phrase: “THE AMAZIN’ GRACE.” In a few moments the connection between the two phrases became clear: God’s amazing gift of grace, which we do not deserve and cannot earn, has been given to us freely, with “no strings attached.” Yet God does give us the directive to, in turn, show that grace to others — which is exactly what OGHS does! One might say that “God’s Amazin’ Grace” inspires us to participate in “The Amazing Race (OGHS).”

As a reminder of God’s gift of grace, the song “Oh How He Loves You and Me,” was sung, followed by a short prayer:

Loving God, as we offer you our gifts through One Great Hour of Sharing, receive them as a sign of our love. We ask that you use them to help us reach around the world, giving shape to the heart of Christ. Amen.

The cups of coins were then distributed to all members of the audience, according to their group’s color. They were told that the coins were theirs to keep — no strings attached — just like God’s love. However, as they left the gathering, they were encouraged to share that gift with others by placing the coins in a large clear water jug which was located at the front of the room. All together, each small cup of coins would add up to $20 — enough to purchase one of the items (carpentry tool set) that was “won” during the relay races.

In closing, the facilitator stated that it would be easy to go home from the presentation and think about how blessed we are to live where we do and to have what we have. And while we definitely need to be thankful for what we have been given, to dwell only on that would be to miss the point of “The Amazin’ Grace.” A small sign was then held up which read, “Don’t Count Your Blessings.” Audience members seemed puzzled, as this directive seemed contrary to all that had been said previously. Then the second part of the sign was revealed — “Share Them.”

The program, written and directed by church member Sharon Bakker, was well received and thought-provoking. Participants left the gathering that day with a renewed enthusiasm for the One Great Hour of Sharing campaign.

*1st place bag contained 6 rolls of pennies
2nd place bag contained 4 rolls of pennies
3rd place bag contained 3 rolls of pennies. (Remaining roll of pennies was placed in the water jug as seed money)

RELAY RACES

Participants balanced plates on their heads during the Bread Flip game. Photo courtesy of First Presbyterian Church

Bread Flip
Team members stand in a line directly behind one another, all facing the same direction. Each holds a plate in his/her hands. The person at the head of the line has a piece of bread on his/her plate. At the sound of the whistle, the first person flips the bread up over his/her head and back toward the person standing directly behind. That person catches the bread with his/her plate and flips the bread back to the next person, and so on. When the person at the end of the line catches the bread the whole line turns around and faces the other direction. The person with the bread now flips it back over his/her head as before, and so on down the line. When the bread reaches the last person, he/she runs with the bread on the plate to the “finish mat” and is declared the winner. If the bread is dropped anywhere along the line as it is being flipped, it must be picked up and returned to the head of the line and the team must resume flipping it.

Water Carry
Many water races could be used here - carry water jugs over an obstacle course, carry cups of water back and forth to fill up a large jug placed several yards away, etc. Since we were indoors and did not want to end up with wet carpets, we used the old fashioned “charm school” exercise of balancing a book on one’s head and walking to the other end of the room, touching a table, removing the book from one’s head, and running back to give the book to the next person in line.

Home Construction
Construct a simple house from tinker toys to use as a model and place on a table at the end of the room. Also set out small bowls of toothpicks and bowls of miniature marshmallows (take marshmallows out of the bag the night before so that they dry out a bit; it makes them firmer and easier to work with). Teams should pair up in groups of two. At the sound of the whistle, pairs race to the table and work together to construct a toothpick model, then race back and the next pair begins. When the last pair is finished, they run with their model to the “finish mat.”

There are many other races which could be devised. Have fun creating your own!