All Saints Gazette: Money! Also Sex, Politics, and Religion!
Greetings from All Saints!
This week:
Thursday, 18:00, Prayer Lab on Prayerbook Spirituality
No Worship this Sunday and next, next service 6 Oct
Conversations about Money
I have known more than one person who was madly in love, and then the whole relationship fell apart over money. In my country (and probably here too) money ranks with religion, politics, and sex, as an extremely impolite topic (with politics and sex perhaps getting a little easier these days). Some people may be as ashamed to talk about their need for money, and where they are or aren’t getting it, as other people are to talk about sex. The unhappy result of both (and religion and politics!) is that we sometimes get quite far into relationships without realizing that we have differences on important matters. We don’t talk about them until something triggers a crisis, and then find that we have no language or script.
But money doesn’t have to be the thing that comes in and ruins the romance. As with sex, we have needs, desires, and expectations (to say nothing of our insecurities and trauma). Left unnamed, they will sabotage us. When we name them, we discover them to be part of our graced humanity. These can be very awkward conversations, especially when we bring in insecurities and trauma. A large part of love is accepting the awkwardness. We can find ways to adapt to one another and learn from one another. Far from being the thing that ruins relationships, this process of communicating about money (and all the other things) adds to the enjoyment.
Since we are a people who talks a lot about God we have some practice with impolite topics. We can also name that we want to trust God with necessity, and with pleasure, with our fond memories, and our spots that are still sore. God wants our needs to be provided for and also wants us to have some joy and pleasure in this world. God has created us with our needs and vulnerabilities. God also provides for us, and bids as name and ask for the things we need from God and from one another.
This goes for us as a church too. We need things. We need people to come to worship and bring food (which you do!). We need people to offer their voices, their song, their time and creativity to our children (and people are being moved to do these things more and more often).
We also need money. We have to pay for our space, supplies associated with worship, hospitality, and outreach, and for our fellowship with the wider church. And while Mpho and I find it an honor and a joy to work with this community, we cannot do so for free indefinitely.
Hans tells us that to keep up our present activities, we need about €30,000-35,000 a year. A detailed breakdown will be available soon. To expand our offerings and activities, we need to more than that. That number seems very intimidating, but note two things:
If 25 people or families gave €100 a month, we’d have it. Or if 50 gave €50, or 100 gave 25.
We don’t have to get there immediately. God will keep sending us new people who can also give 20, 50, or 100 euros a month, or even from time to time. We also trust that the startup support we received from The Episcopal Church and the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe will continue for a while, at least in some measure.
But All Saints is not called to live a bare bones existence; we are called to flourish. We appreciate every offering, and God will use it. But the discipline that will help us grow is regular giving. Would you consider it? If you can’t do €100, do 50, 20, or even just 10. In fact, I would rather have a church with a lot of people committed to giving €10 a week than one or two rich benefactors who occasionally give €10.000 (if you have 10K to give, don’t let that stop you.)
Even more than that, what I most want is what I already have: a group of people who are excited to come together, worship in the Anglican tradition, and learn to experience and share the unimaginable fullness of God’s welcome. Thanks be to God, I already have that. So let’s figure out this money thing together!
Prayer Lab—Prayer Book Spirituality: Scriptures
We read the Bible a lot, at least when we come together, but Anglicans are often stereotyped as being apathetic to scripture. Codswallop, of course. Come to prayer lab on Thursday, and we’ll talk about how Anglicans read the Bible in our prayers, how we pick what text to read when, and how it is the center of our whole worship and spirituality. Also, we’re going to eat, so bring something if you can (you know, the other center of our spirituality). 18:00 at Vrijburg!
Next Eucharist: 6 October
It is in fact “first and third Sundays,” and not “every other Sunday.” Thursday program continues as normal.
Beloved Community Corner:
How did people around you talk about money when you were a child? Is there anything from before that you would like to pass on or recover? Anything that you really want to leave behind? How do you wish communities in your life (including, but not only church) would talk about money today? Feel free to share thoughts on the WhatsApp group, or with us via email!
That’s all for Today! Want to talk to a priest? We want to talk to you too!
Website: https://allsaintsamsterdam.church/
Mpho: mpho@allsaintsamsterdam.church
Kyle: kyle@allsaintsamsterdam.church
General: info@allsaintsamsterdam.church
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allsaintsamsterdam.church/?img_index=1
Make a Donation!
Scan this QR-code, follow this link, or set up a transfer in your own banking app to the IBAN below!
For bank transfer from your own app:
All Saints Amsterdam
IBAN NL32 TRIO 0320 8657 62
BIC TRIONL2U
