Church as a place of donated things

When the fifth-century prophet Malachi issued the command, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." Little did he know, I suspect, that some of the words within verse ten of chapter three would so be taken to heart or acted upon.

One of the challenges I often encounter is the well-meaning person who has so much blessing that they don't have room for all their stuff. The, ". . you will not have room for it," phrase means that when this occurs, because I guess God has blessed the person with it all, they bring the overflow of their loft and shed to the church building in the hope that we will be able to find a use for it.

I have checked the various offerings and nowhere have I found a 'tat' offering, but it obviously exists, even if it is unspoken and unwritten, for oh so often I find bags of mismatched china, ornaments and pieces of glazed ware (often chipped or having a leg missing in the case of animals) and bits of electronics arrive at the church door. Sometimes there is a note . . . scene fades . . .

"Dear Vicar, we were clearing out the loft and wondered if someone might be able to make use of this television. The sound doesn't work but it has subtitles and so it might be useful if you know a deaf person."

I look at the 36" Cathode Ray Tubed monster which is almost dwarfing the mini parked in the car park (no one we know, they are just picking up their chinese takeaway and didn't want to leave it on the road in case it got damaged!!!). I try lifting it, but having once ordered a Charles Atlas body-building kit only to find I wasn't strong enough to open the envelope, but to no avail. Eventually three of us lug it into the car and, knowing no one who is both deaf and in need of a TV, we take it down to the tip.

We return to find a complete dinner service comprised of seventy-two (I kid you not) cups, saucers, plates and assorted jugs (and one of those multicoloured sand lighthouses from the Isle of Wight). Amazing, no two piece of the china matches and the collection of individual items must indeed be a treasure trove to the partially insane cleric and a source of torment to those who suffer from any form of OCD-related existence. I ponder the fate of this gift as these days the charity shops turn off their lights and lay on the floor as I pass lest I should enter and share my blessings.

What a wonderful thing it is to have a calling - the opportunity to meet odd people and acquire even odder things.

Pax

ps. How odd, as I finished this there was a knock at the door and someone was asking if we knew anyone who might like a new pair of slippers and granddad has just died and won't be needing them :-)

pps. The wonderful thing is that the stuff comes (in part) because of the relationships we have built and this is to be celebrated (just not with a three-legged porcelain shire horse!)