"Give" | Reflection by Kaley Casenhiser, Seminarian

As people walking with God, we are familiar with giving as a spiritual discipline. But giving is also an encounter with love that forms and nourishes us. People give for several reasons— out of joy, obligation, faithfulness, edification, or habit. Whatever the motivation, giving is an embodied experience. When we give, we share ourselves and our love with others. Giving is a vulnerable offering that transforms communities and deepens relationships.

Sunday evening, we gathered at Trinity for a Shrove Sunday pancake breakfast in the undercroft. The room was filled with laughter, festive music, colored beads, bubble shirts, storytelling, and food in abundance. As one of Trinity’s seminarians in residence, I helped coordinate the volunteer team of pancake flippers. While we whisked pancake mix and browned sausages, members of the Trinity community transformed the undercroft into a banquet hall. People hung banners, laid tablecloths, sported bubble shirts, and took care to fill individual crystal pitchers with syrup. When the meal was ready to serve and placed on oven mitts, I looked around and thought generous hearts set this table.

As you consider your relationship to giving this Lent, reflect on the ways you may wish to embody giving as a spiritual practice. Recall the experiences of giving and receiving that have been most impactful to you. And as you do, remember you are a finite body. Giving is not possible or sustainable without also receiving from community. It is a privilege to give and to be given the opportunity to give. Both matter deeply.

What conditions make it possible for you to give? What support do you need to sustain a joyful practice of giving? What ways can you offer support and encouragement to others as they offer their gifts this Lent?