Thoughts on Swap Day

The idea for Swap Day originated during discussions last year by the Stewardship Team regarding our materialistic tendencies. Our goal was redistribution - taking things that we no longer needed and making them available to others who needed them. It sounded simple, but after spending six hours mingling with people on the front lawn of the church, I realized it was anything but. Some observations:

• We have a lot of stuff. Many people mentioned that if they had known about the swap sooner they would have cleaned out their attic, basement, etc. to contribute. Some seemed eager for a guilt free way of getting rid of their stuff.


• Stuff is addictive. Some people had trouble distinguishing between need and want, and when faced with the prospect of being able to acquire more for no money, they went crazy.



• People were surprised by free. Many people could not believe that we would simply give stuff away. It didn't fit into their world view. Some, when they did comprehend it, liked the vision of a world that we provided. They left hoping for more - not more free stuff - but more of a world governed by mutuality, sharing and relationships as opposed to commerce. See earlier blog posting: Why we gave stuff away for free.


• People struggled with free. More than one guest, as they were leaving, made sure that I knew that they had both brought a bag of stuff and made a donation. Other guests struggled when we refused to accept payments or suggest a donation level. One woman I talked with never managed to wrap her head around the reality that we were not holding a fundraiser.



• Our enterprise was profoundly spiritual. Our God is a god who gives freely who calls us to give with no expectation of return. The grace of God shown through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is off the market. We cannot buy it. If it was for sale, we could not afford it. We can only accept it. Our god of commerce attaches a price to everything and bases an individual's value on whether or not they can afford the price. Many of our guests needed to donate, either stuff or money, because it showed they had worth - that they were neither charity cases nor thieves. If it is hard to accept a free toaster oven, children's toy or picture frame, how much hard it is to truly accept the free gift of love, self worth and hope available through Jesus Christ. And, if we go to such effort to prove that we are neither charity cases nor thieves when people are freely giving stuff away, what does it say about our attitude toward those who rely on charity for survival?

Thanks again to everyone who helped and to everyone who came! A special thanks to the women of the Thrift Shop for their logistical assistance and their support.

And by the way: At the end of the day we counted just over $200 in the donation cans. Our food pantry volunteers mentioned that the Food Pantry's freezer broke. The $200 will help pay for repairs.

How'd you spend $85,000?

In my sermon Sunday, I suggested that if everyone in the congregation committed just 5% of their income to the ministry and work of Jesus Christ through Community Presbyterian Church, we would have a surplus of $85,000. I then challenged you to brainstorm on how you might spend it. Here is what you came up with in worship. Have any more ideas? Add a comment by clicking on the comments link below.

Suggestions on how to spend $85,000

Finance handicapped access (4 people)
Build a youth and/or community center (3 people)
Improve energy efficiency (2 people)
Find the bell
Provide hot lunches
Sponsor a speaker series
Buy more handbells
Start a nursery school
Support Meals on Wheels
Parish nurse
Expand giving to Presbytery & LICC
Downstairs piano
New kitchen
Seat cushions
Support Menaul School

In preparing my sermon, I came up with a whole list of possibilities. Play the movie below to view what I came up with.

Eat Local, Share Local

Earlier this year our Stewardship Team came up with a simple idea with profound implications. Once backyard gardens started producing we would put a table up in back of the church. Any gardener with extra produce could leave it on the table. Anyone who needed produce could help themselves. Because we live in a consumer culture, we did put a basket out for money. But we didn't put prices on things and the money would go to church mission projects (the Food Pantry and Heifer) instead of to the gardeners.

As I've watch the table pile with produce before services and empty at the end of services, it occurs to me that there are other areas of our lives in which we have abundance and others may have scarcity. I know of a church member who tends the lawns of his neighbors. He has an abundance of time and likes doing lawn work. They are unable to do lawn work. I know of parents with an abundance of love who end up welcoming all the children in the neighborhood into their house. I know of neighbor of mine with an extra bedroom, who lent it to a friend of a friend who needed a place to stay. I know of a man with an abundance of money who gives most of each pay check away.

Jesus tells of a man who had a harvest so big he could never sell it all, so he enlarged his barns and gloried in his abundance. Jesus calls this man a fool. When our lives overflow with abundance, we can bless others and gain blessing ourselves when we share that abundance with others.

Now about that Tax Refund

Within the next few weeks many of us are going to get a special economic stimulus payment zapped into our bank accounts. As we focus on stewardship this year, some thoughts on what to do with this "bonus."

1. Tithe - We're called to give 10% off the top of all income to the work of God. That can be the church, a favorite charity, a mission project but at least 10% should go beyond you and your household to make a difference in the world.

2. Be a rebel - pay off debts - Every retailer out there is going to be clamboring for your refund. Many are offering special gift cards that give you money if you deposite your entire tax refund with them. Instead, use this money to get out of any financial holes you may be in. Make an extra house payment or car payment. Knock out some credit card debt.

3. Strengthen relationships - Difficult economic times can be trying on our marriages and our families. Use the stimulus payment to spend some extra time with a loved one, have a fun day with the entire family, or take a trip to visit with an old friend.

4. Give it all away - This economic downturn has hit many charities, especially ones funded largely by private donations, very hard at the same time that demand for services are increasing. As salaries and benefits are the largest expense of most charities, a generous donation of your stimulus payment could help somebody keep their job helping somebody else.

Virginia - Money

"Money is the largest idol in American culture," said Scott Schantzenbach during a stewardship seminar. When churches talked about money, he continued, "they are looking into the eyes of the beast."

When we worship money instead of God, we become scared, shallow and slow - all traits of our larger culture, which specializes in often doing too little, too late resulting in frugal, timid, sacrifice free solutions to major problems such as Katrina, poverty, the Iraq war, global warming, education, etc.

Our God is a God of courage, of significance and of nimble response to problems and calls us to be the same. Our God could create a world where there was none, because all the molecules of the world are at his finger tips. Our God could create nations from the wombs of barren women because he has life at his abundance. Our God defeated death and sin because he has love beyond measure.

All these God gives to us. "Be strong and courageous," God tells Joshua as he takes over from Moses. Together let us take the bold step and fix our focus from our wallets (which feel empty no matter how much they contain) to our God of abundance and let ministry in God's name flow from our lives and our community of faith.