There needs to be joy and generosity in a Church. One of the trademarks of my ministr(ies) was the sharing of gifts with the congregation. Perhaps it would not work in a middle class Church, but it works in mixed and poorer class Churches -- namely, to share from one's abundance. Some examples: a salt farmer gave a large amount of the coarsest of salt to the Church. We shared it with the congregation. There was a bumper lemon harvest at the manse. Again we shared it with the congregation. Sometimes there were donations of large bouquets of flowers. We shared these with the congregation. Wealthier members from time to time joined in the generosity, and brought gifts of their own. OBSERVATION: And people were not shy to take. They were just happy.
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