Living is Giving needs YOU!
For the New South Wales Synod to grow in its capacity to offer God's grace on the ground, Synod members need to encourage their congregations and presbyteries to strengthen their commitment to Living is Giving through prayer, financial giving and connecting with the bigger picture regarding mission.
In a presentation on October 7, Synod Mission Promotions Officer Emma Halgren and Synod Media Officer Stephen Webb called Synod members to spread the word that giving to Living is Giving was not optional and should in most congregations be increased.
Their presentation also emphasised that congregations currently giving to non-Uniting Church organisations should think seriously about redirecting those funds back to Living is Giving and hence the Uniting Church at mission - because without that support much-needed ministries would need to be cut.
Living is Giving is the primary means by which church members contribute to the running of the New South Wales Synod and its mission, service and administration.
It is also the way congregations and individuals participate in the wider work of the church, connecting their mission to ministries they're passionate about and which operate beyond their immediate context.
Synod heard stories from Ross Neville and Naomi Nash, who are working to share the gospel in rural and regional areas, Bec Lindsay, a Uniting Church mission worker at the University of Sydney and the University of Technology, David Riethmuller, a candidate for ministry at United Theological College, and Linda Mondy, Director, Operations, for UnitingCare Burnside, Western Sydney, about how Living is Giving was supporting their work or enabling them to have faith-building experiences.
Explaining how it was funding through Living is Giving that made her cutting-edge ministry in Dubbo with young adults possible, Naomi Nash said, "We are sharing the gospel in a mission field where God hasn't been heard of. We are sharing the gospel in a mission field where people have all kinds of ideas about God, ideas that are often legalistic, negative, condemning and judgmental.
"When even the simple mention of God or faith causes people to shut down, our task as a church or sharing faith and making disciples is even more challenging."
We can be heroes
Stephen Webb said that while financial surpluses in congregations had doubled from around $2 million in 1993 (the year Living is Giving was proposed) to around $4 million last financial year, Living is Giving contributions had plummeted by around $1 million - from $3 million in 1993 to around $2 million last financial year.
So, why the sharp decrease?
"The glaring difference is that donations to non-Uniting Church organisations have more than doubled since 1993 from $0.6 million to $1.5 million," Mr Webb said.
He explained how many congregations were receiving more than in the past through their offertory and fundraising but felt Living is Giving was optional, and so gave to non-Uniting Church organisations instead.
Some presbyteries, he said, were more responsible for the decrease in giving to Living is Giving than others.
In Canberra and Illawarra Presbyteries, for example, giving had decreased less than in other presbyteries. What might they be doing differently to others [like Ku-ring-gai and Sydney] where giving to non-Uniting Church organisations had increased dramatically, Mr Webb asked?
Thankfully there were "Living is Giving heroes", he said. Those congregations had little income but were giving up to 50 per cent of their available funds, while some of the wealthiest congregations were giving up only a few per cent or even nothing.
"Traditional" congregations tended to be better givers, he said. But it was important all congregations - traditional, liberal, emerging, evangelical and charismatic - understood that they benefited from the Uniting Church's institutional support and therefore had some obligation to the Uniting Church community.
"We need a change of attitude about what it means to be part of the wider Uniting Church. About what it means to be part of the Uniting Church at mission," he said.
Put yourself in the picture
Synod participants were also asked to contribute ideas and suggestions for how the Living is Giving process could be improved and to share ways they would commit to "putting themselves in the Living is Giving picture" - shouldering greater responsibility for the program's success.
Following table group discussion, nine people brought jigsaw pieces and comments about how they would strengthen their commitment to making Living is Giving work.
The completed jigsaw and commentary underlined visually and verbally how each person's contribution was necessary to ensure the vital work of the Uniting Church in the New South Wales Synod - made possible through Living is Giving - could continue.
Ms Halgren said, "If your congregation joined with all the others in this Synod and committed just one per cent more of its total annual expenditure to Living is Giving, there would be approximately $570,000 more to devote to the work being done through these ministries [funded by Living is Giving] in Christ's name.
"God is already in the picture. We need to get in the picture
too … [to] ensure that the Uniting Church is able to continue
making a difference in our local communities and beyond."