in the Interim, January 2011
First of all, best wishes for a healthy, productive, growth-filled, happy New Year!
This fall has been fruitful in opportunities for the members of the congregation to communicate with one another. You offered your responses about events that occurred in the church by means of the time-line and sticky notes in the Gallery during September and October.
Until recently the same walls displayed the notes taken during the Cottage Conversations that took place from mid-October to mid-November. Having an opportunity to speak to each o t h e r about membership ’ s responsibilities brought a cornucopia of opinions. Your responses, twenty-two pages worth, are available to read.
Certainly the setting for the conversations in various homes and at the church made for a comfortable space for listening to each other – and that was good since the topic of funding the congregation is so uncomfortable for many.
As for me, I enjoy talking about money in church because generosity in giving grows out of generosity of spirit; even the person who has very little can be generous according to his/her means.
When we discuss money in church we find some common topics that arise:
a) The sense of belonging and community that comes to those who contribute generously to the congregation, or perhaps,
b) The importance of donating to the best of our ability so that the church thrives over the long term as it was bequeathed to us by the founders, or perhaps,
c) The need to fund our liberal religious witness in a suffering world.
Try talking about money and generosity. I think you will like it!
Happy holiday greetings,
Janet E. Newman