December 18, 2017

Fear Not the Words Capital Campaign

Capital Campaign. These two words conjure up all sorts of thoughts. For some it can mean more - more that you are asking of me, more money, more time, more sacrifice. For others it may mean more - more opportunity to give, more opportunity to support, to receive, to hear what God is asking of us.

A helpful way to receive the word of God is through indifference. While some take pause with that word, the perspective that Ruth Haley Barton attaches to it in her book Pursuing God’s Will Together is to remain indifferent to anything but God’s will. “We ask God to bring us to a place where we want God’s will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.”

As a faithful congregation if time is spent truly discerning what God is asking of us, how we can better improve the lives of those in need, enrich our spiritual life, build fellowship, create a place where parishioners want to worship and bring their family and friends then the words capital campaign bring hope for a better future. As followers of Jesus Christ, we pray, remain open and wait for answers.

I am working with a parish that is beginning the capital campaign process. At this time the only focus is on what is needed to improve or fix to get by and use the buildings. When I invited them to remain open to God’s will and think of how this parish will inspire and engage existing and new parishioners the ideas began to flow. Not grandiose ideas but thoughtful ideas. In opening the process of asking what is “God calling us to be,” the parish collectively discerned together what was needed for God’s vision to become a reality. What they realized was praying for indifference fueled the possibilities.

When “we ask God to bring us to a place where we want God’s will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else” we respond with wisdom.

The original text of this article has been edited to reflect ECF's current programs.