“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

As we move into the fall season here in the northern hemisphere, often our inboxes and newsfeeds begin to be filled with messages around the theme of gratitude.  I personally love the yearly opportunity to focus on giving thanks to God and have always relished a season dedicated to practices of gratitude.

Scientific research tells us that practicing gratitude helps reduce stress, lifts our mood and over time makes positive thinking a lasting habit.  Practicing gratitude even helps us sleep better, can help lower blood pressure and build our immunity.

As God’s people we know that our generosity is a grateful response to all that God has done for us. Giving of our time, talents and treasure is one of many gratitude practices.  Spending time practicing gratitude helps us be generous people.

In my time in this role of Ministry Relations Officer, I have had an opportunity to visit dozens of churches and already have been witness to incredible acts of gratitude and generosity. I am in awe of the many quiet, unsung ways that the church continues to cultivate generous people and lives of gratitude.  I want to share just a few stories I have been able to encounter in my first few months at the Presbyterian Foundation.

At a small town church after a sermon about generosity, a member of the church came up to me and asked if perhaps she could donate her house to the church.  She said, “I am single without siblings.  I never thought about donating my house but that could provide a lot for our small congregation, couldn’t it?”  What an incredible response to God’s grace and generosity!

In a very rural church in another state, more people showed up for a Wednesday morning talk about legacy giving than are in the pews on an average Sunday.  In the recent past, a local farmer had left a bequest to the church hoping to pave the gravel parking lot but ultimately left the gift to the discretion of the Session.  Instead of paving their parking lot, the church decided to rehab a local home so that a single mother leaving a difficult situation would have a nice place to raise her children, paying below market rent.  This church saw this as a mission of their congregation. These members had seen the impact of a legacy gift and wanted help thinking about how each of them could perhaps leave a legacy gift so that their church might continue to impact the greater community.  Another incredible response of gratitude.

Finally, at a large, urban church, a generous member wanted to donate several million dollars to the congregation they loved. But this member realized the church was not set up to receive such a gift, so they asked the Presbyterian Foundation to help make this gift successful by providing resources for policies and procedures and best practices for congregations receiving a large bequest.  It has been beautiful to witness the way this congregation has worked with this member to discern together how God might best use these funds to further ministry in their community.

In my first year in this role as a Ministry Relations Officer, I am learning that I often get to be part of quiet conversations about extraordinary generosity.  The gratitude expressed for God’s faithfulness in and through the work of the church sometimes leaves me in awe.

All around the church, in congregations of every size, people are responding to God’s grace and love with gratitude and incredible generosity. In this season of gratitude, I am grateful for the many quiet, unsung, powerful, big and small ways that local congregations and their members continue to practice and inspire generosity.