Jesus observes that generosity has little to do with the amount of money given away - and more to do with how much (i.e. what proportion) of what we have we are willing to share. This means that the widow was more generous than the people who gave a lot more money - because she gave much more sacrificially - while the others gave comfortably from what they could "afford".
One of the things that constantly surprises me is that Jesus spoke about money more than any other single topic. He didn't avoid this topic which is often regarded as a no-go area in church life. I believe that we can break this code of silence and begin to talk about things like money with more openess and a frankness. Most importantly, it is important for me that retain a high level of transparency in the life of the church - and this is especially true when it comes to the use of our finances!
So a few questions we tried to answer on sunday:
1. How are we doing financially in 2006?
Members of St John's have given nearly R900 000 so far this year. With only
slightly higher expenses for the seven months, we have a small deficit of only R16 000.
2. How is our money allocated?
41% of our expenses goes to staffing costs. 29% is allocated to the wider church and 20% is spent on administration, running costs, equipment and buildings. We give 10% of our income away to various projects and organisations outside of St John's - as our committment to giving.
3. Why give regularly (pledge)?
- it's a spiritual discipline in the same category as regular prayer and regular bible reading.
- it's a powerful way of indicating your belonging in a community of faith. When you give you move from "that church" to "my/our church".
- it allows the finance committee to do the financial planning and to use our resources in a repsonsible way. It would be very difficult to enter into binding contracts and employ staff if we did not know what our regular income was going to be like. Making a pledge therefor allows that kind of planning ot be done.
4. How do I make a pledge?
Anonymous Pledge cards are available at the informaion desk and can be completed and dropped into the pledge box at the back of the church, or simply placed in the offering bag on any Sunday. In addition to making a pledge, we encourage the use of Giving Envelopes. This ensures privacy and can also help to remind you about your pledge. Envelopes for montly giving and for weekly giving are available from the Info desk in the foyer of the church - or from the church office at any time.
5. What about Internet Banking?
If you prefer to use internet banking or a stop order, we would be very grateful. Cash is both dangerous and also costly to deposit. Our banking details are printed in the Church bulletin every week. We would still encourage you to take the envelopes and place an envelope (symbolically) in the offering on a monthly basis. This will symbolise your monthly transfer gift, and it will also help us to know the number of members who are regular givers. (we will count the envelopes after each service).
I enjoyed the money talk in the church on Sunday. I felt that for once the church was embracing the spiritual discipline of giving rather than placing pressure on people to give with a heavy heart. I felt that the sermon was special in that it compelled one to give; the transparancy of the church was also great as the relaxed atmosphere assisted in allowing one to focus on the sermon rather than feeling guilty about the amount that you give. The suggestion of placing the envelope in the plate even of you do internet banking is a great one as I too now can feel part of the collection. The sermon was a blessing and I left feeling blessed rather than guilty about my pledge. Thank-you!
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