Despite the gruelling months we have been through with the pandemic, I’ve seen positive signs of human goodness everywhere. People have been remarkably kind and generous. In our local community there have been people phoning one another, or standing in their driveways to exchange greetings with them, delivering food, medication, newspapers and doing everything they can to lift their spirits. It has been amazing to watch these small acts of generosity, many of which have gone unnoticed. All of this and more has contributed to keeping our communities going during the past eighteen months.
Even though we are slowly progressing towards freedom, there is still much to do. We need time to adjust to new restrictions and to carefully re-entering a new world. Many of us are not finding this easy and need support. Generosity is still needed.
The apostle Paul wrote about the church in Macedonia which had suffered difficulty and deep poverty. Yet these people who had little were remarkably generous. Paul remembered that they begged him to take their money to help other Christians (at a time when the early church members were being persecuted for their faith). These Macedonian Christians gave an example of selfless love in the face of difficulty. Paul called this ‘the ministry of giving’.
We’re going to commit the whole of July to being generous as a parish. That means we want generosity to be at the heart of all we do. There are many ways to give generously. Time, talents and money are just a few examples. Or you could help us in our support for St Aidan’s FoodShare. We want to grow in this ministry of giving, to continue to serve our communities, and show the love of God to them. Will you join us?
Every blessing
Angela