Our Daily Bread

“So, Parson, what's up with that advertisement on your sign?” asked Roger Bennet, a lay pastor who lived a little north of the parson's church. “I just drove by there and saw it. You folks must have some kind of supper every month.”

“I don't know about every month, Roger,” said the parson. “But we're never adverse to giving you a reason to contribute.”

“Contribute. Right. If I contribute to anything it would have to be my church. We never seem to have enough money to pay out the year. I guess we ought to have those lunches and suppers like you guys to to pay the bills.”

“Roger, we don't have those things to pay the bills. Those things fund what we do beyond our normal giving.”

Roger sat down across the table from the parson and leaned forward. “Seriously, Parson, what's up with the greens and peas and stuff.”

The parson smiled and said, “About five years ago, Roger, we were trying to figure out how we could send some of our members on a medical mission trip to Peru. So, we thought about having a New Year's Day Lunch. We cooked up a bucket of greens and a bucket of black-eyed peas, shoved about six dozen sweet potatoes in the oven, hustled up some pies and cobblers from members as well as some good old cornbread. Then we invited people to come and eat with us and make a donation. They came, Roger. They came.

“Turns out,” the parson continued, “that New Year's Day is the one holiday when the family doesn't get together. We were surprised when senior citizens from all over the area showed up. We ran out of food. So, ever since we've had our New Year's Day lunch to raise money for missions.”

“And you don't use the money to pay the day-to-day church expenses?”

“We don't, Roger. The church bills and the denominational askings are paid out of the collection plate. But all the other ministries we finance separately.”

“You get enough money in the plate to pay all the regular church expense?”

The parson sat observing his friend a moment. He then said, “Here's how it works, Roger. We make a commitment to be a church in mission. Then each Sunday we all pray together, 'Give us this day our daily bread.” We ask God to give us the bread we need, Roger. And that's what God does. God gives us the bread we need and not one slice more.”