Sample Presentation
Planning an Offering of Letters? Here is a sample presentation to get you started.
Planning an Offering of Letters
Every year, thousands of Christians and other people of faith 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 combine all our letters, we raise a strong voice.
Members of Congress receive thousands of emails per week. While click-advocacy is easy, 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 their actions and votes.
Organize and Offering of Letters: 10 Easy Steps
1. Pray for the Offering. Reflect on a passage of Scripture that includes a call to bring justice to poor and oppressed people (e.g., Isaiah 58:6-10; Matthew 25:31-46). Prayerfully ask God to show you how to interpret this call.
2. 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.
3. Gather Resources. Read this handbook thoroughly for information and ideas, and watch the accompanying DVD. Check in with your Bread regional organizer (see page 22 for contact information). Visit www.bread.org/OL2010 for updates and the most recent sample letter.
4. 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 (see pages 28-29 for ideas).
5. Get the Word Out. Ask your pastor to lift up the Offering of Letters in a sermon. (A biblical grounding for the Offering can be found on page 26.) Show the Offering of Letters DVD. 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.
6. 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 www.bread.org/OL2010). Show the Offering of Letters DVD so people can see familyies who could be helped by their letters. Invite anyone who prefers not to write to pray for hungry people affected by these policies. 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 membershi p to Bread for the World.
7. Gather the Letters. Offer the letters 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 evaluation form “Give Us Your Feedback,” found as a tear-out in the back of this handbook or online at www.bread.org/OL2010, to Bread for the World’s national office. Your report ensures that Bread’s staff can follow up effectively with congressional offices.
8. Give Thanks. To God, to your team, to your letter-writers, and to those who prayed.
9. Follow Up. Consider how to let people know about the fruits of their labor. Will you publish monthly updates on the oOffering in your church bulletin or campus newsletter or on your Web site? Have the letter-writers signed up to receive updates from Bread for the World on the Offering? Remember that progress typically comes in small steps. You can find updates at www.bread.org/OL2010.
10. Celebrate victories, large and small.
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