the 'fall' assignment

the fall assignment, of course, was to go to yosemite to experience the fall colors.  the picture to your left is not yosemite.  it is the fall colors of merced; the tree is in front of my home.  so, i am very fortunate to enjoy the fall colors in my own back yard, as they say! 

i was asked to share the illustration project from my sermon on sunday.  based on heidi neumark's experience in a church in mexico city, the people of the church bring rice and share it with others.  i am inviting you to do the same; if you do not live in merced, simply secure a sandwich size baggie and when you are finished with your 'fall' assignment, share the baggie with your local food pantry.  the 2 cents is reflective of what the widow gave in the parable in mark -- so, of course, you'll want to read that parable!  the illustration is as follows:

a glad-bag of rice based on mMark 12:38-44; two copper coins…contribute out of your abundance.

purchase a 1 pound bag of rice.    remove the 2 cents (i had placed 2 pennies and these directions in each bag) and place them next to your plastic baggie as a reminder of the sacrificial voice you are making on behalf of others.    leave the plastic baggie and the 2 cents visible on your counter, and as people ask about it, share the story of how you are helping to make a difference in the lives of the people here in merced (or the community in which you live).

for each person who eats in your household, place a spoonful of rice in the bag.    you might be tempted to just pour the bag of rice in the baggie and be done with it…but pastor jay says…try to resist!    one of the points of this service project is to realize that, while we are privileged to live without a spoonful of rice every meal, there are others who would live an entire day on that one spoonful of rice.    when you have filled up your plastic baggie, bring it to church with you and place it in the green tub in the hallway on the cypress street side of our church building; your bag will be used in our food pantry.  (or bring it to your nearest food pantry).

carry the pennies with you as a reminder that in order to really make the change jesus talked about, we will need to become advocates of change.   when you’ve finished this ‘project’, share your experience with the church by email (umcjay@sbcglobal.net) or by a written note; and share your experience with one other person not related to our community of faith.   then invite someone else to ‘serve god’s world’ by advocating for a change.

so, as some of you know, an out of town friend of mine and i were to go to yosemite...and we did, but we hadn't expected snow!  notice the contrast between the tree in my yard and the tree in the yosemite valley!  ironic!

this will be the memory i hold of the fall of 2012, as i fill up my bag with rice; thankful for a warm roof over my head, and the ability to experience the beauty of the fall, as well as the ability to share from the abundance of god's gifts.

i hope you have been blessed . . . . and that you will share that blessing in the days to come.