Society of St. Stephen

                                               SOCIETY OF ST. STEPHEN

Our clients often tell us that they will pay us back after we help them.   Our standard answer is to thank them but tell them that it is not necessary, and we would rather have them save their money in case they fell behind again.    We did have one lady whose grown children later donated some money to us for the help we had given her. Then recently the daughter gave us $1,200 that her brother wanted us to have for helping their mother.   

This was certainly a big shock to everyone in our ministry.    We have been given as much as $100 before, but even that was a rare event.    One man tried to use us for a bank.    He would come in and give us $50, then later on he would come back and ask for a pledge in that amount, but we had to explain to him that is not the way we operate.   

We don’t know why we got the $1,200, but it has been put to good use this summer with all the high electricity bills.   Since our pledges are usually around $70, we wonder if the mother we helped really needed the love shown to her more than the money.   Sometimes when people realize that a group of people in a church really and truly cares what is going on in their lives it heals their souls as well as helps their finances.   We pray for this family.   We hope their financial problems are over, and we hope they realize how many people have benefited from their generosity.

We ask your prayers for everyone who comes in for help.   Many of them still cannot find jobs.   With school starting they have added expenses, and it has been harder for them to keep up with their bills.    God bless all of you for caring about our clients.    You are a wonderful congregation!