Payson Roundup

The Mount Cross congregation plans to add an extra element to the recently completed Payson Area Food Drive.

Members of Mount Cross Lutheran Church (ELCA) will have a letter-writing campaign Sunday, March 14.

Following both the 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. worship services, church members will have the opportunity to sit down in the log building, enjoy refreshments and write a letter or three to Arizona congressional members.

This initiative is called the “Offering of Letters,” because on the following Sunday, March 21, all letters will be offered up to God for His blessing before being individually mailed to Washington.

The Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit (due to expire in 2010) greatly help low-income families by returning tax credit money to them. This money makes good nutritional foods, plus fresh fruits and vegetables more affordable, and helps families keep up with their monthly payments.

Congress will decide during the budget debates this year whether to renew these tax credits or let them expire. The letters will encourage congressional members to protect and strengthen these tax credit policies.

The theme for this “offering” at Mount Cross is “$$s, Cereal and One More Thing.” Many are already donating the dollars and buying the cereal. The “Offering of Letters” is the one more thing that is being done for the hungry.

For more information on the “Offering of Letters,” you can go to the Web site — www.bread.org/OL2010. Also, feel free to contact Mount Cross member Virginia McCall at vgm575@yahoo.com. Thousands of U.S. Christian Churches have been doing Offerings of Letters since 1974. The ecumenical non-profit, “Bread for the World,” targets the yearly focus and provides materials for organizing the effort at individual churches.