Last December I first heard about the Advent Conspiracy, a movement that encourages people to spend less at Christmas so they have more to give away. Brian Bell, the pastor of Trulls Road Free Methodist Church, told me about it as we visited together in his office. He also told me that his church held an annual Christmas offering for the money that people saved by spending less on gifts, an offering that was then passed on to local and global agencies serving those in need.
Our conversation shifted to the Syrian refugees issue, and I took the opportunity to tell him that we were about to host a public meeting about sponsoring a couple of families. He pledged to be there. He also said Trulls Road would keep our project in mind when the time came to allocate the Advent Conspiracy offering. The following week he and several other Trulls Road Church members participated in our information meeting.
Time marched on. Our Refugee Sponsorship Committee worked diligently, establishing sub-committees and filling out applications with the government. Fred, committee chairperson, followed up with Pastor Brian. Time marched on a little bit longer and we were blessed with a great Refugee Sponsorship offering and the approval of our applications by the government. Then, four days ago, we received the happy news that Trulls Methodist Church had accepted us as one of their causes. A letter, holding a cheque for $2,000, arrived in the mail. “We are pleased to offer this cheque in the amount of $2,000 to be used towards your Refugee sponsorship,” Debi, TRFMC’s office administrator wrote. “We pray that God will multiply this to meet needs and use your church family as this process unfolds.”
This partnership between two local churches is a shining example of the kind of mutual support Jesus encouraged when he prayed, “Father, make them one.”
This donation, however, does much more than connect two congregations. It also connects Christmas and Easter, the two most important seasons of the church year. How so? Christmas is all about the promise of salvation and Easter is all about the fulfillment of that promise. Since the offering for Refugee Sponsorship was promised just before Christmas and delivered just before Easter, it stands as a fitting symbol of the promise God fulfilled when he sent Jesus to us.
Join me in thanking God for Pastor Brian Bell and Trulls Methodist Church, and their decision to support our important cause with this generous gift. May these funds, added to the monies already raised, help us give a warm welcome to the two families that Hope Fellowship is bringing here later this spring.
- Pastor Peter
P.S. The essence of the Advent Conspiracy is to Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More and Love All, four themes that are just as important at Easter as they are at Christmas.
Our conversation shifted to the Syrian refugees issue, and I took the opportunity to tell him that we were about to host a public meeting about sponsoring a couple of families. He pledged to be there. He also said Trulls Road would keep our project in mind when the time came to allocate the Advent Conspiracy offering. The following week he and several other Trulls Road Church members participated in our information meeting.
Time marched on. Our Refugee Sponsorship Committee worked diligently, establishing sub-committees and filling out applications with the government. Fred, committee chairperson, followed up with Pastor Brian. Time marched on a little bit longer and we were blessed with a great Refugee Sponsorship offering and the approval of our applications by the government. Then, four days ago, we received the happy news that Trulls Methodist Church had accepted us as one of their causes. A letter, holding a cheque for $2,000, arrived in the mail. “We are pleased to offer this cheque in the amount of $2,000 to be used towards your Refugee sponsorship,” Debi, TRFMC’s office administrator wrote. “We pray that God will multiply this to meet needs and use your church family as this process unfolds.”
This partnership between two local churches is a shining example of the kind of mutual support Jesus encouraged when he prayed, “Father, make them one.”
This donation, however, does much more than connect two congregations. It also connects Christmas and Easter, the two most important seasons of the church year. How so? Christmas is all about the promise of salvation and Easter is all about the fulfillment of that promise. Since the offering for Refugee Sponsorship was promised just before Christmas and delivered just before Easter, it stands as a fitting symbol of the promise God fulfilled when he sent Jesus to us.
Join me in thanking God for Pastor Brian Bell and Trulls Methodist Church, and their decision to support our important cause with this generous gift. May these funds, added to the monies already raised, help us give a warm welcome to the two families that Hope Fellowship is bringing here later this spring.
- Pastor Peter
P.S. The essence of the Advent Conspiracy is to Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More and Love All, four themes that are just as important at Easter as they are at Christmas.
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