Delafield Presbyterian Church

Phone: 262-646-2323

	Mail Us:	P.O. Box 180315
		Delafield, WI 53018

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One Great Hour Of Sharing

One of the striking things about the One Great Hour of Sharing is how it weaves together the gifts of people around the world into a fabric of hope. That includes our financial gifts, which are in a sense a medium through which God’s grace can be shared. But the ways that grace works can sometimes take surprising turns. What happened to Joanna Henry is one of those surprises of God’s grace.

Joanna is a young American woman working with the Presbyterian Church of Mozambique (IPM). She had helped the IPM organize lottery days when area families would receive cows or goats. She knew how much these animals meant to the community. Obviously, they were a source of nutrition, converting scrub into milk and also into work. But less obvious to many is that these animals also are a savings account in which a family can accumulate some cushion against the hard times, a social security plan of a sort. Joanna knew that in Mozambique, when you lose all your livestock, you have lost a great deal, so it was gratifying to her to see how families cared for their animals and were eager to learn more about their care.

Still, Joanna was surprised when, on the day of the lottery, the celebrating women of a village lifted her up and carried her in their strong hands as they danced. It probably felt a little much; after all, she was only one person: the goats and cows weren’t really hers to give. She was just representing all the people around the world who had shared their gifts, including those from One Great Hour of Sharing. But later, one of her IPM partners told her, “Its just their way of sharing their joy. They feel as though they too have been lifted up by hands they cannot see.”

In our lives, in which we tend to feel like we earn whatever we get, its very easy for us to forget how much everything we have is also a gift, a gift of God’s grace. Let us take a moment today and every day to reflect on the many ways we too are lifted up by hands we cannot see.

One way we can share is by giving generously to One Great Hour of Sharing, knowing that somewhere, someone else will experience that joy and delight of being lifted up by your strong hands. We will receive the One Great Hour of Sharing offering in worship on Palm Sunday, April 13. Please give generously.

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