Living with Exchange

Well our household is finally slowing down a little. For those who didn't know we've has an exchange student from France staying with us for the better part of three weeks and he was a vegetarian! That last piece might not have been a shock for some, yet when everyone in the family loves meat the way we do and you have someone staying with you that doesn't even eat fish and you have to provide packed lunches for them - it becomes a real issue, yet we survived. Our son goes to France in late February and will be staying with the same person who was here.
Having an exchange student certainly brought to mind all the things we take for granted like peanut butter. Yup, peanut butter. They don't have it in France! Or a freak snow storm in October is nothing to worry about. The 15cm we had that week was the most of guest had ever seen. Or attending a church supper or going trick or treating. Yup, you guessed it, they don't do that in France either! and in the midst of it all the toilet broke and had to be replaced which, with only one bathroom, created quite the concern.
So now we're on the other side of that adventure and oddly enough we miss our quest. It seems that he left a very real impression on us and it was actully quite enjoyable having them around. Of course it meant doing things a little different and paying very close attention to our diet, yet this was a learning experince for all 5 of us and it's one that I think we would do again.
So while the chocolates are now all gone the memories live on. What a thing it is to exchange cultures with someone and to be intrusted with someones child from another country. Vive La France! Aux prochaine.

Why Is It?

We've been working on the idea of holistic stewardship very intentionally for five months. The conversations about starting an annual stewardship campaign actually began almost two years ago, yet have only in the last ten months taken real shape. A leadership team was put together, some of whom attended a workshop on these kinds of campaigns, a resource was purchased, letters and a pledge card designed, 4 sermons preached and the whole idea talked up in a very positive way. So far the result has been dismal to say the least and very frustrating.
We asked people to sign a card that asked them to commit to the ministry of the congregation in 4 ways: our vision, regular worship attendance, involvement, and financial support. At a recent Council meeting we learned that numerous cards were being returned with nothing more than a signature at the bottom. No check marks, no indicators of support and no dedication to financial support. So it is this evening that I find myself sitting here wondering about my future and that of the congregation I am in ministry with.
One the one hand I'm tempted to think that if people did noting more than sign the card that they are stating that, for them, there is no support for anything. They don't support the vision; they won't make an effort to attend worship regularly; they have no interest in being involved; and they won't financially support the congregation. In fact they've simply signed and returned the card as a courtesy, yet could there be another side? Perhaps the signature only is a voice of dissent within the congregation. Perhaps it's a way in which people are saying "I don't support the campaign" or "this is the wrong approach." It could be. Yet in February 2008 we had a discussion about the budget and the need for everyone to increase their financial support of it or there would be serious decisions to be made. Of course there is a third (maybe even a fourth) way of looking at this: people did not understand what they were being asked to do. It is possible. I don't think it likely, yet I'm willing to consed that it is possible.
The hard part for me is that so much of our time and energy is being spent on this financial issue and it's draining. The constant talk about deficit and what we're going to try and do has become stifling rather than life giving. If people would only realize that if they increased their monthly givings by $20 per month - that's $5 a Sunday - we'd have an extra $24000 and our deficit would be almost gone! That's it! $20/month!!! People spend more than $5 on a coffee/latte/cappuccino at Starbucks. If people could only see the damage that's being done and the needlessness of it. If people could only imagine the ministry potential we'd have if all this time and energy wasn't going into deficit talks. $5 a week, that's what's keeping us from being stable and financially viable.
The real rub of the issue is that I can see the potential. I have seen and continue to see the difference our congregational vision is making in people's lives. I can see the impact we're having and I can see where we're headed. Brockville and Elizabethtown need Christ United Church. They need a congregation where people are welcome with open arms regardless of who they are without prejudice. People need a place where the love of God through Christ is shared with all. People need a place where they are invited on a journey into a deeper relationship with God that is open and welcoming. People need a church where a sense of family and bellonging and friendship and support is paramount. I'm still commited to that vision and what it represents. I lose sleep over it. I wrestle with it. I pray about it. I discern its impact in my life. I think about it constantly, however, it's starting to feel very lonely. So why is it that people won't give the financial support required to keep this congreation alive and thriving? Why is it?