The Center for Church Communication (aka Your Church Marketing Sucks) tells the story of a church in Michigan that has cut back their staff and program because of the recession, and then turned around and gave out $100 bills to whomever wanted it, as long as they would multiply it for mission. The Episcopal Foundation of Wyoming did something very much like that.
Church Marketing Sucks tells the story of the Michigan church:
NPR has the story of one church’s reaction to the recession.
Despite being themselves affected by layoffs and cutbacks, one church decided what really mattered was making a difference in the lives of others affected by the economic downturn. The pastor decided to take the parable of the talents very seriously.
He offered up a wad of $100 bills, one to whoever wanted it, with one condition: they needed to multiply it. Some held dog washes or sold jewelry. One person even used their $100 to hold a game night that raised $12,000 for a 6-year-old with brain cancer.
The article ends with a sort of off-hand comment that is actually pretty profound: “Fair Haven expects to give more money to the poor during this recession than it’s ever given before.”
Meanwhile, back in Wyoming, the Mustard Seed Mission was launched last Epiphany with the goal of “jumpstart(ing) the diocese” for mission. The Episcopal Foundation of Wyoming sent checks for $12,000 were sent to each of the Diocese of Wyoming’s 46 congregations.
Episcopal Life OnLine says:
“The intention of this investment is to stimulate imagination for mission and enable us to dream about what God wants us to do” said the Rev. John Symlie, rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Casper, and a member of the foundation’s board of directors. Smylie proposed the Mustard Seed Mission because he felt that the foundation was getting grant applications that “lacked enthusiasm.”
“I felt that we needed to do something really bold to energize and gift our diocese,” he said. “Our hope through this project is that all of our congregations will see mission as a foundation of life, not just one more thing to do.”
And…
Distributed with the checks was an outline for a group discernment process about how best to use the Mustard Seed Mission funds. The process consists of four steps that can be carried out in four two-hour meetings.
In an introduction to the discernment process, Wyoming Bishop Bruce Caldwell said, “the measure of our faith is our response to the needs of those around us.”
“I imagine a Kingdom tree growing out of this small mustard seed, a Kingdom tree so large that the poor, the lonely, the old, the young, the sick, and the hungry can find within it a place of refuge and peace,” said Caldwell.
St. George’s Episcopal Church in Barnett, WY, used the money to open the church for a community dinner on Shrove Tuesday. “In a town of 1,500 residents, more than 200 persons came to dinner and donated $400. The community dinners will be held on the first Wednesday of each month and will benefit causes such as Job’s Daughters, the Niorbrara County Library Association, the Wyoming Child and Family Parent Group, and several school-related activities.”
St. Andrew’s Church in Atlantic City, in a town with a population of “about 57” and an average attendance of 10 plan to invest their Mustard Seed funds to create a community center designed to be an alternative gathering place to the local bars.