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A heartfelt letter to pastors about Donate Life Month

The Adair Circuit Clerks Office has forwarded a heartfelt letter that Paula Joslin, the Circuit Court Clerk of Clark County, KY, sent to pastors at her local churches, encouraging them to include organ donation as part of their sermons on April 19. Click headline for the letter and some supporting materials.

by: Paula S. Joslin, Clark County Circuit Court Clerk
Dear Pastor,

April is National Donate Life Month. On April 19, I ask you to celebrate and promote organ and tissue donation. This is an opportunity to honor donors and their families and to lift up recipients. As a church family, we canrejoice in this very modern miracle that saves lives.

Right now, 124,000 patients wait for an organ transplant. Every day, 21 of those patients die while waiting for help. The only way to stop this tragedy is for more people to register. People may add their name to the registry when they renew driver's licenses or online at donatelifeky.org.

I also ask you to celebrate Donate Life Month on April 19 with your congregations. [see also: April is National Donate Life Month] If you have a recipient or donor family in your church, you could recognize them. They might want to say a few words.

Further, on April 19, I am asking you to do a sermon about giving your spiritual heart to God and your physical organs to someone whose life depends on it. I've provided materials with Biblical references that list spiritually-based themes to encourage registering as a donor. My favorite is a church sign that read: Be an Organ Donor, Give Your Heart to God. What a great message!

Sincerely,
Paul S. Joslin
Clark County Circuit Clerk
Winchester, KY 40392

SACRED TEXT
The following scriptures are selected because of their message of giving, healing and understanding of the relationship between human beings. They can be used as calls to worship, responsive readings, and affirmations of faith. This list is not meant to be exhaustive but is a starting point for worship resources and possible sermon ideas.

HEBREW BIBLE/OLD TESTAMENT
Genesis 2:20-30: Bone transplant:: A rib taken from Adam to give life to Eve
Leviticus 1:7: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
Deuteronomy 30:15-20: "Choose life so that you and your descendants may live."
Psalm 41: Images of a healing Lord
Psalm 107: "Consider the steadfast love of the Lord."
Psalm 111: "I give thanks to the Lord."
Psalm 116: "O Lord, I pray, save my life!"
Psalm 145: "The Lord is gracious and merciful."
Psalm 147: "Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving."
Ecclesiastes 3:1-17: "For everything there is a season. . ."
Isaiah 35:1-6: "Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees.":
: ". . . the eyes of the blind shall be opened. . ."

NEW TESTAMENT
Matthew 5:7: "Blessed are the merciful."
Matthew 7:12: "In everything do to others as you would have them do to you. . ."
Matthew 25: 31-46: Caring for the stranger
Luke 4:16-21: ". . . recovery of sight to the blind."
Luke 6:37-38: "Give and it will be given to you."
John 3:16-17: "God so loved the world that He gave . . ."
John 10:10: "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."
John 15:12-17: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."
1 John 4:11: "Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another."
Revelation 21:4-5: In eternity we will not need our earthly bodies:: "Former things will pass away, all things will be made new."


This story was posted on 2015-04-14 13:41:40
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