In Whitehall, Michigan, a congregation made a video to encourage giving to the Covenant World Relief water project in Kitengala, Kenya, which receives funds through the Covenant Cares catalog.
Crossview Covenant Church members in North Mankato, Minnesota, have placed cards on Christmas trees that list possibilities for support. An anonymous donor purchased one of every item in the catalog.
Homeless residents donate to relief efforts
Through the catalog, Covenanters purchase designated gifts on behalf of loved ones to commemorate Christmas and other special occasions. The funds are used for a wide range of projects that include providing clean water, making available malaria medicine, and supporting education. Click here to download a free copy of the catalog.
BACC is “an ethnically diverse congregation comprised mostly of the working poor, men in transitional housing, homeless, and a smattering of employed members,” says pastor Brian Woodson.
Still the congregation manages to feed about 400 families each week. On Thanksgiving, Woodson asked the congregation to do even more by supporting Covenant Cares.
The church raised $866 to purchase water in Ethiopia, water wells in Sudan, nine chickens, one sheep, a pig, vital medicine kits, one Stop the Traffic item, one hymnal, and three school supply sets.
One member named Patrick, who is living at the transitional housing operated by CityTeam Oakland that also operates a homeless shelter, brought a plastic bag of coins and bills collected from his homeless friends. Woodson forwarded the offering as Patrick presented it, “because I think there is something sacred about it,” Woodson wrote in an accompanying letter. Patrick had been excited to hand the money to his pastor.
“His eyes got teary when he related that he had called his sister to tell her what he was doing,” Woodson wrote. “He told me that for years, he had been consumed by a drug addiction that made him self-centered and self-serving, but now he was giving instead of taking. He knew his sister would recognize the change that was happening in his life, and he was happy to identify it in himself.”
Woodson added, “I pray this gift from the poor of America will help the poor in other places in our world. Thank you Covenant Cares for making it easy to give through your gift catalog and thank you for giving the men and women of BACC a connection to your life-giving work around the world.”
Halfway across the country in Whitehall, Michigan, a rural community of 2,700 residents, Fruitland Covenant Church produced a video encouraging people to give to the water project in Kitengala, Kenya. They are asking church members to contribute an amount equal to a tithe of their spending on Christmas presents, says Bobbie Jo Misch.
One Covenanter who wanted to remain anonymous purchased one of everything in the catalog.
Click here to read a previous story on how lives around the world have been impacted by Covenant Cares gifts.
© 2013 The Evangelical Covenant Church |