Letter 2004
November 2004
Dear Pastors and Church School Directors,
With joy we have begun the Nativity Fast, emptying ourselves and slowing down our lives, so that we may truly appreciate the great gift of God’s Son. Coinciding with the Fast, is the new program, "To Tithe is To Love." With the delayed mailing, (see note below) you may choose to begin the program after the first of the year. As pastor, you may wish to look over the lessons for this year, in particular the scriptural references, should you desire to preach on tithing.
Knowing that all we have is from God, we worship and thank God by returning a portion to Him. The offering of 1/10, a "tithe," of what we earn and receive, has been our tradition beginning with Abraham, as noted in the following passage from scripture:
When Abram returned from his victory over Chedorlaomer and the kings who were allied with him, the king of Salem went out to greet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine, and being a pirest of God Most High, he blessed Abram: "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, the creator of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most high, who delivered your foes into your hand."
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything
It is time for tithing to be taught to the children, and the faithful of our Archdiocese. "To Tithe is to Love" is a program that will take place each Nativity Fast in every Church School for the next five years. It is in addition to, not replacing, the "Food For the Hungry" campaign. After five years, the new texts will be available with tithing integrated into the lesson plans. Although the lessons are taught during the Fast, the children are to continue bringing in their offerings each week.
On the following page you will find the details of the program. A key component of the program is the offering box. Each class will need a shoebox with its lid covered with the poster artwork of the program (provided). The children are instructed to bring in an offering each week (their envelopes if your parish has these), to be placed in the box. The class, or their representative, is to bring the box to the church either following class, or the next Sunday. You will need to decide how you want to handle this, such as who will greet them to receive their boxes. The children are to continue this procedure for the entire school year.
God does not ask of us anything that is not for our own good. I am excited about this program and the chance for the children to grow in spiritual maturity. Please contact the Department if we can be of assistance in any way, or if you need more materials. There is a brief evaluation page for the Church School Director, for his or her observations.
In Christ,
Carole A. Buleza
(Genesis 14;17-20).