In recent weeks some thoughts have floated through my mind. In the United States there is a federal minimum starting wage. Each of the fifty states that make up the union also have wage laws, some of which set the minimum starting wage higher. Some local governments do as well. However, these wages are often far from livable, especially for families. Often those who pay their employees these wages also do not provide them will full time hours and want open availability, thus making it harder for an individual to have enough to get by, even if full time at the minimum rate would be enough to live on. There have been various proposals out there for increasing wages to be more livable, but rarely do they address the whole problem. Typically they focus on the wage per hour but not the hour per week. They say $x per hour is a livable wage in a location, but forget to mention that is if they are getting 40 hours a week… when many work part time (less than 30-32 a week), or work full time but not 40 as many companies don’t want to risk over time so even full time might be 32, 34, 36 and even at that $x rate that may not be enough to provide the necessities.

We have some states with increases built into their minimum, but still not livable, wage systems. These are great in they at least help keep the minimum wage workers at the same level as they were and not lower. However, this also exposes a problem. It exposes how people being paid at higher hourly rates, often do not see their income increase at proportional rates. So the gap between their starting rate and the minimum starting rate shrinks… brining awareness (if we choose to open our eyes and see) that those living on enough or less than enough to get buy is increasing. It exposes the reality of the shrinking “middle” and the growing “poor.”

We hear cooperation’s, politicians and others speak against proposals to tax corporations and wealthy at rates they were once taxed. We hear people call to cut the safety nets that keep people from starving. We hear arguments from them saying that to restore their taxes would lead to a loss of jobs. The reality is jobs are being lost regardless if we tax them or not. The reality is many companies are paying their top executives more, while reducing their lower paid employees, either number wise or hour wise as much as they can to increase their profits. They seek to keep as many in the part time roles to limit benefit expenses… The reality is that if the safety net programs are cut, people will have less funds to pay for food and other necessities which will make a direct impact on retail sales, which in turn will lead to retail establishments reducing the hours per employee and/or the total number of employees as their income shrinks, which will lead to even loss of sales, as there will be even more people with less to spend. The reality is, a reduction in those corporations taxes will not create more hours, higher wages for the low paid common worker, or more job openings. Instead the money saved on taxes will go to the executives and the shareholders.

The reality is that while in some states with high minimum wages and more safety net programs, even when their unemployment rate is higher they often have fewer people that are food insecure than in states with lower unemployment and lower wage rates and fewer safety net programs. So looking to the states with low unemployment for ways to reduce unemployment is probably not the solution. For what good is low unemployment if people even with a job still can not put food on their plate, a roof over their head, go to the doctor, and put clothes on their backs?

Beefing up our safety nets is needed. But it in and of itself is not enough. Taxing the corporations and those with great wealth in ways to help justly distribute the burdens of a nation and a globe is not enough. they are part of the equation, but only part of it. Raising minimum wages to so-called livable wages is a start, but unless we move from an hourly model to a weekly/monthly/yearly model reflective of the gospel story of the workers who got paid the same regardless of how long they worked, we will have a problem. For people will get paid that living hourly rate, but not given the hours to make it livable.

In pondering ways to try and reign in the ever growing gap between the poor and wealthy, I wonder if however our attempts to set “minimum wages” is the wrong approach. Perhaps we need to set “maximum ratios” instead, or along side. That is set in place a system where we say: The highest paid person in a company’s total compensation can not be more than z times the total compensation of the lowest. For example using the numbers of one company that I work for. My total hourly compensation (wage+401k match+employer side of insurance premiums+ employer social security tax+ my savings by using my employee discount+vacation accrual…)  times 40 hours a week (more than I work a week) times 52 weeks equal several hundredths that of the President/CEO of the company. Even if we were to double that total so it was 80 hours a week the President/CEO would still be making several hundred times more than I per year. And there are many people working in this company for less than I do per hour and with fewer benefits than I.

People argue that these salaries are needed to keep people, and recruit people. However the US tends to have one of the highest ratios in the industrialized world, and the ratio has increased dramatically over the past few decades. Perhaps if we were to cap these ratios,  it would lead to better income equality and fewer hungry people. If a company wanted to pay its top person more to incite him/her to stay or to attract a new head they would also have to increase the wages of their lowest paid employees… What would happen if the ratio went from highest to lowest went from 500:1 down to 50:1, or 10:1 or 5:1? Even in a company that has thousands of employees, it might not lead to drastic changes in the low end, in terms of new jobs or hours, or wage increases, but it may lead to just enough of an increase to make sure they can pay rent, and not have skip a meal every now and again. It may be just enough for them to not need to utilize the safety net programs. It may be just enough to help people have a restored sense of dignity, and perhaps help the people at the top have better awareness of the struggles, realities, and needs of those that labor hard underneath their “leadership” and management.

