Dear Hyde Park Family,
With Halloween behind us and the month of November ahead, we enter a season of gratitude that culminates with the observance of Thanksgiving. I hope you will take time to acknowledge the many blessings of God that we might otherwise overlook.
Let’s remember that gratitude is more than just giving thanks. It is also about doing thanks. It is about performing acts of gratitude, as generosity and gratitude are intrinsically linked. Numerous studies over recent years conclude that people who live gratefully are more likely to demonstrate generosity.
The link between gratitude and generosity is also part of our primitive ancestry. Columnist Kira Newman, co-editor of The Gratitude Project, says, “Evolutionary theorists suggest that gratitude and generosity have long been intertwined. Gratitude could have facilitated the process of reciprocal altruism, whereby one person’s generous behavior inspires the other to act in kind. Our ancestors who participated in this cycle of gratitude and generosity were more likely to survive, the theory goes.”
So, as we enter this month of thanksgiving, here are three simple ways that you can not only give thanks and feel thankful, but actually practice gratitude through generosity:
- SIGN UP FOR SERVE DAY
Once again, we are partnering with Metropolitan Ministries to fill volunteer shifts in their annual Holiday Tent, on Sunday, November 21. We sort food, direct cars, hand out turkeys, and more to help families in need. With just a few hours of your time, you can make a big difference.
Registration for SERVE day is through the Metropolitan Ministries website and requires each person to have an account. Click here to register for SERVE Day. Participants wear red “Making God’s Love Real” t-shirts, which you can purchase for $10 in the church’s coffee shop.
Shift 1: 10:45 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. (offers outside jobs)
Shift 2: 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. (offers indoor jobs only)
Shift 3: 2 – 5:30 p.m. (offers outside jobs)
Shift 4: 3 – 6:30 p.m. (offers indoor jobs only)
If you registered for SERVE Day in previous years, you can access your account. Simply click the link, enter your password, and modify as needed. If you need any assistance with this process, please contact Nathan Gula, Director of Volunteer Services, Metropolitan Ministries, 813.209.1035 or Nathan.Gula@metromin.org.
DONATE FOOD ITEMS FOR LOCAL REFUGEE
We are partnering with a local ecumenical effort to provide basic food supplies for the roughly 2,300 refugees that have arrived in the county from Afghanistan, Haiti, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Syria, Ethiopia and Venezuela.
We have set a goal of providing 100 refugee families with the following:
*5 lbs. Jasmine Rice
*1 Gallon Vegetable/Canola Oil
*5 lbs. Dry Beans/Canned Beans
*1 lb. Loose Leaf Green Tea
*5 lbs. Flour
*5 lbs. Lentils
*$20 Walmart gift card for the family.
We invite you to bring donation items to the ministry office. To learn more, or to make a financial donation, click here.
TURN IN AN ESTIMATE OF GIVING CARD FOR 2022
As I shared in my sermon last Sunday, this current generosity campaign is one of the most important church campaigns in recent years. Let us be motivated to turn in an estimate of giving card primarily out of gratitude for what God has given to us, and in recognition that all that we have belongs to God to begin with.
We invite you to view our exciting Celebration of Impact that celebrates all that our generosity has accomplished together. Click here to turn in an estimate of giving for 2022 by November 14, so that we can properly plan a Missions and Ministry budget that will accomplish all that God intends for us next year.
Every giving estimate makes a huge difference. Your act of generosity and gratitude really matters.
Let’s go all in together.
Grace and Peace,
Magrey