Katherine Alen Williams, who worked as a missionary in Mizoram in far eastern India in the late nineteenth century, remembered the teaching that Jesus is the unseen guest at the table. She followed the lead of Khasi Christians there who put aside a handful of uncooked rice for Christ at every meal. After all, who would miss one handful of rice?
At the end of the week, she had two pounds of rice which she sold in the market and gave the proceeds to support a poor woman evangelist.
She shared this tradition with other Christian communities in the area, and the custom caught on with great enthusiasm — from 1910 until today!
Hope Church will join the century-old rice offering. Please bring bags of rice – not handfuls! – to worship on World Communion Sunday. The grain we collect will be distributed to local food pantries.