Is there also a way we could create an income pool that would help larger families out? That is a way so companies still could budget $x per job position but where a single person making way more than they need could give a portion of their income into that pool, and a family of say 4 with the wage worker(s) of the family not receiving an income sufficient for them all could draw from to meet needed expenses… (I’m thinking in part of organizations that have tried to pay people by their need rather than “rank” but struggled as they grew in trying to budget and mange such a system and so had to revaluate their pay system… thus recreating in  a way such a system, but in a more budget friendly manner, and their are companies/organizations out there that have systems like this for sick time & personal leave where people can give their unneeded paid sick leave to those who are experiencing a need that leads to them having to be away from work a long time which could work as a model of how such an income pool could work.)

Just some of the many random thoughts in my mind of ways to try and help transform our current system into something just a bit more just and equitable. (if we could get to the days of all things in common, and making sure all were fed and cared for, as the saints of old did, or at least tried to do, I’m up for that as well…)

What are some of your thoughts and ideas?

Peace,

So, perhaps what I want to know is in depth detail of how things have changed. Have they changed in that now every ministry, budget line etc. is now categorized under one of the five, but beyond that all is the same, or has there been strategic changes to ensure  that the ministries of the church are actually living out the mission of the church in deed. Have we changed any program, gotten rid of any program, added any program due to these 5 initiatives? Are we taking time to actually ensure all resources truly are being used to their fullest for the mission of Christ. Are we re-aligning how we run various facilities of the church? Are we making the historic sites focus more on these initiatives 9allowing spiritual formation, discipleship formation, witnessing become a greater part of them, or just continue to run them as we have as educating people about history and PR for the church with the spiritual and discipleship activities secondary, a bit of passive witnessing and active witnessing even further down the line? Are we aligning the employees of the church with their giftedness and talents and the initiatives, and adjusting roles to better reflect the ministry needed in this world that we have been called and gifted to provide? Or have we just indicated that various former roles are still needed and justify them by saying they are under x y or z, without making sure they really are? I hope we re-evaluating, changing etc… but I just don’t know. the information I have seen publicly being shared, seems very surface level, glossing over and lacking depth of sharing what is truly going on. In many ways I crave and need more detail…

I got a bit more detail a couple days ago, but not really much… and it was the detail, and the lack of it, and the way it came, that made me start to think, start to reflect, and well write this post as a way for me to flush out the thoughts that are running through my mind right now.

Community of Christ HQ in the past year or so ahs sent me various mailings regarding giving. Some directed at me as an ordained minister, some more as a church member. They have focused on the financial side of things, more than other ways of giving… The most recent is no exception. I struggle with this, because while financial is important, so is the giving of time, talents, and other resources. If we focus to much on the financial giving, we may, and perhaps have, moved into a place where those in the pews feel all they need to do is show up and write a check. I know that is not what we are trying to do, the resources on discipleship formation clearly show that is not what a disciple is… but we send mixed messages when we focus on just one bit of stewardship.  I also ponder how much of our limited resources have been used toward encouraging increases in ones financial giving, compared to other aspects of ministry, and what impact have they had? Have they increased the giving by more than they cost, and thus allowed us to expand our ministry or not? Have they also led to people giving more of their time? have they helped lead people into living the mission of Christ closer to 24h/7d a week rather than 1h/1d a week? I don’t know, a doubt anyone knows, except for how it has impacted themselves.

