03 April 2014
Take a spin on the Wheel of Generosity
- Take your turn here
- It's
#thankyouthursday - who deserves your thanks today?
People are being encouraged to spin an online Wheel of
Generosity and commit to small acts of kindness as part of a new
campaign from the Methodist Church.
A Generous Life is designed to help Christians rethink together
what it means to be generous in their local contexts.
"Every act of generosity, however small, bears witness to our
generous and loving God," said the Revd Dr Martyn Atkins, General
Secretary of the Methodist Church. "Generosity can be expressed in
many ways, whether through financial giving, dedicating your time
to help someone else, or sharing freely your skills and creativity.
A Generous Life is a great opportunity to rethink what it might
mean for each of us to act generously as disciples of Jesus in our
everyday lives."
A range of resources is available here to help congregations
explore their vision, commitment and generosity within the local
church and its community. The resources are suitable for use at any
time of year, but are ideal for Aldersgate Sunday (18 May), when
churches remember the day in 1738 on which John Wesley 'experienced
confirmation of his salvation by the grace of God.'
A special, one-off issue of ROOTS magazine has also been produced,
which features worship planning materials for adult and all-age
services, as well as children's and youth groups.Every Thursday,
people will be encouraged to say 'thank you' on Twitter to those
who have made a difference in their lives, however great or small,
using the #thankyouthursday hashtag. They can also share their own
stories of what generosity means to them when they register for
campaign updates.
When asked about the people who had inspired them to be generous,
one respondent said: "When the woman who worked as my cleaner and
childminder in South Africa (a 'domestic worker') offered to take
on an AIDS orphan who was rummaging through our bin on bin
collection day - she had so little but was willing to give so much.
It inspired me to adopt a child permanently as a member of our
family."
Another said: "I am what I am today because of the generosity of
time and energy of my Boys' Brigade Officers in Scotland. I was
there for five years, walked out at the end of those five years and
have never seen them again. They may think they had failed but they
planted a seed. One day we will meet again and they will be so
surprised that I not only became a Christian but a minister."
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A range of images to accompany the campaign can be found online here.