End of year need: $892,996
It was Cooking Camp, one of my favorite programs of the year! As usual, I didn’t have my station ready on time. As I rushed around grabbing the necessary pots and pans and such, Anna Hines came to me and said, “Do you have a minute?” I looked at my mess of stuff and said, “Of course.”
She wanted to introduce me to her neighbor Olivia, who handed me an envelope. I think Olivia saw the confusion on my face and began to tell me a story. She said, “This past weekend I put up a lemonade stand, and it did really good. I go to a different church, but I knew I would be coming here for Cooking Camp. So, in the envelope is 20% of the amount I made. I wanted to give it to Wilshire.” Talk about tears!
We enter into Advent believing “a child will lead them.” It’s a phrase from Isaiah 11:6 that describes a future kingdom where peace and harmony prevail. So often, we can notice how our children lead us into the light. Olivia gives me hope and expectation that we can be generous people who come together to meet a need before us.
We are a community of believers in Jesus Christ, which means we are a community that is generous with our acts, much like Christ. Yes, this message is about monetary giving, but it is also a reminder of how generosity fuels so much of what we do here. Generous with our actions, our presence, our love … generosity is necessary to the well-being of our community.
When you give to Wilshire’s Unified Budget, you make possible the work and worship that keep our community unique and purposeful. Henri Nouwen states, “God’s kingdom is the place of abundance where every generous act overflows its original bounds and becomes part of the unbounded grace of God at work in the world.”
We have $892,996 left to go to complete what we budgeted this year. Someone shared with me last week, “Remind people that if they have the company that holds their IRA send their required Minimum Distributions Requirements to the church, they will not be taxed on that money.”
There are so many ways we can give, and I hope you continue to prayerfully consider how you will.
—Timothy Peoples