At church, a growing emphasis on charity beyond passing the plate

From the back seat of their Toyota SUV, Tracy Scott's children spotted the woman.

She was standing near a highway entrance ramp on the North Side, apparently homeless, and the Scott kids wanted to say hello.

But they were in the wrong lane. So Scott steered her Sequoia back onto the interstate, went up two exits and looped around so they'd be able to present the woman with a paper bag stuffed with snacks, water, a McDonald's gift card and a note.

"She just kind of reached out and grabbed my hand and said, 'Thank you,'" said Scott, a member of Park Community Church. "I said, 'It's our pleasure.' Then the light was green, so off we went."

That gift ? and the 15 or so similar ones Scott and her three children passed out this past spring ? originated with a $2 bill, an envelope and a pastoral charge to go forth and do good. It also reflects what at least one expert sees as a growing commitment to Christian philanthropy that moves beyond passing the plate on Sundays.

In January, the Tribune wrote about Park's decision to give worshippers back a portion of their tithes. Everyone at the Near North Side sanctuary that weekend received at least $2 and heard a sermon that focused largely on the violence endemic in Chicago. Leaders sent members out to invest that money somewhere it might make a difference.

For thousands of years, worshippers have made offerings and supported charities and evangelism efforts. But as Christians try to reconcile Chicago's shootings, poverty and homelessness with their religious duties, more churches are sending their faithful out to minister on an individual level.

Scott Thumma, a Hartford Seminary professor, said such calls for Christians to address pressing needs within their communities are becoming more common across the country. In just over a decade, the percentage of large churches he surveyed that said their congregations were "working for social justice" increased from about 1 in 3 to about 6 in 10.

Such work fulfills a clear doctrinal purpose, Thumma wrote in an email: It answers the Bible's mandate that believers "serve others, offer a cup of water to the thirsty and food to the hungry."

On Sunday, another example of boots-on-the-ground giving took place at Chicago's Willow Creek Community Church, which launched its Luminocity project that encourages members to go out into the city to make a difference.

"Look at our city," said the Rev. Jon Klinepeter, Willow's pastor. "It's falling in on itself. People are killing each other at a rate that's shocking."

He then urged the mostly young congregation that packed into the Loop's Auditorium Theatre to figure out the "village" that makes up their sphere of influence and to pray about how to make a difference there. With everyone's participation, he said, the church could have a meaningful, citywide impact.

"We're waiting for someone else to fix the problem," Klinepeter said. "What if it's your job to be an agent of change in your village?"

Klinepeter told his church that it's about giving boldly instead of just giving. While all offerings are appreciated, he said, it's the ones that require actual sacrifice that demonstrate the truest sort of generosity.

"You can't leverage your influence in your world if you don't hurt a little," he said. "Sometimes I have to put my agenda on hold for the purpose of someone else's need being met."

For Scott, the Park Community member who distributed provisions to homeless people, such intentional, person-to-person ministry produced powerful results. After she worked with her kids to choose the treats, decorate the bags and compose notes, the family spent an afternoon scouring the city for people who looked like they needed some help. As she drove away from the homeless woman her kids spotted on the entrance ramp, the giver and the recipient were in tears.

"For me, personally, it just makes it much more real," Scott said. "I can give money to Park. I know who they're giving money to and completely trust them with that. That is an entirely different process than the messier, grittier thing we went through with our kids saying, 'We live in this city. What's something we want to help with? And how can we take $2 and make it mean something?'"

mitsmith@tribune.com

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChicagoBreakingNews/~3/Aij7xkF9-U4/story01.htm

bobby brown arrested the happening black panthers mauritania obama open mic jefferson county colorado extenze