On MCCGSL's New Quaters and Giving what we can
location: Home
mood: contemplative
music: Mary McLaughlin - Celtic Requiem
It is one thing to dream grand visions of what we would like to see, to talk of the great and good things that we will do. But reality has a way of bringing us back to earth as well it should. For if these dreams and visions are to be then we have to figure out how to pay for them! And therein is the rub as it were. When we as a congregation voted to spend the money to renovate the building at 1919 South Broadway in Saint Louis we did so knowing that we had but a fraction of the needed money needed to carry our plans through to completion. We also started a Fund Raising campaign called "Building Together - A Place to Call Home". I can't speak for anyone else at MCCGSL but if we are to go out and ask for grants, loans, and financial assistance then surely we have to be able to honestly say that we as members, and regular attenders have given all that we can of our own resources. And so as we should we are starting at home with this campaign and each of us needs to consider what and how much we can give. Others have used this quote in order to start people thinking about what they can give and I can think of no better...
Mark 12:41-44 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
[NIV at IBS] [International Bible Society] [NIV at Zondervan] [Zondervan]
The Widow's Offering
41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins,[a]worth only a fraction of a penny.[b]
43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything-all she had to live on."
The point to this quote as I see it is that each of us must look at our own situation and give what we can - for some whose circumstances are adverse that might be very little indeed - think of the widow - but for most of us there is some room to work with, some adjustments we can make to free up resources.
Most of you that have been reading this journal for any length of time know that I'm transgender and that my major goal, my life's dream as it were is to be able to retire and complete my transition and finally be able to live at peace in my own skin. For me the prerequisite for this has been to pay down debt and save what I can toward the cost of my final transition. But this is a goal that I'll willingly delay in order to put that money where it is really needed. This is something worth putting my dream on hold for. Yes, I'll likely have to work longer than I'd like or want to - but it is a price I'll pay.
Cross posted from my personal journal.
mood: contemplative
music: Mary McLaughlin - Celtic Requiem
It is one thing to dream grand visions of what we would like to see, to talk of the great and good things that we will do. But reality has a way of bringing us back to earth as well it should. For if these dreams and visions are to be then we have to figure out how to pay for them! And therein is the rub as it were. When we as a congregation voted to spend the money to renovate the building at 1919 South Broadway in Saint Louis we did so knowing that we had but a fraction of the needed money needed to carry our plans through to completion. We also started a Fund Raising campaign called "Building Together - A Place to Call Home". I can't speak for anyone else at MCCGSL but if we are to go out and ask for grants, loans, and financial assistance then surely we have to be able to honestly say that we as members, and regular attenders have given all that we can of our own resources. And so as we should we are starting at home with this campaign and each of us needs to consider what and how much we can give. Others have used this quote in order to start people thinking about what they can give and I can think of no better...
Mark 12:41-44 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
[NIV at IBS] [International Bible Society] [NIV at Zondervan] [Zondervan]
The Widow's Offering
41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins,[a]worth only a fraction of a penny.[b]
43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything-all she had to live on."
The point to this quote as I see it is that each of us must look at our own situation and give what we can - for some whose circumstances are adverse that might be very little indeed - think of the widow - but for most of us there is some room to work with, some adjustments we can make to free up resources.
Most of you that have been reading this journal for any length of time know that I'm transgender and that my major goal, my life's dream as it were is to be able to retire and complete my transition and finally be able to live at peace in my own skin. For me the prerequisite for this has been to pay down debt and save what I can toward the cost of my final transition. But this is a goal that I'll willingly delay in order to put that money where it is really needed. This is something worth putting my dream on hold for. Yes, I'll likely have to work longer than I'd like or want to - but it is a price I'll pay.
Cross posted from my personal journal.