10 Baptisms and 3 offerings

The Sunday after Easter was full of joy at Kampala Lutheran Church.  Basking in the glory of the resounding echoes - "He is risen!", 10 children were brought into the Lord's family through Holy Baptism.  While I wasn't preaching or assisting with worship this Sunday, I was forward for the baptisms to assist Ugandan Vicar Jerome as he baptized ten children from newborns to children about 3 years old.  Baptisms are always cool.  But even cooler, we had three offerings this Sunday! First, there was the standard collection of tithes and offerings.  Then, there was a special offering collected in celebration of the baptisms.  Finally, an offering was collected in honor and loving memory of a member of the congregation who recently died to assist the family with expenses.  Three offerings!  Each time the offering was brought forward, Vicar Jerome emptied it upon the altar and sent the basket back out into the congregation while he shared the purpose of the offering.

I've seen special offerings here before.  Generally, a family will speak with their pastor before the service, requesting an opportunity to give a special thank-offering.  After the regular offering, the family (the whole extended family) will come forward.  The pastor will empty the offering basket out onto the altar, carefully covering it so the wind doesn't blow the money away (remember we worship in a tent and congregations that do have permanent structures generally don't have any glass in their windows).  Then the pastor will turn around, announce the purpose of the special thank-offering ("The youngest son of this family has passed his final exams and is graduating from college this week") and present the empty offering basket to the family, each of whom then places an offering into the basket.  This is generally concluded with a prayer of thanksgiving and a prayer seeking continued blessings upon the family before they are dismissed back to their seats.

This Sunday, with 10 baptisms, one option was to have 10 special thank-offerings.  That takes a while.  Imagine that - the "problem" is that it will take too long to collect that many thank-offerings!  So instead, the offering basket was passed a second time to the whole congregation.  What an amazing testimony to God's goodness and one of the ways we are moved to respond.  Praise the Lord for his abundance in love and for calling ten more children to Himself here in Kampala!