I spent a little bit of time with the Bishop (equivalent to our Moderator) yesterday and he was telling me that it is very important that the church have an economic mission as well as a spiritual one because it is part of the world. He went on to tell me that the economic was not just about making money but using the resources of the church to grow the church and also to be doing business in a Christian way. It is certainly a principle that the GKPB seem to have embraced.
One of the projects of the GKPB church is to use some of their unproductive land to plant fast growing trees. These trees will mature in 5 years and help to capture carbon and reduce green house gases. The sale of the wood will go towards the costs of running the orphanages. It is part of a broader program in the church to make themselves self-sufficient and be able to fund the work that they do. It is one of the many very innovative projects.
One of the other ways that the work of the broader church is funded is that every congregation, both rich and small, contributes 31% of their income to the Synod. This money is used to supply pastors for small congregations, support the Synod and fund many of the other programs. It is a real example of everyone in the church acting for the good of the whole. I’m not quite sure what would happen if we asked all the Uniting Churches in the NSW/ACT Synod to contribute 30% to the Synod!
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I reckon that you would have Buckley's of getting this idea accepted.
ReplyDeleteIn England we see reminders of the past "support" of the contributions ( i.e. Tax )mad`e by the parishoners to operate the churches in the form of roads named "The Tything", a main road through the centre of Worcester. Another is the "Tythe Barn" which is just an historic monument.
It ain't gonna happen!