Giving Thanks by Planting Trees

We’ve lived the nightmare ourselves. Pictures of flames reaching into the night-blackened skies tell of unfathomable damage to the denizens of the arroyos and mountains. Stories of the wildfires in southern California bring back some recent memories for those of us who live among the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey.

For five days last May, we experienced the same fears as our brothers and sisters across the country. We prayed for our neighbors and friends as over 6,000 people were evacuated during the fires, which eventually consumed more than 18,000 acres of woods. Through the grace of God, we were luckier than the Californians: no one died. Fire destroyed five homes, and damaged thirteen others. God’s rain came late Wednesday night, and aided the fire fighters in their battle.

Our fire was set accidentally; the California fires were set, in part, deliberately by arsonists. At least seven people died, and estimates say 2,300 homes were destroyed in California. Despite Do you know the purpose of your “little blue box?” Many of us have gotten them for years without fully understanding their existence.

The United Thank Offering began life in 1889. The General Convention of the Episcopal Church met every three years, and the Women’s Auxiliary held worship services during the convention. During the 1886 service, over 500 women attended but only $87 was collected. A delegate from Pittsburgh, Mrs. Ida Soule, was horrified by the miniscule amount. She spoke with Julia Emery, who agreed that more knowledge of the intended recipients of the money might inspire people to be more generous. Just before the next Triennial Meeting, Ms. Emery published a letter in the Spirit of Missions from Mrs. Soule designating the intended recipients. Thus began the UTO.

The mission of the United Thank Offering is to encourage people to offer daily prayers of thanksgiving to God. The donation made daily will be tangible evidence of thanks.

According to the UTO Website, “God calls each of us to grow in awareness of God, our own relationship with God, and our relationship in community with all whom God has created. As habits of daily thankful prayer mature, our personal relationship with God grows. Daily prayers of thanksgiving strengthen our being and doing. The blue box can be a reminder of our many blessings. Uniting our own gifts of thanks with those of others keeps us in thankful relationship with them and with all of creation.

In sharing our thank offerings with those throughout the Communion who seek to address compelling human need and extend the mission of the Church, we deepen our sense of participation in the lives of others. The shared prayer and money offerings help others to respond to God’s call and to grow in their own deepened sense of living within the greater Christian community. Through our shared stories, God calls us to continue to grow into the fullness of the Kingdom.”

These little “mite boxes” provided grants of $2.4 million last year, and funded Episcopal projects such as the completion of a hospital in Pakistan, the building of a new church in Homer, Alaska, and the inauguration of a Sunday school program in Jackson, Mississippi. Remember the goals when the ECW collects.