In Christ We're Equal (Except Outside the Church Doors)

All who believed were together and had all things in common; ⁴⁵they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds^* to all, as any had need.                             Acts 2:44-47

You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.                                  Matthew 5:13-16

This Sunday was the first Sunday of this year's Stewardship Campaign. The timing is off of the normal fall campaign, however, with the recommendations from the JNAC (Joint Needs Assessment Committee) expected at the end of November and the AGM taking place at the end of February, the Stewardship Committee decided to postpone the Campaign. It was thought the new timing would allow people to consider their 2017 church pledge in light of the ministry and staffing lifted up by the JNAC while bearing in mind what that would mean for the budget at the upcoming AGM meeting.

Below, I have included a section from my sermon regarding our (you and me, society, Christians) inability to talk about money. And, considering that this ministry of ours in North Calgary is almost completely self-funded, it can be challenging to plan and grow our ministry when we skirt around the issue of money.

I wrapped up my sermon with a brief description of the Stewardship Campaign - namely that every household will be contacted for a visit, either by phone or in person. One intent of each visit is that everyone will be asked to consider money and priorities. Not that they will be asked to tell the person visiting with them anything about their financial situation. Rather, each household will be invited talk amongst themselves and decide, with intention, what their pledge and commitment (volunteer as well as financial) will be to Symons Valley United Church. To finish, I asked:

Where does Sunday lie for you? At the end of the week and at the end of the dollars in your wallet? Or is Sunday the start of the week for you, where you are refreshed and rejuvenated to go out into the world, once again, to be the hands and feet of Christ, giving your dollars from the start of your week's spending?

And in answer to this question, a congregation member texted me this on Monday morning:

Excerpt from my sermon:

We may all be equal inside this building, but once we leave the front doors the realities of our secular world are put upon us once again and, like it or not, we are no longer equal. Our incomes are not the same, our stature and level of authority in our individual work places are not the same, our mobility, our state of health is not the same, our burdens, trials and tribulations are not the same nor are the lucky breaks or opportunities that enter into our world the same. And, in this outside, secular world of ours, we take care to not talk about certain issues. We worry about bragging, about being judged, about not measuring up, that we will not be understood or that we won’t fit in. So we don’t talk about certain things out in the ‘real’ world. We certainly don’t talk about money. Not openly anyway. It is gauche to talk money. It is embarrassing. It can easily manifest into envy or scorn when income levels are discussed or when people pay close attention to the purchases that are being made. We don’t talk about money out there. And that translates into not talking about money in here. It’s a funny thing, isn’t it? In here, in this building, we will talk about politics—I promised Karen that I would not mention a so-so’s name today, so let’s leave that there. But we have been known to talk politics and we talk about social concerns that others, outside these doors, would rather not discuss—the increasing Islamophobia in our world, whether we should regulate who people may love or marry, we talk about women’s rights, mental health issues and we talk about doubt—doubt in our faith, doubt in God, doubt in ourselves. All of these things we can talk about here, in a mostly civil and reasonable ways. We can open the lid on these topics and really hear from one another and learn from each other’s experiences.

But we can’t talk about money. Not easily anyway. We hem and haw around it. We talk widely and broadly about it. We talk in percentages but we very rarely get down to the brass tacks. We don’t talk about our salaries or our wages, outside of these doors and all of us would be absolutely horrified if, inside these doors, we were asked about our household income. Each and every one of us has costs, expenses and priorities that are unique to our lives once we walk out these doors. We have houses to pay for and to furnish, we have vehicles of all sorts for different purposes (says the mom of four who once drove a Yukon that sat 8 people), we have children to educate, we have children period. We have medical costs, we have family—near and far—to support, we have loans to pay and particular charities that we give to. We have responsibilities, and expectations set upon us by tradition and history that other people cannot appreciate.

And yet. In this very space, we look together at the church budget and vote on whether or not it is a reasonable thing. We agree to pay for staffing, building, mortgage costs and we pay for materials and supplies. I can include myself in this statement because although you do not see me put money or an envelope in the offering baskets each week, I donate to the ministry of this congregation through PAR, Christopher’s and my donation is deducted automatically from our chequing account each month. And through all our donations, we pay for this structure and land to be maintained and we pay for the programs that happen here and, of course, we pay for our worship to happen. You all agree to the bottom line of the budget. And here, I have to say YOU because I do not get a vote at these meetings of ours but I am right there in spirit, along with you, as you vote each AGM and declare your confidence in the Board and in the collective stewardship of this church and its people. We are there together as the budget is passed. But what happens next? Usually a meal and you go home to enjoy your Sunday afternoon. Basically the meeting ends and then alls y’all leave. There is not a bill sent to your home nor is there an expectation set of a minimum donation for walking through the door the following Sunday. You are not given the math that if our budget is roughly $560, 000 and we have about 150 active and casual households attend this congregation throughout the year, you are definitely not told that would be about $3800 per household. That does not happen.

That doesn’t happen for two reasons. One, because we don’t talk about money. And, second, because that is not what our ministry about. We are not a country club with memberships. We are a collection of people that choose to come together and create a community that makes the love that Jesus preached about during his time on earth. We strive to make that love a real and known thing in our world. We, here at Symons Valley, are so much more than a building for people to gather. More than a meeting space. More than an office space, a preschool and exercise classes. We together, the leaders of this faith community, the incredible number of volunteers who make everything that happens on this holy ground happen, those of you who come seeking strength and courage from the something out there far bigger than we can ever imagine that we call God, who come to find a sense of belonging, we understand that there are no entrance fees to family. To this family. There is no cover charged when you walk through the door. Like any other loving and caring family, there are no fees to show up for Sunday night dinner.  We are called to be the salt of the earth. The light of the world.  To being present. Being available. Being a support. To follow Jesus and to love. Love our neighbour. Love our enemy. Love the downtrodden and the ill. Love the other and the stranger. Love yourself.

And, we can’t do this without talking about money. That’s the plain and simple thing. We have to, at some point, talk about the dollars it takes to make this ministry of ours, of yours, a reality in North Calgary. The Stewardship campaign will be asking you to do this.