Every year, churches and campus groups across the United States send handwritten letters to their members of Congress. Writing a heartfelt letter is a prayerful, reflective and personal way to seek God’s justice for hungry people. When we join with our congregations or campus communities, we raise a strong voice.
Members of Congress receive thousands of emails per week, but handwritten letters are unique. They virtually guarantee that your senators or representative will take note of your opinion. Even a few handwritten letters can influence his or her actions and votes.
Here are 10 easy steps to organize an Offering of Letters:
- Pray for the Offering. Reflect on the Scripture’s call to bring justice to poor and oppressed people. Prayerfully ask God to show you how to interpret this call.
- Create Your Team. Consider who might be helpful in planning and publicizing an Offering of Letters: Your pastor? Christian education director? Social concerns or mission committee? Youth group leader? Invite them to join your team.
- Gather Resources. Read this handbook thoroughly for information and ideas, and watch the accompanying DVD. Then see what other resources are available through your denomination. Check in with your Bread regional organizer. Visit the resources section for updates and the most recent sample letter.
- Develop a Plan. Arrange a meeting with your team to review resources. Consider how to integrate the Offering of Letters with worship and educational activities. Decide when and where to hold your Offering of Letters. Keep your pastor informed and ask for his or her support. Involve others through creative activities.
- Get the Word Out. Ask your pastor to lift up the Offering of Letters in a sermon. (A Biblical basis for the Offering can be found on page 26.) Write an article on the Offering of Letters for the church newsletter. Place a bulletin insert or announcement in the Sunday bulletin. Offer a “Minute for Mission” during worship. Encourage others to spread the word at their small group or Bible study meetings. Display the poster found in the pocket of this handbook on a bulletin board with the Offering date and time.
- Conduct and Bless the Offering. Letter-writing can be done at a special time during worship, in the pews or narthex after the service, at fellowship hour, in a class or youth group, near dining halls, or anywhere people gather. Have available paper, envelopes, pens and the latest sample letter (found at bread.org/ol). Show the Offering of Letters DVD so people can see a family who could be helped by their letters. Invite anyone who prefers not to write to pray for hungry people affected by this legislation. And remember that letter-writing at home yields fewer letters. Encourage letter writers to fill out the sign-in sheet (found in this handbook’s pocket) so they can request a one-year free membership to Bread for the World.
- Gather the Letters. Offer the letters up to God for a blessing during worship. Count and note the number of letters written to each member of Congress. Stamp and mail each letter individually; do not bundle them in one envelope. Complete and return the feedback form, found as a tear-out in the back of this handbook or online at bread.org/ol, to Bread for the World’s national office. Your report ensures that Bread’s staff can follow up effectively with congressional offices.
- Give Thanks. To God, to your team, to your letter-writers, and to those who prayed.
- Follow Up. Consider how to let people know about the fruits of their labor. Will you publish monthly updates on the legislation in your church or campus newsletter or on your Web site? Have the letter-writers signed up to receive updates from Bread for the World on the legislation? Remember that progress typically comes in small steps.
- Celebrate victories, large and small.
