|
Keeping Mother’s Day in
mind, we hope you’ll join us to help “feed” and “nurture” penny jars so a
heifer, a sheep, a goat, a flock of chicks, a trio of rabbits, a flock of
ducks or other animals can be purchased from Heifer International to help
children and families around the world receive training and animal gifts
that help them become self-reliant. On May 4, each Sunday School child will
receive a “baby” jar which they’ll get to decorate and fill with pennies by
following a daily activity sheet; these “baby jars” will be collected on May
25. You can get involved, too! Help fill the “mama” penny jar sitting on
the table in the Narthex…we’ll gladly accept your loose coins, dollar
bills…or even checks! |
|
The “Penny Jar” is one
of our church’s outreach programs. Heifer International is a worldwide
organization to end hunger while caring for the earth. The organization was
formed by a Midwestern farmer named Dan West who had been handing out
rations of milk to hungry children during the Spanish Civil War. When he
returned home, he formed Heifers for Relief, dedicated to ending hunger
permanently by providing families with livestock and training so that they
could be spared from depending upon others to
feed their families. The first shipment of 17 heifers left Pennsylvania for
Puerto Rico in 1944 for families whose malnourished children had never even
tasted milk! |
|
Why heifers, you ask?
Because these were young cows who hadn’t given birth yet, making them
perfect for not only supplying milk but supplying a continued source of
support…each family received training as well as a heifer and agreed to pass
on the gift by donating a female heifer offspring to another family so the
gift of food never ends. |
