A Sea of Red

We attend St. Matthew's Church in Tyrone. As part of their Stewardship effort, they distributed $16,000 among the families of the parish last October. (We were not yet members of the parish, so we did not get a chance to participate). The envelopes handed out contained either $20, $30, or $40. The parish families were then told to use the money, as they saw fit, to do good works or to use it as seed money to raise additional monies for the church. Many families sold food items or crafts during the year. Others raffled off items such as dinners, vacations, afghans, etc.
This past Sunday was the end of the one-year Adventures in Stewardship program. To celebrate, parish families attended a special mass (with dancers, full choir, special songs, etc.), enjoyed a cook-out lunch, and wrapped up the day with a thanksgiving prayer service.
Everyone was encouraged to wear red, the color of St. Matthew. The sight was unbelievable! Red shirts, red blouses, red skirts, red shoes, etc. Deacon Bill thought he was in Athens, and expected to hear bulldog chants. Father Vic reminded him that he was, instead, in Tyrone. A very enjoyable day!
Oh, by the way. The total monies returned was about $45,000. A very successful endeavor!