Economic Thoughts on a Sunday

Today was "Commitment Sunday" for a capital campaign in the congregation we serve. The leadership team set an incredibly hopeful goal back in September: $600,000. The rationale behind this huge (given the smallish size of the congregation) number was that over the three-year duration of the campaign, enough funds would be received to give away 10% to other ministries and organizations, use 10% for ministry enhancing projects in the facility, and use 80% to completely pay off the congregation's mortgage.
After today's service, the initial gathering of commitments totalled less than a third of the goal. There are still opportunities for folks who were not in worship today to make commitments, and there are additional request letters - to friends of the congregation and folks who've moved out of town - yet to be sent.
I think it would be easy for me - and for the congregation - to feel like we have failed somehow (I'd hoped to hit the 1/3 mark today) - but it's not a failure. A group of people have made a commitment, not just with words, but with finances, to continue in mission and ministry together. The leadership team worked hard and well and has renewed a conversation about what faithful stewardship looks like in real, regular lives. A couple of the members of that team have been so inspired and motivated that they want to keep meeting. (!!)
Over the last several weeks, and again this morning, several people mentioned to me that the timing of the campaign feels difficult to them - good jobs remain scarce, the stock market is volatile enough to inspire fear, coming into winter the ancient fear of scarcity rears its head, and the economic anxiety around the world certainly trickles down, even if economic prosperity rarely seems to.
As people of faith, I believe we are called to recognize the abundance that surrounds us, and to live in faith, not fear. Yes, we may not have enough cash for all of the things we WANT, but it seems like a lot of the time getting the things we want doesn't bring real satisfaction or fulfillment anyway. When we live with the community in mind, and are as discerning as possible when it comes to how we spend, I believe there is reason for hope, and fulfillment to be found outside the shopping mall.
One of the things that has made me crazy for a few years now is the constant reference to Americans as "consumers" instead of as citizens. Here's a great artcile from Abundant Community (I came across the website after reading the book by the same name). Hope it inspires some good thinking and conversation at your house!

Please Pass the Paper

I love it when little ideas come to fruition, without me pushing to make them happen.
After our synod pastors' conference at Chico Hot Springs last week (more about that later), I've been trying to think of simple things our household could do to continue simplifying, build community, and live a little lighter on the earth.
When I finally rolled into the office late this afternoon (Grant had a continuing ed. gig til mid-afternoon), I ended up having a good conversation with our office manager. We covered a wide range of topics, including stewardship, giving, making sacrifices, American lifestyles of consumption, etc.... I mentioned how we'd given up our satellite TV, she mentioned they've given up their daily newspaper.
And a light bulb appeared over my head. We still get the daily paper - why don't we share?
So, starting tomorrow, I'll take the paper with me to work and hand it over. I said I couldn't make any guarantees about getting today's paper today - chances are good it'll be a day later - but she didn't mind (the crossword will keep). The only promise I extracted was that the paper will be recycled when her household is finished with it - otherwise she has to bring it back and give it back to me so I can recycle it. She laughed. No problem.
How fantastic!!
This feels especially good, since over the weekend I also remembered to ask another family at church if they have a broadcast spreader for things like grass seed and fertilizer that we could borrow. I figure if we only use it once or twice a year, there's no reason we need to own one!
The spreader arrived by the office door Sunday night. Perfect!
It feels good NOT to buy things, and even better to share the things we already have.

The Story of Cosmetics

Have you seen this new(er) video from Annie Leonard, who made The Story of Stuff? I'm currently reading the book that came after The Story of Stuff video. It is fascinating and frightening all at the same time. Check out The Story of Cosmetics. And then see what's in your favorite shampoo, if you dare. I'm thinking once the new Costco-sized bottles of Dove shampoo and conditioner are empty, I may be washing my hair with baking soda...

Dollars Now or Later?

