This is a column I wrote for the January edition of "The Anchor," the monthly newsletter for Christ Church, Exeter, New Hampshire. It seems fitting to post it here.
Unless we have our heads buried in the ground (a hard thing to do during the winter in New Hampshire!) we know that the economic challenges facing our nation are serious. We are living in a recession, perhaps the worst economic struggle since the Great Depression in the 1930s. People across the nation and the world are frightened, anxious, and uncertain.
Christ Church, like so many other congregations, is not immune from this. Endowment income will be down this year and, understandably given the economy, so will pledges. We are going to have to sustain ministry with less money. And I suspect it may get harder before it gets better.
So, what do we do, as individuals, as families, and as a parish community? I’m not an economist or a financial planner, so I cannot offer practical advice. So, let me offer three things we can do as Christians in the midst of challenging economic times. These ideas will not make us more economically secure, but they may serve to transform us and those in our community.
Express Gratitude – If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes in your closet, a bed to sleep in, and a roof over your head, you are richer than approximately 75% of the rest of the world. Over 50% of the world’s population lives on the equivalent of $2.00 per day. We live in a society that always tells us that we need more. Isn’t this the perfect time to appreciate what we have and to express our gratitude to God?
Pastor and theologian Brian McLaren says that expressing gratitude is an act of defiance. When we are grateful, we accept and appreciate what we have instead of focusing on what we do not have. When we express gratitude, we defy the messages and advertisements that tell us our lives are defined by the things we accumulate. We define our lives by our blessings, not our losses. What difference might that make in the way we see the world and live in it?
Give Generously – This may seem counter-intuitive, but if anything, this is a time to be more generous, to share our abundance with those who need it the most. The need of those who live on the economic and social margins is growing at the same time that the resources available to help them are decreasing. To give generously requires us to decide what we really need in our lives and to share in whatever way we can. In an article I read recently the author encouraged readers to “Give your passion. Give your time. Give your skills. And, if you still can, give your money.” New Hampshire ranks near the bottom of the United States in per capita charitable giving at the same time we rank near the top in per capita income. There’s no better time than an economic crisis to change that.
Live with Hope – Catholic theologian Walter Burghardt wrote this in 1982: “You must be men and women of ceaseless hope, because only tomorrow can today’s human and Christian promise be realized; and every tomorrow will have its own tomorrow, world without end. Every human act, every Christian act, is an act of hope. But that means you must be men and women of the present, you must live this moment – really live it, not just endure it – because this very moment, for all its imperfection and frustration, because of its imperfection and frustration, is pregnant with all sorts of possibilities, is pregnant with the future, is pregnant with love, is pregnant with Christ.”
We live in difficult and challenging times. Yet the light of Christ continues to shine. Let it shine through you. Be the light that illuminates the darkness. Express gratitude. Give generously. Live with hope. Be the presence of Christ in the world.
