Children’s Homes ‘fifth Sunday’ collection delayed
May 09, 2020
By Alan Wild
Because of concerns about COVID-19 disruptions with church services, the Kentucky United Methodist Children’s Homes “fifth Sunday” offering scheduled for May 31 has been postponed until June 28.
Clergy and individual constituents are receiving an email from the Children’s Homes this week alerting them about the new date.
Offerings during the fifth Sundays of the month are devoted to the Children’s Homes budget. Rev. Julie Hager Love, President and CEO, had been concerned that with churches meeting on digital platforms, giving would be down significantly.
“I’ve spoken with many clergy during this pandemic who are concerned about their own church’s finances and yet they continued to lift up the ministry of the Children’s Home,” Love said in an email. “We continue to give thanks for them and are praying for their financial resilience,” as well as that of the Children’s Homes, she added.
Rebecca Hurshman, Communications/PR Coordinator, said the 2020 collection in March came up about $30,000 short of the March 2019 amount. Last year the first fifth-Sunday offering gathered about $150,000, and the three subsequent Sundays gathered in the $142,000 to $145,000 range, Love said in March.
“We were so blessed by all the churches who reached out to us and let us know they were committed to supporting our youth no matter the circumstances,” Hurshman said in an email. “Several churches gave directly from their budget for the average amount their congregation usually collects. We are so grateful for our conference for their faith in us, and we know God will continue to provide for them!”
The Children’s Homes staff of roughly 120 served 954 children and families in 2019. Love became President and CEO of the Children’s Homes in Nicholasville and Owensboro in July 2019.
The agency’s annual budget is about $6.9 million, the majority of which comes from state and federal sources.
Clergy and individual constituents are receiving an email from the Children’s Homes this week alerting them about the new date.
Offerings during the fifth Sundays of the month are devoted to the Children’s Homes budget. Rev. Julie Hager Love, President and CEO, had been concerned that with churches meeting on digital platforms, giving would be down significantly.
“I’ve spoken with many clergy during this pandemic who are concerned about their own church’s finances and yet they continued to lift up the ministry of the Children’s Home,” Love said in an email. “We continue to give thanks for them and are praying for their financial resilience,” as well as that of the Children’s Homes, she added.
Rebecca Hurshman, Communications/PR Coordinator, said the 2020 collection in March came up about $30,000 short of the March 2019 amount. Last year the first fifth-Sunday offering gathered about $150,000, and the three subsequent Sundays gathered in the $142,000 to $145,000 range, Love said in March.
“We were so blessed by all the churches who reached out to us and let us know they were committed to supporting our youth no matter the circumstances,” Hurshman said in an email. “Several churches gave directly from their budget for the average amount their congregation usually collects. We are so grateful for our conference for their faith in us, and we know God will continue to provide for them!”
The Children’s Homes staff of roughly 120 served 954 children and families in 2019. Love became President and CEO of the Children’s Homes in Nicholasville and Owensboro in July 2019.
The agency’s annual budget is about $6.9 million, the majority of which comes from state and federal sources.
- Love said they are always interested in getting feedback, ideas and messages of encouragement. People can email them to info@kyumc.org.
- A short video from Love discussing the offering can be found on the Children’s Homes Facebook page at https://youtu.be/zcDajKUhtx0.