It is also hard for someone like me, with little financial resources, trying to work one’s way out of some financial difficulties that are in part due to health and in part due to my sacrificial giving of self, time, and resources to the mission of Christ as expressed primarily through the church, and preparing myself for further ministry in and with this body of believers and get back on my feet, to be hounded with messages of specific dollar amounts to increase per week… I can’t do it. (I  would be in a much, much better financial position right now, and would probably fared better through some of my health issues,  if it was not for my time with Community of Christ Historic Sites). Yet, while I have not been able to increase by the numbers they toss around, my giving has increased significantly over the past two years, and NONE of it was due to the mailings, etc… but rather my response to the grace and love of Christ, my sense of calling, and evaluating what I could give…. But my greatest financial gift, is one that has been my years of education, to better prepare myself for ministerial service in and with the church. In my mind the cost of my M.Div, and most if not all of the B.A. is truly a sacrificial gift to the mission of Christ, to help empower and strengthen me in my ministry and witness of the church… But there’s no accounting of that in the church’s books, nor recognition of the gift… instead just “as a member”  or “as an ordained ministered” we seek to embrace the mission of Christ, this is what $10 a week more could do… But what about this is what 10 hours a month of volunteer service could do? this is what 10 hours of week engaging in Christ like ministry could do? Well inviting “ten people” or “helping 10 people be baptized” is mentioned on one page of sixteen pages of this newest mailing… and perhaps implied, but never directly engaged in the descriptions of the 5 mission initiatives and the church aligning to them, rather the focus in on the financial… Hmm, I just realized that financially, my giving of one week to serve as a counselor at camp, not counting my expenses, just the missed work… was over 1/2 the amount they asked me to increase my giving in a year, and as I did not serve as a counselor last year… perhaps I have gotten close, but again, no record, nor recognition (which I am okay with, except they keep hounding on the financial aspect rather than on the whole of stewardship so in a way seeming to de-value other needed and important forms of giving and stewardship). Perhaps as well I struggle as I want my church to be contacting me to say “hey, here are ways to utilize your gifts, talents, resources to live out the mission of Jesus the Christ, in and with your sisters and brothers around the globe” instead of “hey if you and everyone else in N. America increase giving by x a week, we can do x y and z…” in a way that seems as “others can” not “I and others can.”

Enough of that, lets get back to the 5 mission initiatives:

1. Invite people to Christ – 18.64%
2. Abolish Poverty, End Suffering – 14.04%
3. Pursue Peace on Earth – 7.61%
4. Develop Disciples to Serve – 38.57%
5. Experience Congregations in Mission – 21.14%

The percentages following each initiative is the percent of the budgeted world mission tithes giving that has been assigned to each priority. It is these numbers that give me some pause… though I must remember that this is the percentage of 51% of the budgeted income. Income from other sources make up another 49% and the mailing does not include how that 49% is divided up. Since 20 of that 49 is endowment support, and the Temple and its ministries fall under Pursue Peace on Earth, and there is an endowment fund specifically for the Temple perhaps  when we add in the 49% of total income Pursuing Peace is closer in its funding to that of other initiatives than the tithing portion alone indicates… But that’s the thing, we don’t know. All I know for sure is what has been shared, the amount of the 51% of income that comes from contributors that is budgeted toward each of these categories, and that if those levels are not met from giving directed at each initiative, then that given to “use where needed most” will go to fill it out, and then other income sources to try and make sure those amounts are realized…

So I have some problems, which may not be problems depending on how that other 49% is divided up, and what all falls under each of the 5, and how these %s will change over time. I believe in concept and description all five are needed, and meaningful. I however am worried about how we are (possibly) prioritizing/valuing the 5.

Yes, we need to help develop members (and others) on the path of discipleship so that they become active in the sharing of their time, gifts and talents… so that they are spiritually fed, and can feed others, to live in Christ focused ministry/mission 24/7 and not just show up to church once in awhile, not grow in relationship to Christ…. We need to have educated and trained leaders… (I would not have spent 9 years of my life in undergrad and seminary if I didn’t think so)… but should that receive more than the combined amount for the two initiatives that clearly are aimed at ministries focused on healing creation? perhaps it is needed at first, perhaps we need to train, educate, and empower people in their discipleship so they will respond and serve to embrace these needs… If these ratios stay the same over time and are truly this vast when we include the other 49% of income, we have a major problem. Community of Christ since it was founded in 1830 as Church of Christ, has been called to alleviating poverty and ending suffering…we’ve made a lot of mistakes, but it is a major part of our historical calling, our present calling and until the day poverty, hunger, suffering, war is no more a major part of our future calling… yet only 21.64% combined for these to initiatives…. Perhaps it could be explained by the other income sources, perhaps it can be explained in that many ways of using resources, many ministries could fall under several of the 5 initiatives so while Developing disciples get’s 38%, perhaps a significant part of that, and of the congregational ministries’ 21.14% could also be classified into Poverty/suffering and Peace?

