Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño: World Communion Sunday 2021

October 01, 2021 | by Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño

Friends, I hope you are preparing to celebrate World Communion Sunday this coming Sunday or at some time during the month of October.  The offering collected on this special Sunday by United Methodists around the world supports chaplains, Crusade Scholars, and scholarships for minority groups. 

World Communion Sunday gives me the opportunity to thank you and others for helping me.  I would not be where I am responding to my call to ministry without the support of our beloved UMC – your support.  I am a proud Crusade Scholar!

When I applied for admission to Perkins School of Theology so that I could prepare for ordained ministry, I knew I was doing so in the faith that God would provide.  I had made it through my undergraduate degree through grants, scholarships, and hard work. 

As the eldest of 7, I worked to help sustain my family while also finding a way to study.  I lived at home until I went away to seminary, both because it was our cultural custom, but also to be able to help my family.  We had such scarce resources that not a one of us had a bank checking account.

I will never forget the day I received the news that I had been selected as a Crusade Scholar.  The scholarship it provided would help me attend Perkins and even more, make it possible for me to respond to God’s call in my life.  That was 46 years ago, but I still remember!

The World Communion Sunday offering has for many years now supported persons like me from all over the world who yearn to serve God in the many ways that God calls us to the work of making disciples of Jesus and transforming the world.  Thank you!

I will be celebrating World Communion Sunday with First and La Trinidad United Methodist Churches of San José, CA.  With pride and gratitude, I will be wearing my Crusade Scholarship necklace and thinking of and praying for all of you. ¡ Mil gracias and with a grateful heart!
 
   
 
 
 
 

---