SOLI/Update - Oct. 17, 2005

Stewardship of public resources

Mainstream church leaders around the country are urging Congress to find other ways to pay for the Gulf Coast rebuilding besides cutting Food Stamps, health care and other important safety net programs that help working families, retirees and disabled citizens get by.

"The Biblical record is clear," states a letter that 52 ELCA bishops sent to members of Congress. "The Scriptural witness ... speaks dramatically of God’s concern for and solidarity with poor and oppressed communities while speaking firmly in opposition to governments whose policies place narrow economic interests driven by greed above the common good." (You can read the letter and other expressions of concern in this week's Gleanings.)

Is this something you or your congregation could support? Many Mainline Christians are reluctant, believing the church should be "above it all" when it comes to politics. Yet virtually no church believes we should be reluctant to donate generously to food banks, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, thrift stores and clothing closets. So why not express support for public policies that will prevent people from becoming hungry, homeless or naked in the first place?

It's like saying churches can help shipwreck victims, but not support building lighthouses that will prevent shipwrecks.

For Christians, public budgets and policies are stewardship issues because they directly impact the lives of so many people. "The federal budget is full of numbers, but behind those numbers are men, women and children around the country whose lives will be affected greatly by choices made in Washington," writes Mary Ellen McNish, head of the American Friends Service Committee -- the Quakers' social justice office, in an op-ed piece.

For Christians who want to help, Sojourners or AFSC have good ideas. For those still not sure, at least give the matter prayer, study and discussion with brothers and sisters.

--Rob Blezard, editor and webmaster

New this week:

New page! Congregational Stewardship 101
Here's a new page on the SOLI website to help stewardship committee members, pastors and other church leaders find good, substantive basic resources of value to a congregation's financial stewardship. >From this page you can find how-to essays, stewardship programs, workshop outlines, Bible studies and other hands-on materials. New stuff is added weekly, so check periodically. Click here for "Congregational stewardship 101.

Tony Campolo: Prophetic talk about hurricanes

"Since the hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast, we’ve seen a wide array of religious pundits of all faiths making absurd pronouncements about the cause of these catastrophes. ... When I hear such things, I am convinced that religious leaders who make such statements do more to drive people away from God than do all the arguments and attacks of atheists." Click here for this essay by Tony Campolo, one of the world's leading preachers. Check out more writings or his talks at www.tonycampolo.org.

Environmental wager
Subtitled "Why Evangelicals are -- but shouldn't be -- cool to global warming," this essay by CT columnist Andy Crouch speaks plain sense about a complex topic. "The theory is taken for granted by nearly every scientist working in the field. But because it is difficult to confirm experimentally, a few vocal skeptics continue to raise pointed questions. The skeptics find a ready audience among evangelical Christians." Click here for "Environmental wager," from Christianity Today.

Stewardship: Sharing the abundance
Here's a wonderful congregational resource for novice stewardship leaders and veterans alike. It provides a solid bibliography, tips, lists of websites and resources for teaching stewardship. Broad in its approach and deep in its detail, Sharing the Abundance is useful and practical. Click here for Sharing the abundance. From the Resource Center of the Eastern North Dakota Synod. This week's Treasure Chest offering.

Plan for unplanned relief contributions

" Is there no end to the things to which I am asked to respond? Is there no end to the needs of this world? If I don't budget for things they do seem much more relentless and never-ending." Click here for Pastor Dana Reardon's weekly column.