Where is your treasure?
This year, Week of Compassion invites us on a treasure hunt. Not just us, the church whose 2009 theme is all about Adventure, but all the churches of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). You might think this a clever way to dress up the term "fund raising." And it is. But it's more than that too, because the ever-visionary leadership of Week of Compassion has hit on an important spiritual reality that this church understands well.
Let me back up momentarily, and remind y'all who Week of Compassion is. Week of Compassion is the Disciples of Christ entity that coordinates our efforts at international disaster relief, refugee support and poverty development, in partnership with other such Christian agencies around the world. Its new director is Rev. Amy Gopp, who took over the helm this January following the retirement of long-serving Rev. Johnny Wray, who preached at Plymouth Creek last November and happens to be married to Pastor Shane's fiancé’s mother. Besides building and maintaining faithful and effective partnerships around the world, and guiding the distribution of WoC funds to where the greatest need happens to be at any given time, Rev. Gopp is also in charge of an annual fund raising drive, since Week of Compassion is not funded through General Disciples' giving. In other words, they stand alone, and rely on these annual Special Offerings (along with some endowment funds, and periodic giving, on-line and otherwise) in churches throughout the denomination to do what they do, which is help the most vulnerable throughout the world. On average, Week of Compassion responds to a new catastrophe every two days, with upwards of $2.5 million in yearly contributions, 97% of which goes directly to
help folk in need (i.e. administrative and fund raising costs only account for 3% of the annual budget).
And they do so because the people of our denomination have big hearts for a world in need. Go to the WoC website, if you have a spare moment, and read a few of the stories of children saved, lives rebuilt, families lifted out of endemic poverty and into something like self-sufficiency. It's remarkable, not just that this stuff happens, but specifically, that we, Disciples of Christ, make it happen, because our hearts are in the right place. Which is what, I think, WoC means by challenging us to ask this year, "Where is your treasure?" Remember that verse in Matthew 6, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also"? Notice, that isn't the same as, 'Put your money where your mouth is." Rather, Jesus is saying that your money follows your heart's desire, almost inevitably, because we use our resources to make happen what we love most deeply.
Which is why Disciples must have such big hearts, because every year they give money to the world's most vulnerable through Week of Compassion. This Easter Sunday, Plymouth Creek will participate in that annual Special Offering, during both our sunrise and our 10 AM service. So as you consider participating, let me encourage you to ask anew, "Where is my treasure? Can sharing it with a world in need help me discover something about where my heart is too?" If so, I imagine we'll all be pleasantly surprised. Or, given our church's track record for courageous stewardship, maybe not...
