Member Mission Newsletter #20    

 

 

Gini Peterson has begun a series of Sunday morning sessions that will last until November 14.  The sessions, 9:30 - 10:15 am, are adaptations of the study guide found on the website (www.membermissionpress.org > Making the Vision Work > Session Plans and Ideas > Study Guide for Book).  Drawn from the large membership of St. Matthew’s, Snellville, GA, the group has twelve participants.  As an introduction and to get acquainted, at the first session they discussed their current understandings of “mission” and “missionary.”  Some want to learn more; some want to develop what they already know; some are from other denominations.
  Contact: Gini Peterson, 2266 Lexington Ave., Stone Mountain, GA 30087; 770-879-0321; ginireid@bellsouth.net.

 

Another start up

 

The Rev. Pat Bell, rector of St. Luke’s, Coeur D’Alene, ID, is reading and talking with three members about WTMATM on Sunday mornings between services.  A member had seen the book and commended it.  He is also making his own adaptation of the study guide (see above).  Pat comments: “Our study together is generating some outstanding visions for our life together!”
  Contact: The Rev. Patrick Bell, 501 E. Wallace Ave., Coeur D’Alene, ID 83814–2955; 208-664-5533; frpbell@ imbris.net.

 

Parenting wrap-up

 

At its last of seven sessions, a pilot group using Parenting with Love and Laughter: Finding God in Family Life by Jeffrey. D. Jones (Jossey-Bass, 2002) discussed this central insight: parents need the support of the church, and of each other. The group had provided an opportunity for parents to share their concerns for the negative influences that bombard their children every day, to get to know each other better, and to share some of their specific concerns for their children. Everyone's situation is unique, but all were struggling to listen to “what God is trying to whisper to us; we need to settle ourselves and listen.”  Each of the parents in the group, in their own way, understands the central theme of the book, which is that the spiritual life of our children is their responsibility. “We cannot fulfill our responsibility without a spiritual life of our own.”  The group's facilitator, Catharine June, did emphasize that while the primary responsibility lies with the parent/s, it is still the duty of the church to provide guidance and support to parents and to their children.
  Contact: Catharine June, 8205 Starling Court, Ypsilanti, MI 48197-6009; 734-543-1953; cmsj@umich.edu.

 

Working in God’s Name

 

Dick Sherman, owner and manager of Bessboro Builders & Supplies in rural upstate Westport, reflects on his work:  “I’ve grown to realize all work should be done in God’s Name.  It is His work.  That makes work easier, more joyful, and more rewarding.  I seek to fulfill people’s needs regardless of how big or little they are.  Being a steady member of a church and being ready to take on new activities within the church have helped me to come to see my work this way.  The Alpha Course (fifteen sessions of taped lectures and discussions) has given me a clearer understanding of all the things you need to think about.  My wife and I are about to go through it our third time.  I invite others and want to be there to see them through it.  Tithing has also brought real commitment.  My mother used to say that the more you give, the more you get back.  We’ve found that every time we give something, good has happened.  Over the years, you find yourself closer to God.  When raising children, so much of life was meeting responsibilities.  Now, church is not only right but what I want to do.  I keep looking for openings – and I even create some – to invite others to church with us.”

 

 

 

Justice, a lawyer, a scholar, a governor, and a state

 

Alabama has long had one of the most regressive tax systems in the country. A family of four earning $4,600 a year has to pay taxes – a lower threshold than any other state. Property taxes are the lowest in the nation, benefitting primarily the timber industry in a state where 71% of the land is timber. The state sales tax is 4%, but local governments are free to add to it. Many do; in some counties, it's as high as 11%, even on groceries. People with incomes under $13,000 pay 10.9% of their income in taxes, while those who make over $229,000 pay 4%. How's that fair is that?

 

In the spring of 2003, Alabama faced a severe budget crisis with a deficit of $700 million. Yet it is obligated by its constitution to have a balanced budget.  Gov. Bob Riley proposed a tax reform package that included higher property taxes, higher income taxes on the wealthy, and no income taxes on the poorest. The plan raises the threshold to pay income tax for families of four to $17,000 – paying for it in part by raising corporate taxes on the timber industry.

