Saturday, May 14, 2022
Ashley Wade
Giving Eggs Round Up
Several weeks ago, you got this plea from me – to help raise some money to empower our children to do something meaningful with their Easter Eggs. We reimagined the purpose and power of a simple Easter Egg Hunt on the church lawn.
The response from this community was very strong. When we hoped to raise $500, we easily soared to $2,000. Children from the ages of 4 through 11 discussed the world around them and how to use these gifts for good.
We decorated wooden eggs and paper bags to prepare for the Easter morning bodies. We got some baskets and made some signs and sent out a lot of emails and texts and said ‘thank you’ about a million times to about 1,000 folx. We learned that having an idea and sharing it and inviting others in can be a couple things:
Scary – What if no one likes my idea? What if it’s a bad idea? What if it doesn’t work?
Exciting – To work together on something we believe in, to include many different types of people, especially intergenerationally, gives us a sense of accomplishment and pride. TOGETHER WE CAN DO ANYTHING!
Repetitive – Prepping our supplies, revisiting the conversations, reminding our community… bringing our ideas into the light requires intentional repetition to strengthen those muscles and mindsets.
A Responsibility – After we noticed a very enthusiastic response, we knew it mattered even more how we honor and respect the gifts we were receiving from our community.
The Beginning of a New Tradition – This was a great experiment and I think we are all hoping that our future Easter preparations include an Egg Hunt like this one.
I was very fortunate to cross minds with some amazing people throughout this process. People who challenged me, supported me, and walked beside me to make this happen. I have received new ideas from across the country (watch out next Easter!) and the assistance of those who think differently than I do (thank God).
One of the first suggestions I received was from Rebecca Hennessey, our office administrator and wise woman, who suggested that for the kids’ varying developmental stages, we may want to focus our conversational efforts on CAUSE, not organization. And that’s exactly what we did. Children were encouraged not to think about organizations they knew of or learn about NPOs, but instead to think bigger about humanity and creation and think about what they hear in their own hearts in response to these ideas. I absolutely cherish these conversations I shared with the kids and leaders during Lent. Three amazing causes bubbled up quickly and stuck, allowing us to dig deeper into their meaning, and preparing us for the Egg give-back event we were getting ready to unveil.
HUMANITARIAN AID FOR REFUGEES: 50%
Over 50% of Eggs donated by the kids were for this purpose. We noticed that the upper elementary crew were especially enthusiastic about this topic, and we discussed so many variations on this theme. The crisis in Ukraine and the resettlement of Afghan refugees are in their awareness in a very real way. There are so many other instances of humanitarian aid and struggling communities worldwide that entered our conversations as well. How do we help care for brothers and sisters all over the world? How do respond in times of war and crisis? What would I need if I could not stay at home with my things? Would I be scared?
HUNGER AND FEEDING PEOPLE: 25%
We all need to eat. What does “give us our daily bread” really mean? Have you ever been hungry before? What would life be like if your family couldn’t afford groceries? Is food expensive? What kind of food should everyone eat?
CREATION CARE AND THE ENVIRONMENT: 25%
Protecting delicate ecosystems globally and in our back yards is undeniably part of our human responsibility. Telling a child that the glaciers are melting (and the polar bears are dying) is grim. And yet, this is the world they live in. A young child in our Seacoast community will never live in a world in which we are not struggling to understand and reverse the damage our sacred planet endures. How will we repair the relationship with our planet and all of creation? Will there be healthy water sources? Can we remove waste in a responsible way and stop creating so much of it? What would life be like without the conveniences of single-use plastics or fast fashion? What happens to our recycling? How will we breathe if we keep deforesting? Where will the birds and the bugs and the frogs go? Where have they been going?
These three causes have amazing people working hard to solve big problems. At the time of this reflection, I am still working on connecting with organizations. I have had a wonderful excuse to reach out to introduce myself to some great people and tell them our story in hopes of presenting a humble donation to help them continue their hard work. As I make these connections I wonder: How can the children / youth and families of St. John’s grow in their care and awareness of the world around them? How can I encourage children to listen to their inner knowing about what matters to them?