South Carolina churches raise $30,000 to provide historic book of devotions to deployed troops

By Rich Peck

United Methodist churches in the South Carolina Annual Conference have raised $30,000 to provide an historic book of daily devotions to members of armed forces now deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The book, Strength for Service to God and Country, was first published in 1942 shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The pocket-sized volume containing a devotion for every day of the year was republished during the Korean War.

The book was forgotten by all but a few veterans who cherished the 60-year-old volume and continued to find inspiration from meditations written by leading theologians and preachers from the 1940s. One such veteran was Eugene Hunsberger of southern California. His grandson, Evan, noted how important the book was to his grandfather and asked him if it would be a good idea to republish the book for his Eagle Scout project. “That’s not a good idea,” said Eugene, “that’s a great idea.”

Three years later, with help from the General Commission on United Methodist Men, the addition of devotions by contemporary religious leaders, and contributions from across the nation, over 200,000 copies of the historic book have been sent to members of the armed forces. An additional 10,000 copies will now be printed and distributed as the result of the South Carolina gift received in late March.

L.W. Smith, a member of Rehoboth United Methodist Church in Columbia, S.C., led a state-wide fund-raising effort. Noting that each book costs $3, Smith asked each of the 12 districts in the conference to raise $2,500 to meet the $30,000 goal. Each district had one coordinator and two assistants. The three volunteers challenged 15 churches to raise $250 each. This model was tested in one district and the goal amount was secured in 90 days.

“Members of the South Carolina Conference have been blessed by this opportunity to serve those who serve us,” said Smith. “We continue to pray and receive funding for this outreach ministry.”
 
In February, Smith shared the South Carolina model for Strength for Service with the Southeastern Jurisdiction of United Methodist Men at their annual meeting in Nashville.
Leaders of the jurisdiction approved the Strength for Service campaign model and established a goal of having ten conferences participate in this campaign during the year. The jurisdiction hopes to raise over $100,000 for the project by the time United Methodist Men meet at Purdue University in July 2005.

In March, the National Association of Conference Presidents of United Men endorsed the South Carolina program and they hope every annual conference will engage in a similar effort.

• Peck  is the communications coordinator for the General Commission on United  Methodist Men