From the Dean
For several years I have wondered with others in this community how we, the community of faith, might engage the issue of money and economics. It has been a question with which the past two vestries wrestled. You have heard me say numerous times that the Episcopal Church has talked about sexuality for decades because it knew it should be talking about economics and the only thing that scares us more than sex is money.
The issue always seemed so multi-faceted and incredibly complex: personal economics, communal economics, local economics, national economics, global economics. Where do we start? How do we invite reflection on our substance and how and where we use it? How do we invite intentional and helpful reflection on practices and attitudes toward money? How might a community of faith wrestle with their communal budget, our communal practices as being moral statements? How do we engage this part of our lives without coming up with simplistic and unhelpful lists of do’s and don’ts?
A couple of years ago I reconnected with some old friends from Jackson days, Rosa Lee Harden and Kevin Jones. The three of us had been together in a leadership group there. Since then they had moved to San Francisco where Rosa Lee pursued a seminary degree and ordination. While reconnecting we came to the subject of money and economics. They told me of their work with for-profit and non-profit organizations looking at what they called the intersection of money and meaning. For the past three years they have run a conference in San Francisco called SOCAP (Social Capital Markets), a conference I attended last fall and spoke of in a sermon. We realized there was a common hunger to find ways for faith communities to engage money and economics and continued having conversations around this.
Running parallel to these conversations was a desire of Rosa Lee and Kevin to move back to the east coast to be closer to their children and grandchildren. They have since purchased a home in Asheville and split their time between here and San Francisco, where they continue to organize SOCAP and be involved in other economic work (sometime ask them about The HUB).
A fruit of this convergence is that Rosa Lee will be joining the staff in a part time ‘free lance’ manner (meaning we are providing her no compensation which in return also allows her the freedom to be engaged in her work with SOCAP and other national church work around economics). Much of her work will be offered through the Center for Spiritual Resources so that we may offer what we are learning in this cathedral parish to the diocese and beyond. Her title will be Canon for Money and Meaning. We have already begun gathering folks in the community to discuss and create opportunities for us as individuals and us as a community to delve into conversations around our money and our faith. You will see the fruit of this work in offerings beginning next fall. As well, Rosa Lee and I will be offering a workshop focusing on faith and economics at this year’s diocesan Mission and Ministry Conference.
I am excited about this work. In a recent interview, Rosa Lee was asked, What do you see as some of the biggest challenges facing Anglicans today? Her reply: Keeping the ‘churchy stuff’ we do in community (including liturgy) relevant to the lives of the people who are members of the community. Economics is certainly relevant to each and every one of us. It is relevant to every member of this city and region. It is relevant to each and every member of this planet.
Click here to find biographical information about Rosa Lee. We will welcome her to this community on Sunday, June 12.
Among the many things for which I am grateful about this parish is its history of engagement with the significant issues of its day. I am grateful for the Spirit’s drawing together in this community people who hunger for a faith that is relevant.
Peace,
Todd