SOUPER BOWL OF CARING

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”
-Leo F. Buscaglia

"And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’"
-Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 25:31-46)

First Presbyterian Church of Lincoln recently participated in the Souper Bowl of Caring this year (in fact, on Super Bowl Sunday) and nearly raised $400 for the Matt Talbot Kitchen and Outreach. The cool part of the Souper Bowl of Caring is that it's a Nation-wide event and there are churches across the country that are giving back to the community which they live. For the congregation of First Presbyterian, we chose to give our donations to Matt Talbot's Kitchen which received over $16,000 last year and hopes to raise another $18,000 this year-even given the economic hardships of the nation, people are giving and giving big!
*According to the American Association of Fundraising Counsel: Americans gave more than $307.65 billion to their favorite causes despite the economic conditions in 2008. And while many had expected a sharper decline in giving with the recession. It’s important to keep in mind that despite the downturn, giving still totaled $307 billion and individual giving continues to be in the 82% of total giving range.
The greatest portion of charitable giving, $229.28 billion, was given by individuals or household donors. In 2008, gifts from individuals represented 75 percent of all contributed dollars compared to 74.8% in 2007.

I think that's impressive, don't you? But I didn't want to focus on the monetary aspects of giving. First Presbyterian's very own Susie Wilson and Jeff Vance were interviewed by 10/11 News about the Souper Bowl of Caring. When Chris Pavlish of 10/11 News asked a question about how I would answer someone who wanted to give, but didn't have much money, I instantly thought of our young adults and other congregation members who already give back through Mission Trips and helping with The Gathering Place. The point is, we can give more than money, but we can give of ourselves through our time.
So I encourage everyone to contemplate how they might give more of their time to the community of Lincoln, NE. Check out opportunities at The Gathering Place, The People City Mission, and The Matt Talbot Kitchen-just to name a few.

*I hope to add a link to 10/11 News concerning the interviews of myself and Susie Wilson.