My now 8 year old daughter, Amy, was practicing her reading skills at the dinner table as a first grader. She read ‘the child’s prayer’ on the back of the little red can on pasta nights – a weekly event it seems for some families with young children.
The prayer reads: “Thank you, God, for what you give: the food and shelter we need to live. And thanks for teaching us this habit of giving to others who do not have it.”
The little red soup can was part of my family’s Covenant tradition growing up at Berkeley Covenant Church. There was always a can near the dryer–when it gave its offerings. And there was a can in the kitchen we would put money into. When the can was full, we would, as kids, proudly walk it up the aisle at church and give it to Covenant World Relief, knowing we had given to others even as kids.
After returning from living in Tanzania where we lived as a missionary family, we began having talks with our kids about what we have in America as compared to our friends and children in the village where we lived. We decided to add the prayer and offering of the little red can to our pasta night and candle lighting as part of our family tradition today: first, to be reminded of God’s goodness to us, and secondly to have a chance for the kids to think about giving to others who are not as fortunate as ourselves
Amy, our first-grader, doesn’t read the prayer anymore. She has it memorized.
We hope many families in the Covenant will continue to teach the gift of ‘giving to others who do not have it’ or maybe will consider starting a new family tradition with the little red can. It is amazing what the extra little change in our pockets can become over time, and how it can help us grow spiritually and as a family.
The newly designed CWR soup can bank is available to order online here.
