Rev. Carolyn Eklund, Rector

March 2009

Cultivating a prayerful posture during Lent helps us deepen our connection with God. But another important practice of Lent that helps us deepen our relationship with our neighbor in need is almsgiving. Jesus gives us good, concrete advice about the attitude we are to have when we give money and things away to help others. In his words from the Sermon on the Mount, we are guided as Christians, not only in the season of Lent, but in our daily lives.
 

Jesus said, “Be careful! When you do good things, don’t do them in front of people to be seen by them. If you do that, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to the poor, don’t be like the hypocrites. They blow trumpets in the synagogues and on the streets so that people will see them and honor them…When you give to the poor, don’t let anyone know what you are doing. Your giving should be done in secret.” (Matthew 6:1-4, The Youth Bible)

In the time of Jesus’ ministry, Jews like us today, had many different attitudes about charitable giving. Back then there was even a place in Jerusalem near the temple called the “chamber of secrets.”
 

Sounds like a “Harry Potter” movie, doesn’t it?! But this chamber was a place set aside where people could quietly leave gifts for the needy. They could give in secret and the people who were in need could “slip in unnoticed and claim the goods without embarrassment.” (“Sidelight”, The Youth Bible)
 

In today’s households, some families create an Alms Box so that the children and other family members can collect money from the things they have gone without in Lent to give to the needy. I’ll never forget Grace Woodall-MacQuaide going to her family, friends and neighbors to take up a collection for purchasing toiletries for our guests in the homeless shelter.
 

This year, it was just after Christmas (not at all in Lent), after a bad year of unemployment, that the urgent need in Haiti was thrust upon the world after the earthquake in Port-au-Prince. During worship here at Grace, in the two Sundays following the earthquake, even when there was no directed appeal, this congregation raised over $1,600 with no fanfare or trumpet blowing. I also know that even more has been sent “in secret.” No one’s budget was prepared for this disaster. Yet we opened our souls and our wallets to the need.

And we will continue to do so in Lent. On March 27 at 7:00 PM Grace Church is opening our doors to continue to offer support for the need in Haiti. Our Grace friend, Farah Pidgeon, has organized an evening of art and music to support Episcopal Relief and Development, www.er-d.org and the Clinton/Bush Haiti Fund, www.clintonbushhaitifund.org.
 

Our own Ivan Lo will exhibit his artwork for this event. Plainfield artist Darlene Foster and New York resident and artist Jeremy Langdon will also be exhibiting. All artists are offering 50% of their sales toward Haiti Relief. There will be music, too. Mark Miller, the director of the Plainfield Community Gospel Choir will be returning to Grace with his choir to inspire us once again with their gospel music. The nominal entry price is $10 and includes the music, art and refreshments. Farah is looking forward to the community of Plainfield coming together. She says, “It will be a time for people to come together and support Haiti while enjoying art and music. An added bonus is the opportunity to buy some art.”
 

Let me conclude my March Pastor’s Page with a poignant blog entry a 16-year-old Haitian girl recorded after the Earthquake. It is taken from the website, UTNE.com. (I was put in touch with this website as we researched and planned for our Black History observances at Grace by members of the Black History Committee. Thank you to all my sisters in Christ on the committee, Mary Testori, Carrie Hayes, Anita Griffith and Sherrie Russell-Brown.)
 

A 16-year-old blogger who calls herself, Krizkadiak, as reported by Bennett Gordon.

“I saw my school fall in front of me.  I saw people running covered in dust, hearing that their houses fell…sometimes with people in them.
 

I saw a refugee camp, as they are on TV…people praying, people alive but not really…
 

I saw a baby half dead, covered in band-aids…
 

I saw a friend at the cemetery burying his little cousin.
 

I saw the oldest and prettiest houses of jacmel reduced to nothing.
 

I saw pickup truck filled with corpses…
 

I saw my teacher walking to the cemetery behind the car where his wife’s dead body was…
 

I saw kids from my school, people i KNOW, at the refugee camp…
 

And lots of stuff…I hear about dead people every second, tsunami alerts when I know I leave at the beach, stupid people trynna take profit, no gas, no food.
 

But what I didn’t see though….is the Haitian police and the Mayor, shame.”

Last month I wrote about the five finger prayer. Look at the Intercession finger and pray for our needy neighbors. May all the people who suffer in our world be offered to God on our lips and fingers that they may receive God’s consolation, healing and peace.
 

And finally, please don’t forget that Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, March 28. Make it your commitment to spend Holy Week and Easter with the body of Christ at Grace Church, your neighborhood church in Plainfield.  I am your friend in Christ.

Blessings,