We could all do with a bit more generosity. In a world where everything has a value attributed to it, remembering to give a little more than we have to may not be such a bad idea.
The Methodist Church is encouraging people to spin an online Wheel of Generosity and commit to small acts of kindness, as part of a wider campaign urging us to love The Generous Life.
“Generosity can be expressed in many ways”, said the Revd Dr Martyn Atkins, General Secretary of the Methodist Church, “Whether through financial giving, dedicating your time to help someone else, or sharing your skills and creativity. A Generous Life is a great opportunity to rethink what it might mean for each of us to act generously.”
A range of resources are available on the Methodist Church website to help and inspire your vision, commitment and generosity within your local communities.
Every Thursday, people are encouraged to say ‘thank you’ on Twitter to those who have made a difference in their lives, however great or small, using the #thankyouthursday hashtag. They can also share their own stories of what generosity means to them and register for campaign updates.
When asked about the people who had inspired them to be generous, one respondent said: “I am what I am today because of the generosity of time and energy of my Boys’ Brigade Officers in Scotland. I was there for five years, walked out at the end of those five years and have never seen them again. They may think they had failed but they planted a seed. One day we will meet again and they will be so surprised that I not only became a Christian but a minister.”
Another said: “When the woman who worked as my cleaner and childminder in South Africa (a ‘domestic worker’) offered to take on an AIDS orphan who was rummaging through our bin on bin collection day – she had so little but was willing to give so much. It inspired me to adopt a child permanently as a member of our family.”
Find out more here: http://www.methodist.org.uk/mission/a-generous-life