Well, I’ve got to go rest a bit so I can go preside over a service in the morning… but I’m glad I wrote this, for while it may sound like a lot of complaining and concern 9which yes there is some) it has led to me see with new eyes the possibilities than when I started… Perhaps the division isn’t as bad as I thought once we add in the other income, and realize so many things can fall into various initiatives, and it seems they have chosen to let them fall in one or another… still I would like more detail of how we have “aligned” ourselves… what actual changes have transpired and are expected to happened due to embracing these initiatives?

How will we start to change the message from a focus on financial stewardship and giving to a holistic message of discipleship including all forms of stewardship and giving and not just monetary?

Peace,

No, the above is not what happened right at the end of the last post, for between then and this I went into another building, met more people and sat through an orientation session, which covered things I already knew by having been involved with Bread, and a little bit of new about the national gathering. But the above sets the stage for several of the experiences of Saturday and Sunday, well except for the food, typically just water, tea, coffee… was there not the cheese and fruit…

In this room with tables draped with many colours, centerpieces with beans upon them, I found myself one of many. I found myself in a few ways transported to the wonderful experiences of my seminary past. For I sat in community at the table, with people of faith, engaging, growing, learning in it. The preacher for our opening worship was Rev.  Dr. Frank Thomas. When I heard his name my mind went “why do I know him” and then I realized, he was the author of one of my seminary texts for one of the homiletics courses I took. They Like to Never Quit Praisin’ God: The Role of Celebration in Preaching still resides within my collection of books. The scripture text for his sermon was Matthew 6:11 “Give us this day our daily bread.” As he proclaimed the good news, as he expounded upon this text, he and the Spirit with him brought forth passion and inspiration, new insight and awareness, along with old.  As he explored the manna, talked of Moses and the people, about today and the needs of this world.  As he talked about the sharing with all and the non hording of food. Talk of the need to ask of the holy, not expect, not demand… many were moved.  As he preached and proclaimed the good news, as he challenged us, as he spoke of being prophetic as speaking truth to those in power AND truth to those denied power. He spoke of how it is US not me, not you not some of us, but all of us… (I wish I wrote this early and thus express more clearly his words than now several weeks out I can). It was a wonderful and powerful experience, as as Rev. Thomas spoke and I quoted him in a tweet saying “Capitalism deserves to be critiqued… [it] will never end poverty” I learned my friend from seminary had arrived as was present in the arena for she tweeted at about the same time: "capitalism will never end poverty" and that the faith community must humanize capitalism.

That’s all for an in-depth reflection I shall give of the services and sessions of Saturday, we had another one where the David Beckman, president of Bread for the World spoke, and also we spent time in regional groups (the reason for the coloured tables). Good things were said, I learned things, but I was also starting to wear down a bit after being up so long with so little sleep… It was after the Opening Worship as I was leaving the area to head out to dinner in another building I encountered my friend in seminary, we shared in conversation, meal often in the next few days… It was good to have a companion at the event that saw with eyes opened from a view similar yet different than my own, to digest and process all that streamed into my head that weekend.

At the close of the final plenary we went to “The tavern” for social time, an odd name for a place on a dry campus, and then with a few young college students we took a risky drive on a golf cart and walked around a Methodist seminary next to the Methodist University we were at. A Lutheran and a Community of Christ person, who had gone to a different Methodist Seminary now here one another one (which I think was not as nice of a campus, and much smaller than the one we had gone to). Then finally after all the explorations, I would find my self back at the dorm, my room, and to my surprise my roommate still not present… he never did show… and sleep finally arrived over 34 hours since I had awaken the morning before…

Till next time…

(sorry for the delay in these, I had meant to reflect on the whole gathering the week I had returned, but life sometimes makes one busy…)

Peace,

So what is this “isn’t me” but in truth “is me.” thing I am about to do? I’m about to go and live out a part of my discipleship and ministry by going forth and proclaiming the good news. But I said I ‘m not preparing a sermon, and no I am not going to go preach. So what is it? I’m going to to go speak on behalf of the voiceless. I’m going to go speak on behalf of the hungry and poor. I’m going to go into the halls of power, sit down with the people who are elected to represent me, (or work for them),  and proclaim the living, restoring, liberating news of the gospel by  advocating for justice. Lyle, the shy, quite, little spoken in one on one and small group conversation, is going to speak up, and say we need to protect the poor and vulnerable.

