07406
July 6, 2007

If I were a rich man

Seminary student has big dreams of supporting Joining Hearts & Hands

by Emily Enders Odom
MIJHH Associate for Communications

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s oppositional stance on gambling notwithstanding, Sean Chow has already decided what to do with his lottery winnings. 

That is, if he should ever win.

Chow, a third-year student at San Francisco Theological Seminary’s (SFTS) Southern California campus, dedicated the June 12th entry on his blog to naming the five charitable organizations that he would support if he were to come into a lottery jackpot. The Mission Initiative: Joining Hearts & Hands, the $40 million fundraising campaign to renew the PC(USA) for mission, tops his list.

“We were joking around in Bible study one night about what we would do if God were to bless us by winning the lottery,” Chow said.  “As a scholarship student at SFTS who is receiving financial help from so many places, I just knew that I would want to give back to the community with what God had blessed me.”

Inspired by the example of an Orange County billionaire who recently gave away millions to charity, Chow, who spends less than $5 a year on lottery tickets, wrote on his blog, “For years I have bought lottery tickets…Spending that dollar gives me a chance to think of the possibilities.”

Chow first learned about Joining Hearts & Hands when he became the commissioned lay pastor of families at the Word of Life Presbyterian Church in Port Hueneme, CA, a new church development in Santa Barbara Presbytery that receives funding through Joining Hearts & Hands.  In his new role, Chow welcomes, supports, and creates programming for the large number of young families who, in Word of Life, have found their first church home.

Word of Life draws it membership from the cities of Oxnard and Port Hueneme, areas that are largely Hispanic in population and are home to a significant number of at-risk youth and their families.

“In our community, families struggle every day with the reality of violence and gangs,” Chow said.  “Pastor Ronnie Urzua and I are committed to helping families strengthen their relationships, and to providing them with tools to help them overcome gang violence.”

A husband and father of three, Chow hopes to graduate from SFTS in December 2008 and become ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).  “Although I love being a part of Word of Life,” Chow said, “I’m open to wherever God is calling me.”

And wherever lottery tickets – and big dreams – may be found.