Some churches are countering the trend of Black Friday shopping and materialism by promoting “Bless Friday,” an observance promoting charity work that seeks to bless the less fortunate.
Eva Kaminski, associate director of Communications at Memorial Drive Presbyterian in Houston, told The Christian Post that Bless Friday is “an encouragement for people to shift their focus from shopping to serving.”
“Bless Friday is something that our congregation and staff have embraced. The beauty is in the soul-building that occurs when we focus on others instead of self, and serve in Christ’s Name,” she said.
The observance has been taking place annually since 2010, starting with churches in the Houston, Texas area.
Chuck Fox, founder of Bless Friday, told CP that for this year’s Bless Friday, the range of congregations involved has increased. “This year we added West University Baptist Church and Crosspoint Church in Houston, and for the first time we are able to announce that a Catholic church, Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Seattle is participating too.”
We have had participation from large, upper income, predominantly white, suburban churches; small, lower income, black, urban churches and churches serving the immigrant Hispanic community.”
Participating churches oversee various charitable efforts for Bless Friday, including serving lunch to the needy, packing supplies for a local food pantry, picking up trash at a local park, and volunteering at a homeless shelter.
One of the churches that has taken part in Bless Friday in past years is The Church of St. John the Divine of Houston. Andrea Meier, director of Publications at St. John the Divine, told CP…Read More
Source and Original Content by Christian Post