As I prepare to do this my mind drifts to spring 2007 in hot and humid Independence, MO. it was here that I sat in the conference chamber of the Auditorium as I heard Prophet-President Steven M. Veazey share words of counsel to the church. Words of counsel, which he was not presenting to the church for consideration to be canonized and included in the Doctrine and Covenants, and yet words that spoke to me and many others. Words that as I heard them felt  as if they were scripture, and should be embraced as such. The Spirit moved amongst us, Steve by mid week had presented them for inclusion and felt a peace in doing so. When these words were being considered by the Aaronic Mass meeting I spoke on their behalf and the stirring that was within me. I have no idea what words I said. I know not what words ran through my head as I voted on each paragraph and the document as a whole, there as a member of the Aaronic Order, nor as we did the same as a whole conference.

What I can tell you, is as I heard these words, as I read these words, as I prayed over these words… I did not see myself where I am today. As I’ve used these words in sermons, papers, reflections. I did not see myself here today. Yet this morning as I awoke on lobby day, these words came to my mind:

Community of Christ,” your name, given as a divine blessing, is your identity and calling. If you will discern and embrace its full meaning, you will not only discover your future, you will become a blessing to the whole creation. Do not be afraid to go where it beckons you to go.

Jesus Christ, the embodiment of God’s shalom, invites all people to come and receive divine peace in the midst of the difficult questions and struggles of life. Follow Christ in the way that leads to God’s peace and discover the blessings of all of the dimensions of salvation. Generously share the invitation, ministries, and sacraments through which people can encounter the Living Christ who heals and reconciles through redemptive relationships in sacred community. The restoring of persons to healthy or righteous relationships with God, others, themselves, and the earth is at the heart of the purpose of your journey as a people of faith.

You are called to create pathways in the world for peace in Christ to be relationally and culturally incarnate. The hope of Zion is realized when the vision of Christ is embodied in communities of generosity, justice, and peacefulness. Above all else, strive to be faithful to Christ’s vision of the peaceable Kingdom of God on earth. Courageously challenge cultural, political, and religious trends that are contrary to the reconciling and restoring purposes of God. Pursue peace. There are subtle, yet powerful, influences in the world, some even claiming to represent Christ, that seek to divide people and nations to accomplish their destructive aims. That which seeks to harden one human heart against another by constructing walls of fear and prejudice is not of God. Be especially alert to these influences, lest they divide you or divert you from the mission to which you are called.

God, the Eternal Creator, weeps for the poor, displaced, mistreated, and diseased of the world because of their unnecessary suffering. Such conditions are not God’s will. Open your ears to hear the pleading of mothers and fathers in all nations who desperately seek a future of hope for their children. Do not turn away from them. For in their welfare resides your welfare. The earth, lovingly created as an environment for life to flourish, shudders in distress because creation’s natural and living systems are becoming exhausted from carrying the burden of human greed and conflict. Humankind must awaken from its illusion of independence and unrestrained consumption without lasting consequences. Let the educational and community development endeavors of the church equip people of all ages to carry the ethics of Christ’s peace into all arenas of life. Prepare new generations of disciples to bring fresh vision to bear on the perplexing problems of poverty, disease, war, and environmental deterioration. Their contributions will be multiplied if their hearts are focused on God’s will for creation.

The words bolded, italics, or both, especially the both, are what resonated in my head the most. For you see, without thinking about it, I found myself on a journey of embracing these words in new and different ways than I had before. I found myself learning, growing, speaking, and now today after three days of engaging speakers, worshiping with others, conversing, praying, learning, I’m going to the hill to live out these words. In particular as they relate to the suffering of my sisters and brothers around the globe who are hungry, those who are the verge of being so. (I have a lot of sisters and brothers, over 6 billion and  your one of them). I’m going at a time when there is this mode of “slash everything” being expressed by some, this mode of governmental expression that includes  proposals that will make those suffering the most suffer more and those who suffer least suffer the same or even less… I’m going to speak of healing, I’m going to speak upon those who can’t speak, for those here who may get the right to vote but seldom are heard  and for those who don’t get to vote as they live elsewhere in the world, but whose lives and well being are on the table. It’s not a task I want to do, it is not a task I am comfortable in doing, but it is a task that as a minister of the Risen Living Christ, and as a disciple of Jesus the Christ, I am called to do. I encourage you to write your leaders, wherever you live, and advocate for the voiceless. To make phone calls, to visit in person. To advocate for those who you are called to serve. Even if you are not a follower of Christ, you are a member of the human family, and as such you are called to help ensure we bring an end to the pain and suffering in this world.

Please if you read this on 14 June 2011, keep all of us who will be visiting our members of Congress and our Senators today to speak on issues of hunger in your prayers and thoughts.

Peace be with you,