The Global Rapid Response Campaign (GRRC) is an international response to Stewardship’s recent Rapid Response Fund, which raised and distributed almost £5 million to 88 UK churches and charities within 100 days of lockdown. Lockdown may be easing here in the UK, but the rest of the globe is still feeling the pain of the pandemic.
This pandemic has been a strange experience. Whilst some of us are struggling more than ever financially, others of us find that we have more at our disposal. No more train fares, no more filling up with fuel, no more sandwich lunches in the local café, no more impulse purchases, no holiday, no theatre or cinema tickets – for once we have more money than month; our bank balance is actually going up!
Imagine having fifty-eight prom dresses hanging up in the wardrobe. Mostly strapless, with full skirts and embroidered with crystals and sequins, they come in all the colours of the rainbow and are one hundred per cent concert-ready. Their owner was too until the pandemic hit and she watched all her work disappear overnight.
I believe that people give because they carry the image of God – they have in them a divine piece of DNA which radiates grace. Rationally, it seems foolish for people to give £30,000,000 to a commercial fund-raising site because Honorary Colonel Sir Tom is walking up and down his garden. But when we see a need, and are inspired by a person, our default is an urge to give. Even if we often find reasons not to give, (I’ll do it later, I haven’t got enough myself, I don’t know how to give) there’s something in us that wants to join in with the generosity.
The onset of coronavirus has exposed our world’s selfishness, but it’s also acted as a catalyst for an outpouring of generosity. It’s human nature to be concerned about our own well being, but as Christians, we want to continue to live out God’s word to love our neighbour as ourselves and attend to the needs of others.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, financial giving has experienced a severe strain due to the global economic uncertainty. But within our 40acts community, we have seen a fresh outpouring of generosity for the charities featured in this year’s challenge.
We spoke with Acts 435 director, Jenny Herrera, and Ambassadors Football intern, Bronnie King, to find out how their causes have benefitted during this difficult time from the donations of 40acts readers.
I’m amazed by the story of Lee McClelland, a pastor and a fellow Northern Irishman. He shares a story that is beyond me to imagine – stuck in hospital with coronavirus, a day away from having to be put on a ventilator.
Giving is costly – but it is also a great blessing. 2 Corinthians 9:8 says that we should give what we have decided in our hearts to give, ‘not reluctantly, or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.’ I love the promise, earlier in that verse, that we will reap what we sow. By the end of 40acts, I felt that I had reaped more than enough already.
The novel COVID-19 virus is now touching all our lives in a myriad of ways. Our church’s trip to Israel has been cancelled, conferences have been postponed, my 18 year old daughter is worrying about her A Levels, the need for skype lessons and logistics around her exams. My 87-year-old father in hospital is being fast-tracked to get an operation scheduled for 9 months to be done now. Emergency plans at work, keeping our distance from one another and every surface springing a hand gel are constant reminders of an unknown, disruptive threat.
Since his cancer diagnosis seven years ago, Jeremy Marshall has discovered his own wonder drug. It’s not a treatment plan, nor a mental attitude. It is simply and wholly this: generosity.
blogs by the Stewardship team and selected guest writers.
Stewardship is the operating name of Stewardship Services (UKET) Limited. Established in 1906.
Registered charity no. 234714, and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England no. 90305.
Registered office: 1 Lamb's Passage, London EC1Y 8AB
Website design and build by Adept
