St. Luke's Monthly Justice Offering:
A Tradition Sharing Our Treasures
by Betsy Bowen
Many of us are familiar with the verse Matthew 6:21: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." There are countless ways to put these words into action in our lives. For some this may mean making regular offerings to one's place of worship and to charities working on various social causes. Others may express their treasure through volunteering their time and talents, passing on small acts of kindness, or engaging in advocacy work.
In addition to how we choose to give of our treasures as individuals or family units, we also have a chance to share our gifts and resources as a community at St. Luke's. The Social Justice Committee has worked to provide opportunities for members and friends of St. Luke's to share of our treasures, both in material and immaterial ways. For example, for the past few years the committee has hosted an Offering of Letters in collaboration with the Christian advocacy organization Bread for the World. The Offering of Letters creates a space for members of our community to write letters to our elected officials advocating for effective food assistance, both domestically and globally.
Perhaps one of the mot direct ways that the the St. Luke's community engages in sharing its treasures, though, is through monthly Justice Offerings. Though this tradition dates back for several years, well before the formation of the Social Justice Committee, the Committee currently takes the lead in suggesting a cause or organization to receive the Justice Offering each month and communicating about the selected recipient to the congregation. The Justice Offering is typically collected on the first Sunday of the month during worship as a special offering immediately following the regular offering.
I have participated on the Social Justice Committee since its formation about three years ago and can attest that selecting a recipient for the Justice Offering is often a challenging and interesting process. There are always many worthy causes and organizations from which to choose, often leading to thought-provoking conversations at our Committee meetings. Should we support and organization that works locally in Logan Square, throughout Chicago, nationally, or globally? Is there a particular population that we want to support, such as youth or immigrants? How do we balance support for people in the face of sudden catastrophes, such as tornadoes or typhoons, versus the emergencies that seem to happen every day, such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic and gun violence?
Often the Justice Offering recipients reflect events in the life of the church. For example for many Decembers as we prepare to celebrate Christmas, we have selected Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem as the Justice Offering recipient. Sometimes the Committee and congregation have the opportunity to engage directly with the organizations we support. One example is that for the past few years, St. Luke's has hosted representatives of Inclusive & Affirming Ministries (IAM), an organization based in Cape Town, South Africa. These visits have coincided with the Justice offerings to support IAM's work. We look forward to hosting our friends from IAM again this June and continuing to deepen this relationship.
This Sunday, May 4, a Justice Offering will be collected to support St. Luke's ongoing participation in the Chicago Coalition of Welcoming Churches, an organization that promotes the affirmation and full participation of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in churches across the Chicago area. Many St. Luke's members and friends have enjoyed marching with the Coalition's contingent in the annual Chicago Pride Parade, scheduled for June 29 this year. The Justice Offering is a way for us to support and celebrate the Coalition's important work and public witness.
The Social Justice Committee meets approximately once a month. Dates and times are announced in the bulletin and eNewsletter, and all are always welcome to join us at these meetings as we deliberate on Justice Offerings and other ways of sharing our time and treasures in the pursuit of social justice. Please feel free to contact me (betsy.bowen@gmail.com) or Social Justice Committee Co-Chair Lora Salley (loraksalley@yahoo.com) with any questions about Justice Offerings or the Committee's work.