New Person’s Guide to
Pounds and Talents
and
The Lord’s Acre
In the fall of the year it’s hard to be at Hardins Chapel and not hear some mention being made of Pounds and Talents and the Lord’s Acre.
For the benefit of any visitors or new attenders or members who may not be familiar with these two projects, here is a brief description and history.
The Lord’s Acre
For many years in the 1960’s and early 1970’s, the major fundraiser of the church was their food booth at the Greene County Fair.
In the late 1970’s it was decided to forgo the week at the fair for one evening of Lord’s Acre since the same amount of money could be made at either.
The concept behind the Lord’s Acre is that everyone will devote one of their acre of farmland and give the produce or livestock off that acre to the church to be auctioned off.
Since most of us no longer live or work on farms, we’ve had to grow lax on the exact definition of what is our Lord’s acre, but the general idea remains the same.
On the third Saturday in October, everyone in the church gathers for the long Lord’s Acre day. A group of the men meet early in the morning for breakfast and then to set up tables, chairs and display stands.
Around 1:00, people begin bringing in their items for the Country Market. This is under the pavilion and is a time to sell smaller items such as canned goods, cookies and other food items, and smaller craft items before the auction.
They also begin bringing in their items for the auction. This is larger crafts, quilts, woodworking, fancier pies and cakes, fresh produce, loads of firewood, needlework. We will accept new items from a store, but we much prefer something handmade or homecooked. We pride ourselves on not having become more of a yard sale atmosphere as some of the other Lord’s Acres in the area seem to be heading.
Food for the supper begins being brought in around 3:30. The emphasis again is on good old-fashioned home cooking, but we won’t turn away a bucket from the Colonel. The meal lasts from 4:30 to around 6:30, with the auction to follow. Everyone in the church has various jobs, from helping to put out food to washing dishes to cleaning off tables to baking rolls. If you don’t find yourself with an assigned job, just show up and we’ll find something for you to do.
In addition to the money raised, the Lord’s Acre is important because it gives us a spirit of cooperation and good will that lasts until the next one, so please plan on being a part of our Lord’s Acre.
Pounds and Talents
The Pounds and Talents projects were started a few years ago as a way of paying for the new pavilion. Each February, everyone in the church who wants one is given a cloth bag with 7-8 gold or silver dollars in it. Their assignment is to multiply these talents and turn it all back in the week before the Lord’s Acre.
People do a variety of projects for this such as selling bread, making jam and butters, selling dog biscuits, and doing sewing work. The Bible Class pools their resources and makes blackberry jam and grows a corn crop. A list of some of these projects can be found throughout the church.
Where the Money Goes
A successful Pounds and Talents and Lord’s Acre may raise anywhere from $20,000 to $25,000. We try to be careful stewards of all the funds we raise. The moneys are stored in the Building Fund Treasury until needed.
The Pounds and Talents moneys paid for the Pavilion in three years. Since then the money has gone to needed improvements around the church, such as repaving the parking lot and the new projection and sound system. There has been some discussion of using future Pounds and Talents moneys for computerizing the Sunday School rooms.
The Lord’s Acre money is used to finance the Home Mission Fund that helps people in and out of the community in emergency situations. It is also used to help finance the youth trips to Church Camp, donated to the Coal Fund and other local charities during their seasonal drives and spent sparingly as needed in other areas of church life and maintenance. 1/10th of the money is set aside each year as the church’s own tithe to be spent in various areas of mission, charity and evangelism work that the United Methodist Church is involved in.