It feels like we humans have a spiritual spot which is like the dog’s paw or the human foot…sensitive, tender, easily triggered because of so many alert-nerve-endings. We have, inside us, a spot which humans and God can “touch” that triggers us.
When I bit into this Orange, I could feel the juice – drink it. I could feel the chill. I could catch some sweet and some tart even. A miracle. The color – orange and pink with a white-orange halo – Holy, Holy, Holy.
New to fundraising work or re-dedicating yourself to the task? Here’s you’re welcome letter to this important ministry
What if spirituality is natural to all of us?
But what I am learning is that discernment is only part of the work. And in a way, it is the easiest part. The hardest part, especially in our society, is the “no.”
Your donors have many compelling voices asking them for limited resources. But really, one person, speaking to another person about a project which is essential to the beauty or wellness of the planet is all that is needed for a major gift donor to say “yes”
I look away because I have a story in my head that this person, experiencing homelessness, has failed. I hold a story in my head like some great library in my body – old, elegant, dusty, silent, and full of secrets and lots and lots of lies.
Allowing our congregation or diocese to come together to express their hopes and dreams for the church mission and life before being asked to fund it inspires us to be vulnerable, to share openly, and to persevere together during times of hardship; whereas not gathering to express our longings openly together early keeps us small, resentful, withholding and afraid.
The vulnerability of life is pain, and the worry about pain is fear.
Raising money in churches, especially as the prospects diminish with the generational shifts, will more and more feel like the hard work of a prophet. Saying things people do not like hearing, asking for things people do not want to give, ranting about what’s important and what is not.