First Congregational Church Holden, Massachusetts

525 Fund
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It all started....
One Tuesday, a woman came into the Corner Shop and asked if we would accept a box of clothes.  I told her we would gladly accept them and thanked her for her donation.  She then sheepishly asked if we would also accept a cash donation - and with some embarrassment, she pulled out five one dollar bills and a quarter.  She said her brother was never able to get on in life - and was very troubled.  He ultimately ended up homeless and was living on the streets of Boston.  With tears in her eyes, she shared that he recently died.  When she was given the contents of his wallet, she counted out all that he had to his name - five one dollar bills and a quarter - $5.25.  She knew she wanted to give this money to a worthy organization.  It was then she remembered the article she read about the Corner Shop and decided to give it to us and to ask that we use this money as part of our ministry.

As you can imagine, this was a very powerful and emotional moment and the significance of this donation weighed heavily on me all week.  After sharing this event with the entire Corner Shop Committee, they decided we need to honor this donation and to do what we could to keep this gift alive.  Therefore, the Corner Shop has made a financial contribution to Worcester Fellowship(http://www.worcesterfellowship.org/), a ministry dedicated to helping those living in the streets.  We selected this ministry because we believe it lives out the words of Jesus when he said "whatever you did for the least of my brothers, you did for me."  It would have been a similar organization that would have brought a small amount of comfort to this man.

We also challenge the Friends of the Corner Shop to take a moment and consider this man, his wallet, and his sister - and all those who live with the effects of poverty and homelessness.  We would also ask that you consider making a donation of $5.25 to a fund we have established as the "525 Fund."  All money collected will be given directly to Worcester Fellowship. 

We will have a collection box at our sales desk for the next two weeks or you may drop something in the mail to us over the summer (please write "525 Fund in the memo field) or leave it in the church office.

   A Gift of $5.25 (the significance of numbers)
When I first read the story of this man’s passing and his sister’s gift of $5.25 found in his wallet to your Cornershop I was immediately struck by the startling significance of these three numbers.  I realized that this is the loaves and fishes story in Matthew and the symbolism can remind us of the transcendent ways that God works in our lives. Taking each number on it’s own we have: 5 = 5 loaves of bread 2 = 2 fishes  5 = by stretching this number a little we have the 5,000 people. 
Next, 5 + 2 = 7, which is the Jewish number for perfection. 5 is also the number of Books in the Torah, which is the fulfillment of the Mosaic Law that demands this type of hospitality. (The feeding of our neighbor, a stranger, or even 5,000 strangers, plus women and children as Jesus did.) 
        
Now, adding 5+2+5 = 12. This is the number of baskets of leftovers that the disciples collected after everyone had eaten their fill of food.  This is symbolic of the 12 tribes of Israel.  Also, the 12 baskets were the remnants with which the discipleswere to feed the world.
This seemingly small amount of money (which also reminds us of the woman in the temple who gave all of what little she had) was what this man left as his humble contribution (delivered by an angel in the form of his sister) and thus through the start of the 525 fund, it will be his legacy and the fulfillment that as Matthew 25:40 tells us ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’    
      
May he rest in eternal peace and may his sister find peace and comfort knowing that he was indeed a child of God, that his passing will not be forgotten, and he will be remembered as his gift combined with others continues to do the Lord’s work here on Earth. 
Ken LathamVolunteer- Worcester Fellowship
June 15, 2010
  Have a question?  Need more information?  Contact us!

1180 Main Street Holden MA 01520      (508)829-5411     email: churchoffice@fccholden.org