“Thank You SOOOOOOO Much!!!!”
Being the minister who oversees our relief ministry, I am often the one who receives the messages of appreciation and thank you, like the one above from a mom whose family was a recipient of some of our MinisTREE gifts. I make sure they know it is the generosity of our church members who make programs like this possible, and I assure them that I will pass along their gratitude. I see it as a privilege to be the one who is able to see the looks on faces and hear the relief in their voices when we are able to help. I also want to be sure to tell a little of the story after your generous gifts and donations reach the church.
Relief ministry is important to communities and churches, not only because it is a ready-made way to put our compassion to work, but because it is a practical way to alleviate some of the expenses of holidays, even if only temporarily, while a family continues to work towards financial stability.
These gifts keep the lights on, keep the water running, help bridge the gap for rent occasionally, and in this case, help with gifts for Christmas.
On behalf of the Missions & Affiliations Committee and Susan D’Amato and Gayle Brown, who coordinated this year’s MinisTREE program, please know that your generosity touched many families this year, including twelve through MinisTREE. In addition, I want to share with you some more of those thank you messages from the families we worked with this year:
“Thank u so much!! God bless you!!”
“Please tell your church I said thank you for all of this.”
“This means so much to us.”
“Thanks so much. God bless you all. And Merry Christmas!”
“…such a blessing to me and my children.”
Sincerely, and with much appreciation,
Matt Rollins,
Minister of Community Engagement