I have visited congregations which use world globes of some sort to receive the offerings of children during Sunday morning worship. These provide some very important visual clues for young people as well as making them feel that they are returning God’s gifts in a way that is uniquely theirs, not just putting their parents’ offering envelope into the plate as it passes by.
Galilee Lutheran on Rice Street in St. Paul is not a large congregation but one with a good understanding of the big picture of what it means to be a part of God’s world. The congregation uses a real world globe (hole neatly cut into the top) which the children pass by and drop in their coins.
Galilee’s newsletter (February 2011) reported that the 2010 offering total from the globe was $350 shared for malaria nets in Guatemala and via Lutheran World Relief. In 2011 the offering collected in the children’s globe will support God’s Global Barnyard, a program of the ELCA. An animal can make a difference for a family in need. Animals provide food to eat, fertilizer to grow crops, and offspring to sell at the market. “Our globe offering can help a family escape the cycle of poverty and hunger for good.” Then the newsletter, with words and pictures, gave examples of what their donations could provide--$10 for chickens, $30 for a pig, $500 for a cow, etc.
How might you make visual global efforts for children in your congregation?
