Church World Service has a terrific new website for children called "Build a Village." It contains facts, games, stories, quizzes, and a "catalogue of gifts that make a difference." Church World Service is a great organization (sponsors Crop Walk among other things). We used some oftheir resources when we first created Sprouts. Check out www.buildavillage.org and other resources offered by Church World Service.

Which reminds me — if you haven't explored the world of alternative giving, it is worth learning about and using as a justice project. Heifer International (www.heifer.org) is one of my favorites. (My husband and I received a cow for our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, and it makes me feel good whenever I think how many families have benefited from that cow and her descendants since then.) You can buy shares of poultry (ducks & chicks), livestock (goat, pig, cow, llama, etc.), bees, and trees for as little as $10.00. The value of giving to people living in developing countries rather than giving something to people who already have too many THINGS can be a powerful witness to Jesus Christ in the world.

If your church hasn't had an alternative market, maybe you could start one. There are a number ofmodels and programs out there, so you don't have to start from scratch. Try Alternative Gifts International or search for "alternative gift market."

I recently ran into this Scripture in Eugene Peterson's The Message:

I Corinthians 4:7 — "Isn't everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what's the point of all this comparing and competing? You already have all you need. You already have more access to God than you can handle."

I don't know about you, but I often find myself comparing what I'm doing in the church and the world to what others are contributing. I sometimes feel that I don't count for much compared to others. After all, I don't have a paying job. And we all know that volunteers are often undervalued. This passage is a good one to take to heart yourself if you have struggled with this issue. It might also be the basis for helping your Sprouts realize that children count too. Help them realize how God has gifted each one with unique gifts and talents. Children can do significant things and, even more importantly, children can be in relationship with God. They have access to God, and God gives them everything they need. WOW!!

This reminds me that I have changed my mind — sort of — about memorizing Bible verses. I suppose it comes out of a bad childhood experience. For years, Romans 3:23 was a prime example of a Bible verse I had been taught as a child in elementary school: "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Its memory tended to make me feel sinful, inadequate and "bad." I was obviously one of those sinners (knowing that I had a lot of company didn't make me feel better). If I was taught the entire sentence or what it meant, I never remembered it:

"For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith" (Romans 3:23-25, NRSV).

Perhaps my teacher felt that it was too long; perhaps she explained it all, and I just don't remember. But in its entirety, the theological impact is something else altogether. In any case, its negative impact on me was enough to make me question the effectiveness of Bible verse memorization. In recent years, the number of Scripture passages that I have committed to memory because they are meaningful to me has increased dramatically. They are important to my faith journey. So if you are careful to ensure that your Sprouts UNDERSTAND the meaning of what they are memorizing, I encourage you to consider this as an Act of Devotion. Singing hymns until we know them by heart is another way of learning our faith and being able to "encourage" ourselves during difficult times.

The Society of St. Andrew is a wonderful organization that salvages potatoes and transports them to food banks. They have a Vacation Bible School supplementary program, "Dare to Share God's Love" that will teach children about hunger and help them raise money for hunger relief work, a nickel at a time. "Dare to Share God's Love" materials are free of charge and may be ordered by phone at 800-333-4597, online at www.endhunger.org/bible_school.htm, or by e-mail at church@endhunger.org. For more information about the Society of St. Andrew and its hungerrelief programs, visit www.endhunger.org, call 1-800-333-4597, or e-mail sosausa@endhunger.org. This might be something you could use in Sprouts — check it out.

Edie Genung Harris is a layperson in the Florida Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church and co-author (with Shirley Ramsey) of Sprouts.

This article first appeared in the Summer 2005 issue of the Covenant Discipleship Quarterly. Copyright © 2005 General Board of Discipleship. Used with permission.


    Text Only Version