If we are the body

By Bishop Jonathan Holston

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (1 Corinthians 12:27)

This is a story about four people in the church whose names were Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done in the church, and Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody s job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody would not do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

Friends, each day is a precious and generous gift of God. My hope is that we who are attentive to the voice of God will always step up to the plate and serve faithfully in the areas of our gifts. On Tuesday, June 11, we will have the opportunity to serve faithfully. On that day, the S.C. Annual Conference will host an awesome Stop Hunger Now event where Everybody can participate. In fact, we are asking people from across the Palmetto State and beyond to assist in preparing 285,000 meals for families in Haiti. This is a God-sized event where everybody can be a difference maker.

There are two steps in this process. The first step is raising $72,000 to fund this tremendous effort of faith. Please know that any funds received above this amount will be made available to hunger projects in our annual conference. The second step is for more than 1,000 persons across S.C. to join us at the Florence Convention Center to assemble these meal packets. During our evening session, we will celebrate this significant witness of faith with a time of praise and worship.

This is an awesome opportunity to make a difference in living out our faith. It is with a God-sized expectation that I look forward to seeing all of you in Florence. I believe this is an effort where everybody s participation will make a difference. It is also my hope that nobody will be left out.