 

Why the governor's recommendation? It turns out that he is deeply Christian, and realized that his faith had something to say about the budget and tax situation. He was recently quoted by CBS News: "According to our Christian ethic, we're supposed to love God, love each other, and help take care of our poor. And this is a step in the right direction."

 

One of his inspirations was a paper "An Argument for Tax Reform Based on Judeo-Christian Ethics," written by Susan Pace Hamill, a University of Alabama tax law professor. In her specialty in taxes, she saw the need for ethics and a sabbatical to earn a Master of Theological Studies degree.  With her conscience awakened by the New Testament, her attention was finally caught by the realities of the tax burden for the poor.  She accepted her NT teacher’s challenge to devote her thesis to biblical ethics applied to the tax code.  Hamill explains she was a “half asleep” United Methodist until awakened by this experience.

 

Unfortunately, a referendum on Riley’s proposal was not approved.  Still, it is real story of three Christians in the wider world – a governor, a New Testament scholar, and a lawyer!
[Adapted from Sojouners and the Religion & Ethics Newsweekly.]

 

RESOURCES

 

A House of Prayer for All Peoples: Congregations Building Multiracial Community by Sheryl A.  Kujawa-Holbrook, The Alban Institute, 2002 – Racially mixed congregations account for only 8% of all American congregations.  Rich guidelines such as building “cultural competence” and the characteristics of healthy multiracial congregations are accompanied by six in-depth stories of congregations doing it.
  Bookstore: publications@alban.org or call 1-800-486-1318, ext. 244.

 

Initiatives: In support of Christians in the world – the September 2004 newsletter discusses the effect of a living wage on divorce; real estate ethics; pay disparity of CEO and employees; the right for labor to organize; the place of literature in teaching ethics; and two ongoing groups discussing business ethics.
  Contact: The National Center for the Laity, PO Box 291102, Chicago, IL 60629; fax 773-776-9036; wdroel@cs.com; $15 suggested donation.

 

Is the Episcopal Church Growing (or Declining)?  by C. Kirk Hadaway, Director of Research, The Episcopal Church Center – Kirk Hadaway, one of the most able researchers of church life in the USA, has analyzed and adjusted membership statistics from 1930 - 2002.  While he understands the complexities of membership growth for the Episcopal Church, he observes: “There is hope, however, because the Episcopal Church is attractive to people brought up in other religious traditions and to unchurched seekers, and statistically the Episcopal Church is the healthiest congregation on the mainline.”
  Source: for a copy in PDF, go to episcopalchurch.org > Leadership Resources > Congregational Development and Support Resources > Research and Statistics > Featured Research > Growth Report on the Episcopal Church; or phone Maria at 212-716-6187 and request a copy.

 

WTMATM in York, England
Aware of his interest in the book, an anonymous donor has funded the sending of multiple copies of WTMATM to the Archbishop of York, the Most Rev’d and Rt. Hon. David M. Hope.  He writes: “I will commend them to those who are newly Ordained Deacon at a meeting that we have shortly and will invite them to sign up for the Newsletter. . . . I hope that some of them will take advantage of [the gift] and will find the approach taken within the book towards Mission of assistance to them as they begin Ordained ministry.”

 

FOR MEDITATION

 

 

Often heard among Christians talking of the world out there: “It’s a sick and dying world in desperate need of the Gospel.”
– can make God sound weak; unable to restrain evil; can even overlook that God is at work in the world all the time holding it together – yes, even, making life better
– can suggest “us” and “them” as if we, church, are always better and healthier than the world out there

 

Try this way to see and to talk of the world out there: “It’s a world of both health and sickness wanting more but not always finding it.”
– makes room for us to affirm God as the real source of its health and affirm, also, God’s ongoing work to overcome its sickness
– makes room to affirm the health in nonbelievers while we offer a means for them to cope with both personal and public “sickness”
– comes closer to being Christians who are “beggars telling others where they can find bread too.”

 

 

In Memoriam: The Rev. Irving “Sherm” Gagnon of All Saints, Meriden, CT died from a stomach ailment on July 30, 2004.  His sermon, “Not Members, but Missionaries,” opened our website list.  Active in ministry with immigrants, he was the first parson in CT to work with member mission.