What's the Difference?

In her blog entry, “Paying for the Gift,” Nancy Hitt touches on a subject that is dear to my heart – money in the church. In comments subsequent to the blog she asks, “Is it really different over there in the UK?”

Yes and no, but for me ‘yes’ in important ways. Of course America and the UK are different countries with different cultural reference points. Scotland where I live is one of the four separate countries that comprise the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In addition to the latter, there are England and Wales.

The language here is technically English, but the Queen’s English is profoundly different than the Scottish vernacular. They also speak Gaelic and a form of English called Doric. To the uninitiated ear the vernacular known as Glaswegian sounds closer to German than English. I finally felt as though I had arrived after a couple of years when I was able to understand the overheard conversation.

The primary difference for me is in the particulars of my current ministry setting. I went from the leafy suburbs of Minneapolis where the dynamics of “Paying for the Gift” were in play, to a Glaswegian housing estate in post-WWII, post-modern, and post-Christian Britain.

Pastoral ministry in Scotland is based on a parish model whereby everyone lives within the bounds of a Kirk Parish. Some of them are indeed much like the one I left where value for money is expected. I serve a parish of around 12,000 people, 90% of whom are amongst the poorest 10% of the British population. They call it an “Urban Priority Parish.”

Basically, what I do can be described as showing up and reminding people that God loves them. In the situations where my presence is required folks can’t seem to get enough of that message. So in one sense my job is easy. I told my partner recently that if for some reason I quit here before I retire, then I would have to get a real job. When I applied for the position I was essentially the only applicant.

My salary which is called a “stipend” is paid by the Church of Scotland Ministries Council. Folks in the church I serve don’t seem to know or even care what my income is. They never vote on it and never say, “We’re paying him too much.” I give a tenth of my stipend back to the church and from I understand, that makes me the largest contributor.

Money wise, there seems to be very little, but, and this is a tremendously big but, people are generous with what they have. Because there is an underlying culture of generosity in the church, they receive far more than they give. There seems to be a rule in God’s economy, and I don’t mean in a prosperity gospel sense, but in a kingdom of God sense, that as you give, so shall you receive.

Here’s an example, ten years ago the Kirk session held a retreat to explore ways to reach into the community. They came up with the idea of a “storytelling centre.” With little more than their imaginations to work with, they went to work. The money was attracted to the vision. Ten years later The Village Storytelling Centre is a thriving entity that serves thousands of people throughout the west of Scotland. In a few weeks time we will be featured on a BBC television program that allows the public to select charities for funding. If we are chosen we stand to receive a six figure sum.

For me, probably the most profound difference between where I am and where I’ve been is the difference between being able to act out a sense of ministry as servanthood, and being constantly reminded that as “we are paying your salary” I was never to forget that I was nothing more than the hired help.

Someone once said to me, “You are like the shaman.” In a sense that’s true. In a place where the traits of the Picts, the Celts and the Vikings can be still be seen in people’s features or hair colour, being the one who occasionally reveals a view of another dimension and reality is not a bad way to earn a stipend.

People in the place where I am seem willing to take risks; the Village, hiring an American who otherwise would have been to content to stock shelves for the rest of his life at Barnes and Noble; artistic expression. To give visitors a sense of the place I will occasionally show them a series of stained glass windows that were installed in the turret of the church building. On one side of the stairs is a wall on which is painted the words, “Let justice roll down like the waters.” In the windows are stained glass depictions of issues affecting the world – economy, hunger, the environment and in one disease. In stained glass is a rendition of an electron microscope view of the HIV/AIDS virus.

If you want to see it, go to our website at www.stjamespollok.co.uk (still in its infancy) and check out the “Church Gallery” tab. Things like that are a big part of reminding me what the differences are, and a big part of what keeps me going.

Take Care – John Mann

Comments

[nancy hitt]

You've given me a lot to think about, John! You've put your finger directly on something I've had a growing concern with: our lack of generosity as a way of life. It comes up repeatedly in ways both large and small, resulting in remarks like, "That widow (luke 21) who put her last pennies in didn't do all that much; what good were two pennies going to do her anyway? Isn't she just trying to buy God's favor with a grand gesture with no real substance?" I haven't the time/space to respond to that here, but suffice it to say, I have one. It seems that your parish knows the joy of generosity, perhaps because they have less $ to work with in the first place. It reminds me that having an abundance of money isn't always a blessing- I'm thinking of the myth of King Midas. Sadly, I think we're all tainted with the "golden touch" over here, at least in my working class congregation. Those of us who are on the underside of financial success are so surrounded by the myth that it has warped our desire to conform to it; we've forgotten or never learned that generosity is a spiritual quality that is independent of bank statements. Our stewardship focus this year is beginning to look very different from past years... And thank you, too, for the chance to see the stained glass you describe. It is miraculous that any church would have the vision to immortalize justice and it's application as yours has. Stained glass is desired as something that is beautiful and eternal- the subject matter of St.James stained glass is the first I've ever seen that finds eternal beauty in recognizing need and responding to it with justice. I doubt that I'll ever make it to Scotland in real life, but if I were you, I'd never leave! I also love your description of ministry: showing up to remind people God loves them. Seems to me that when that gets confused with perpetuating the institution of the church, we're in real trouble. It's kind of a catch 22- We go into ministry to remind people God loves them and help them dare to respond to that, and then get so caught up in maintaining the church (as the vehicle of the message) that the message gets lost, which means people don't come, so more energy goes into repairing or redesigning the vehicle...and we end up stuck with a non-functional institution that repeatedly shoots itself in the foot, oblivious to the very thing it set out to accomplish being right in our midst. In fact, we end up at war with it, and try to stomp out any genuine spirit of Jesus because it costs more than we can afford, and we must keep the church going at all costs, even if the price we pay is our relationship with Jesus himself. In the immortal and eloquent scream of Charles Schultz cartoon character, Lucy, "Arrrrgghhhhhhh!"
Oh, and I also LOVE your rainbow trinity logo. That says a whole lot in one glimpse! I'm going to have to look for that stateside and see if I can incorporate it into our imagery.

[John Mann]

Thanks Nancy. We might be on to something here.

[Michael Hardin]

John and Nancy:

Thank you both for some revealing and insightful blogs. I wish I had more time to reflect on these comments but right now with all that I am doing I am running from pillar to post.

John: How about the UK next year? E-mail me.

[mary]

Thanks, John. Yep, I chafe too, when I get reminded (by some) that I'm nothing more than hired help. To get with people who see you differently, even within one's own parish, is a blessing. I find myself gravitating to people who see me as a leader, and even as another human being instead of under the thumb. Imagine that!