Dear Friends,

Sharing brings joy! The phrase rolls easily off the tongue, but it is no trite cliché! Rather, it expresses profound spiritual truths — truths about a loving and caring God — truths about a joyous generosity that circles ‘round and dances into and through the human experience as we relate to others and to the Holy One! This year concludes our One Great Hour of Sharing three-part emphasis on this dynamic theme.

Sharing brings joy to us. Generous giving, practiced as a regular spiritual discipline, teaches us about joy. We learn to see ourselves as vital parts of a cooperative sharing effort which expresses God’s love for the world. We see the delight of recipients and experience our own gladness. Grateful for God’s extravagant gifts, the great happiness of others, and our own experience of such delight, we discover we want to be more generous, and so we are drawn into the circular rhythm of sharing that brings joy upon joy.

Sharing brings joy to others. For 64 years, recipients of One Great Hour of Sharing assistance, relief, and support have known comfort and joy through your sharing:

• Families displaced by natural disaster or political unrest rejoice to receive food, shelter, and the comfort of a safe place to begin rebuilding their lives;
• A woman who has had to walk miles for potable water for her family smiles as she draws water from a clean well near her home;
• Children arrive excitedly for the first day of class at the village’s new school.

Sharing brings joy to God. We know that God is always in the midst of our joy, but we also know that "God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7). Can you imagine God’s joy when we share? Can your mind’s eye see those things that cause rejoicing in the heart of the Divine? Scriptures tell us what brings God joy: steadfast love, justice, and righteousness, says Jeremiah (9:24), and the well-being of God’s people(Psalms 35:27b). Certainly any manifestation of agape love, such as a generous hand outstretched to help others (Matthew 22:37-40), brings gladness to God.

Joy-filled sharing makes possible the well-being of God’s people. Joy-filled sharing shows that our hearts and hands are open — open to giving that fosters restoration of shalom — open to generosity that speaks of God’s love. This is surely a delight to the Holy One! When we see ourselves as part of all God’s children everywhere, we learn to be less fearful of a sense of scarcity that can inhibit our generosity. We come to understand that others who happen to be in need are not simply recipients of our charity, but sisters and brothers with whom we are called to live justly and share abundantly. Knowing we willingly share reminds them of who they are: beloved children of the Creator, family of us all, each one a person of sacred worth, also imbued with possibilities for sharing joy.

As you make your offering to One Great Hour of Sharing this year, remember the many ways your gifts bring joy — to you as God’s precious child, to all of God’s other cherished children, and especially to the Holy One.

May your worship be joyful. May your sharing be delightfully abundant. May God be made glad by your cheerful generosity!

Joyfully yours,
The Board of Missions
Deborah Porter, Chairman