We have been busy doing God’s work over at Tuthill House! Here is some basic info for your family, so that you can carry on the discussion during the week at home.
What did we do in church school on Sunday?
The kids planted vegetable seeds in containers that will be kept outside at Tuthill House. The kids will help care for the plants, and it will be fun to watch them grow! In a couple of months, we will pick the vegetables and donate them to a local food bank. The kids also worked on the messages for the cards they made last week for Meals-on-Wheels.
Why did we plant vegetables?
Jesus wants us to love our neighbors and to help care for the poor and the hungry. About 10 percent of New Hampshire residents are “food insecure.” This means that thousands of people do not have enough food every month, and this includes children! We are neighbors to Massachusetts, and there also a lot of people there who do not have enough food. It is important that we donate healthy food to food pantries and soup kitchens. People often donate canned and boxed food products that are not healthy.
How else can we help?
The New Hampshire Food Bank has a garden, and they accept volunteers in the summer. Also, you can grow vegetables at home and donate to local food banks. Currently, there are seven in a ten mile radius of the church. You can find a full list of at Ample Harvest. There are also places that help with hunger in different ways. Earlier this year, we learned about how Heifer International provides cows, chickens and other animals and teaches people how to take care of them and produce their own food.
How can we pray for them?
You can make up your prayers, or use this one:
Dear God, Thank you for giving us enough food to eat. There are a lot of people who live nearby who do not have enough to eat and need our help. Please be with us as we take care of the vegetable plants at church. Please help the plants to grow big and strong so that we can give the vegetables to people who need them. Help us to love our neighbors and do good things in the name of Jesus. Amen.
What does the Bible say about caring for the hungry?
You can look up these verses in your Bible at home, or simply read from this page:
Genesis 1:11-12
And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Isaiah 61:11
For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.
Isaiah 58:10
if you open your heart to the hungry,
and provide abundantly for those who are afflicted,
your light will shine in the darkness,
and your gloom will be like the noon.
Mark 12:30-31
30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[a] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] There is no commandment greater than these.”
