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This year Salisbury Presbyterian Church will again participate in the One Great Hour of Sharing (OHGS) special offering by responding to Christ’s love for all people by joyfully sharing that love with people in need.  This special offering started after WWII as a special worship hour during the year that was set-aside for people of faith to contribute over and above regular offerings.  On this date, each year, this offering is received by ten Protestant denominations and used by people in more than 70 countries around the world.  Approximately $20 million is raised each year. 

Money is channeled through denominational networks and councils of church to overseas partners who know most intimately how best to address local needs.  By acting in partnership with local Christians, and by distributing money through church networks of experienced relief workers, OGHS provides an efficient way to get aid to those who need it, anywhere in the world.

Presbyterians’ gifts support the work of The Presbyterian Committee for the Self-Development of People, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, and the Presbyterian Hunger Program.  The hundreds of millions of dollars Presbyterians have given over the last half-century have enabled a powerful witness to the love of the One who came that all might have life more abundantly.
Here is how PC(USA)’s gifts to the OGHS offering are allocated after deducting the costs of creating and distributing promotional materials (roughly 5%):

36% - Presbyterian Disaster Assistance for disaster response and ministries with refugees and ministries addressing homelessness and affordable housing

32% - Presbyterian Hunger Program for ministries working to alleviate hunger and eliminate its causes, responding with compassion and justice to poor and hungry people in local communities, in the nation, and throughout the world.

32% - Self-Development of People for partnerships with groups of people who are oppressed by poverty or social systems, who want to take charge of their own lives, have organized to do something about their own condition, and have decided what they need to t do to produce long-term benefits for themselves.

Whether it is emergency relief for flood victims in the Midwestern U.S., assistance to refugees in southern Africa, or technical advice to attack persistent poverty in Asia or Latin America, OGHS continues to be in the forefront of empowering marginalized people to improve their lives.

Last year, our congregation contributed over $2300 to help those in need, well above our goal of $2000.  This year, we once again are trusting in God’s provision for us and have set a goal of $2500.

Start thinking about how God would have you meet this challenge.  Some ideas are fasting and praying for one meal a week, or eating at home instead of a restaurant, or leaving ice cream off your shopping list during Lent.  Donate the money you would have spent on these items to the offering.  Our children will be bringing home sharing calendars from OGHS that will help them in making an offering.  These sharing calendars will help us consider the great abundance that God has showered upon us and to learn what other people can only dream about.  Each day there is an example of this disparity and a suggested offering.  A special fish bank will be also distributed with the calendars so they have a special bank to collect the offering in.

Of course, Lent is not necessarily a time for giving up things; it can be a time for a giving of yourself.  For those of you who want a greater Lenten experience, consider volunteering in a local ministry that Salisbury Presbyterian Church supports, or one that may be dear to your heart.

We will present our offerings during the Palm Sunday and Easter services at Salisbury Presbyterian Church.  Children may bring in their fish banks, and adults may use the special envelopes in the pews to present their offerings. 
 

If you have any questions about this offering you may contact Ed Olsen, Community Outreach Chair, by email <olsenhokies@comcast.net> , or by phone at 804-379 8009. 

For more information on this One Great Hour of Sharing, check out the OGHS Website:  http://www.oghs.org.   For more information on other SPC Community Outreach Special Offerings, check out the SPC Special Offerings Website: http://salisburypc.org/Outreach/specialofferings.html