A Season of Giving - by Diane Lantzy

The other morning, as I was filling up my car with gas and grousing about not only the need to do so (even with lower gas prices) but that biting wind that I had to endure for…well, oh, maybe five minutes, I had the sudden realization that instead of complaining…I needed to thankful.  Thankful for the ability to fill up my car with gas without taking food off the table.  Thankful that I only had to endure the biting wind for five minutes before hopping back into a warm car.  Thankful that I had a home to go back to where I was safe.  Thankful to be part of a generous congregation that helps to fill these types of needs for so many in our community.

At this time of year, Redeemer in DeWitt strives to provide children with back to school needs, help families to celebrate Thanksgiving with sufficient food and bring Christmas joy to people who can’t afford to celebrate Christmas and heat their house at the same time. This results in a lot of requests in a short period of time but this generous church family always provides all that is needed.

But what is even more incredible is that this generosity is not limited to the holiday season. The Season of Giving at Redeemer Church is the entire year. We support the Food Pantry continually, provide dressers to young mothers, visit shut-ins, donate books, give bottled water to the homeless, and prepare meals for a day shelter. This is only a portion of what our church family does and doesn’t even account for what we are all doing individually to help others.

I am so blessed to be part of a church family that doesn’t limit their generosity to a certain time of year but demonstrates that all seasons are the Season of Giving.