It's August. That means that at the end of the month our household is no longer under contract with DirecTV, and we can keep it, cancel it and get cable, or cancel it and not get cable for our TV watching pleasure. I'm leaning toward cancelling it and NOT getting cable. I'm not sure which direction the man of the house is leaning at this point, though I have a feeling we're not exactly parallel... Sure, I watch plenty of TV, but I think it's mostly out of (unfortunate) habit, and because it's there. When I'm busy out of the house or we're camping, it's not like I constantly think, "Huh, I wonder which "House" reruns I'm missing today?" Every weekday evening at 5:30pm chances are VERY GOOD that you can find my husband ensconced on the couch watching the "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams." And then I get sucked in, and then we watch half an hour of local news, and then at 6:30 "Wheel of Fortune" comes on and we usually watch that while eating dinner. Why? It's a mystery. I think of the cash that flows out of the house on a monthly basis for the privilege of having my brain turned to jell-o, and know for a fact that I wouldn't hand over the dollar bills necessary to watch TV every time I turned it on, if I had to pay for it as I used it. So why fork over the money once a month? I am appreciating this post over at Get Rich Slowly. I haven't done the math to figure out what the DirecTV bill is costing us in retirement savings, but I'm confident it wouldn't be a pretty picture.

My Latest Read

It'll be two weeks ago on Friday that I last went to the library (not counting the drive by drop-off of the 7 day DVDs returned last Friday). I came home with a whole stack of books, which somehow always makes me feel better, even though I know the chances of me reading all of them are pretty slim. Several are gardening books that I'm skimming - gotta love compost, baby! (I am so ready for spring!!)

One of the books I checked out was a lucky find on the New Nonfiction shelf. Alas, I only get to keep it til Friday, it's a 14 day book at this point, since it's so new. The title? No Impact Man: The adventures of a guilty liberal who attempts to save the planet and the discoveries he makes about himself and our way of life in the process, by Colin Beavan. I'm really enjoying it, despite the obnoxious title. (And there's a blog by the same name and same author. Fun!)

I appreciate the reflection the author does along the way - not just about how much crap we can generate if we're not paying attention - but about how unhappy, or at least not happy, such a life makes us.

Consider this: So much of my trash-making and waste is about making convenient the taking care of myself and my family. It's about getting our needs out of the way. But is this so? When did taking care of ourselves become something so unimportant that it should be got out of the way rather than savored and enjoyed? When did cooking and nourishing my family become an untenable chore? What is more important that I'm supposed to do instead? For every task I need to accomplish there seemed to be some throw-away item I could buy to help get it out of the way. My whole life appeared to have turned into a moneymaking machine intended to buy more convenience, with the seeming purpose of getting my life out of my way. I'm like a snake eating its own tail. It's as if I'm just trying to get the whole thing over with...

I'd write more, but I'm hoping to get this book finished before I have to give it back.

Next Year's Christmas Presents

I had a delightful lunch today with a member of my congregation, who is also becoming a friend (is that fair to say, N?). I've found it difficult to make friends here in Bozeman, as so much of my time is spent on/in/with activities of the congregation, and the folks who can be friends with a pastor (especially their own pastor) tend to be few and far between, in my experience. That's not all bad, it keeps roles well defined and clear. But as a 30something woman without children, it makes for a lonelier life than I would like. Funny how kids are the "in" for so many. But that's all fodder for a post at a later date. One of the most intriguing parts of our lunchtime conversation centered on Christmas gift giving patterns in our family circles. It's the pretty standard "go and buy stuff" regime in my family. We try to be as thoughtful about it as possible, but gifts are still expected all the way around. There are other ways to do things, of course. Last year we drew names on Grant's side of the family, for the brothers and wives, which was great, but didn't happen this year. And my new friend has another alternative: no gifts exchanged among the adults, and only modest gifts for the kids. Instead of buying another candle or something that no one really needs, they donate money to causes/groups/charities of their choosing, and then exchange cards telling all about the work they've supported. In addition to the congregational giving tree, her family has used an organization called Donors Choose to support educational and classroom projects in schools around the country. Sounds good to me - now I just have to convince my family!

Bottled Water Has Got to Go!

My friend Carrie posted this graphic from Fast Company on her facebook page. I knew bottled water was bad, but this points out just HOW bad it is. Not only is it super expensive, in some cases it's worse for you than tap water. Three cheers for my stainless steel re-usable water bottle (and tap water in Bozeman that actually tastes good)!