What we gain when we give it away....

At our most recent congregational meeting, the members of the First Religious Society (or at least those in attendance) voted by a narrow margin to adopt a policy of dedicating the cash portion of the weekly offering to our Outreach and Social Action ministries. Because the vote was so close (18-12) it was the sense of the meeting that we would try this for a year as an experiment, and revisit the policy again at the next annual meeting. But as the person who suggested this idea to the Parish Committee in the first place, the responsibility fell to me to explain what I was thinking when I made the suggestion, and why I feel it’s something worth trying out.

This idea did not originate with me by the way, nor is it the first time something like it has been suggested at FRS. Many UU congregations around the country are now choosing to “give away” all or part of the Sunday offering to good causes beyond their own walls. Here in Carlisle we routinely take up a weekly Family offering of food and money for the support of the Open Pantry in Lowell, and have traditionally dedicated both our Thanksgiving and Christmas offerings to the Social Action Committee’s Outreach ministries as well.

The decision by the Parish Committee to recommend that FRS dedicate its entire cash offering to this same practice was in part inspired by the realization that the amount budgeted next year to be received through the offering (based on projections from years past) was already identical to the amount budgeted for Social Action outreach. In effect we were already doing this anyway; we just hadn’t identified it that way!

One benefit of formally linking the proceeds of the Sunday offering to Social Action Outreach ministries is that it allows folks to focus their attention more closely on the important role that gratitude and generosity toward others plays in our faith. The point is not merely to raise more money for these ministries (although hopefully that will be a by-product). The point is to remind ourselves weekly that “we live not for ourselves alone.”

A second benefit is that it compels us to take a closer look at how we take responsibility for funding the overall ministry of the church. Knowing that we are giving away the collection to others reminds us that we shouldn’t be counting on others to pay our own basic operating expenses like heat, salaries, office supplies and building maintenance.

There are also legitimate objections to the adoption of this kind of policy, which were eloquently and responsibly articulated at the congregational meeting. The most obvious question is what business do we have giving away the offering at a time when our own operating budget is painfully tight as it is. I don’t really have an answer for this, except for the earlier observation that at FRS we were already in effect doing it anyway.

A more wide-reaching concern has to do with the effect this sort of policy may have on the concept of a unified operating budget, and resisting the temptation to “earmark” other funds for other specific purposes, rather than for the support of the work and mission of the church as a whole. This is a constant pressure in church life, and I personally would be very disappointed indeed if adopting this new policy simply became “the camel’s nose” for creating separate “buckets of money” for every little pet project that comes down the road.

But in a larger sense, I also hope that adopting this current policy and trying it out for a year will give my congregation an opportunity to talk more deeply and more openly with one another about the important role money plays both in our own lives and in the life of the church. By discussing issues of responsibility and “ownership,” and developing the trust that we can count on one another to each do our share; by sharing our visions of the mission and purpose of the Church as an institution, and our dreams for its future; and by reminding ourselves weekly of the important contributions that generosity and gratitude make to our own happiness and satisfaction, I fully expect that "my people" will grow to feel enriched by this experiment. In fact, from my perspective based on the discussion at the annual meeting, we have already begun to experience its benefits