Sample Letter

Dear members,

This year as we move into Lent and also prepare for One Great Hour of Sharing, Haiti is on my mind for a lot of reasons. First, the initial emergency period is coming to an end. Barring another miracle, no more survivors will be found in the rubble, and most of the food and water distribution systems are in place. Second, and probably more important, the continuing struggle of our brothers and sisters there is beginning to slip out of our consciousness. Our hearts are still full of compassion, but with our ears full of whatever news is more recent, it gets incredibly easy to forget the pain of those not only in Haiti, but in Darfur, in Pakistan, in all the places where disaster and war cause displacement and suffering.

I say all this to remind you that this is why we at Westminster Presbyterian Church have given to One Great Hour of Sharing for more than 60 years. That one time a year when we give our gifts, we know that our staff in the three One Great Hour of Sharing programs will be listening for the cries of our sisters and brothers throughout the next year. And they will be responding for us in Christ’s name to those cries. To new emergencies they will respond as they did in Haiti — immediately, directly, and through our partners wherever the emergency occurs. But equally important, in places like Haiti and Darfur, they will stay there long after the news cameras have moved elsewhere — stay there and help communities rebuild on a firmer foundation.

One example of this is the tremendous work the three programs have done in West Africa, together with church partners there. We’ll read about this in a bulletin insert in a couple of weeks, but I invite you as well to go on our church’s Web site, www.westminpcplainview.org, to see a short video about this inspiring partnership, What Can I Do To Change the World?.

I want to extend two invitations and a challenge to you this Lent. First, I hope you will pick up one of the Lenten devotions in the narthex and will use itto help focus your spiritual journey this Lent. Second, we will be having a potluck on Sunday, March 14. We’ll show the video for those who haven’t yet seen it, the children will read a story about Gracie the fish, and then Jim and Christie will lead a discussion of how by making relatively small changes in our lifestyles we can radically increase our gifts, which will make huge differences in the lives of our sisters and brothers. That brings me to the challenge, which also relates to our support of One Great Hour of Sharing. Just as we trust our OGHS programs to respond to the needs of the world’s poorest and hungriest people — to feed Christ’s sheep, in the words of this year’s theme — those programs can only do so to the extent of our generosity. I challenge you to give strong consideration to doubling your gift to the offering, and I invite you to see how this opens your heart to God’s work in your own life. So I hope you will join us that Sunday, and I hope you will join Christians all across the country in opening their hearts to witness tangibly to the abundant love of God through One Great Hour of Sharing.

Yours in the love and grace of Jesus Christ,

Rev. _________________