Canadian Mennonite
Volume 11, No. 12
June 11, 2007
Our finances are a witness
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In our continuing focus on being faithful with our money this year, we present three aspects of faith in finances that affect most of us in our everyday lives. Brice Balmer shares his story on how he has come to use his retirement savings as an extension of his faith; Gareth Brandt pricks our wallets with his reflection on shopping malls; and Lori Guenther Reesor focuses right on the church when she looks at how Christian organizations raise money.
For those of you in B.C. this July, note that on July 3 (the day the national church assembly starts), all are invited to explore and learn more about faith and finance issues at a one-day workshop, “Putting Your Money Where Your Faith Is.” For more information, or to register, visit mennonitechurch.ca/tiny/305.
Financially I’m not very sophisticated. I’m a pastor and a social worker; my studies have been in theology, community development, addiction, spirituality and counselling. I have relied on my employer to determine the retirement benefits, but in the last 10 years things have changed and more awareness of finances has been necessary.
As I began in ministry, I decided to pay Social Security taxes in the U.S. In 1972, pastors had a choice and I thought it was both ethical and wise to be part of the Social Security system so all American workers had some retirement income. Like many other Canadians and Americans, I did not purchase RRSPs in my 20s and 30s because we were paying off debts, raising two children and purchasing a house.
Moving to Canada as a pastor, I began participating in the pension plan of the Conference of Mennonites in Canada (CMC) with my congregation paying half. I also was glad to pay into the Canada Pension Plan. It was fine to let the CMC staff handle the investments and they did very well. Through Mennonite Savings and Credit Union, I decided in my 40s to invest in Ethical Mutual Funds.
Being ethical both personally and systemically is important for me. My community work has been ministry with marginalized peoples who are sometimes unable to obtain jobs or do not have living wages and benefits because of business and government policies. My wife and I have worked for peace and justice. We are concerned about a clean environment for all peoples, especially future generations. Our investments need to promote health, living wages, clean environment, peace and justice.
As I left as co-pastor at First Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ont., to become chaplaincy director at House of Friendship, I received a letter from the CMC pension fund asking me to withdraw my retirement funds. A former pastor whom I trusted had become a financial advisor, so my wife and I talked with him; we enrolled in three mutual funds.
But as I read their annual reports, I saw in the Globe and Mail that some of my money was going to corporations that were involved in injustice and ecological damage. Our financial advisor told me the funds were as ethically balanced as he knew how to make them. I knew that I could not be 100 percent pure like orange juice, but I didn’t appreciate making profit when other peoples or the Earth suffer.
Thankfully, Mennonite Savings and Credit Union began helping members with financial planning and was a partner in creating the Meritas Mutual Funds. Not only ethical investors, Meritas challenged specific corporations to improve their policies and activities. So we began transferring our funds to Meritas as they became available for transfer.
As a member of the Support Services Council of Mennonite Church Canada, I was involved in beginning the pension plan. We wanted our Great West Life pension plan members to have a Meritas option, which most members chose. Although the pension plan meetings were often routine and dull, issues began emerging:
• How to balance ethics and profit-making?
• Long-term versus short-term financial gain?
• Trusting the wisdom of the Meritas staff?
• How many options should our plan have?
• Wondering why pension plan members did not become more involved in their retirement?
Through MC Canada’s pension fund, we gave Meritas a tremendous push forward in its initial stages. Now it had others very interested in ethical investing and began receiving media attention when it surpassed $100 million (just last month it passed the $200 million mark).
Reading the Globe and Mail business section became more important as I checked out Meritas, Great West Life and businesses that were into mutual funds. Seeing Wal-Mart Mexico in Meritas was frustrating until I learned that the firm paid a living wage there.
I was excited when the House of Friendship pension plan chose Great West Life and I could again select Meritas. Now I wanted to know my options.
Twenty years ago, many of us felt powerless and resigned to let others determine our retirement and mutual fund investments. We worked for health, community development in the Third World, ecology and justice in our churches and other organizations. But our significant retirement funds did not follow. Today, there is choice. Our investments can be a witness to our faith. But it takes time, education and decisive action to be a witness—even more for those who are in major pension plans.
The ‘abomination of desolation’ found
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With the ongoing violence in Israel and the West Bank, and the U.S. invasion of the former Babylonian Empire, the time is ripe for “new” conspiracy theories; hence The Matrix, Left Behind and The DaVinci Code. Who is real? Who was Jesus Christ really? Who is the Anti-Christ? What is the hidden agenda of organized religion? I have a conspiracy theory of my own.
There is a building that wants to take over my community and the world—the Seven Oaks Mall (pick any mall near you, it will do just as well). I believe this building is the “abomination of desolation” referred to in the book of Daniel (9:27, 11:31, 12:11) and quoted by Jesus in the New Testament. People have speculated about the identity of the abomination: Was it Roman conquerors in the temple in 70 AD? Is it the Islamic mosque built on the holy hill in Jerusalem? End your speculation! I have found the identity of the abomination of desolation; it is the mall.
An eerie chill goes up my spine when I drive by the mall and see the bright colourful signs, hundreds of cars in the parking lot and people streaming in like there’s no tomorrow. It’s like there’s something evil and sinister going on inside this sprawling building, like they’re going inside to worship at some forbidden altar and might never come out alive.
I actually had to go inside the mall when my son won a prize in the Science Fair and they made him display his project in the mall. (Ironically, his project was on the environmental effects of constructing roads and buildings.) I was sure it was a sinister plot to get unsuspecting parents into the “abomination!” I dashed in just long enough to see him collect his prize from the naturalist society, all the while hearing evil voices inside my head: “Shop, shop, shop. You’ll feel better when you shop, shop, shop.”
Good theology should not be based on feelings and personal experience, but on solid empirical and biblical research. People might scoff and say, “This is only your personal experience. I’ve had many trips to the mall and the people inside are selling legitimate wares in perfectly legitimate ways.” Hear me out; it may save your life.
All biblical terms must be interpreted in their proper context. It is clear from the context in Daniel that the “abomination that causes desolation” refers to a building that sets itself up as an alternative worship space to the temple, the dwelling place of God. Is this not exactly what the mall does? It’s now open on Sunday. It is the place where people go to pay their ultimate allegiance (i.e. drop most of their money) and it is there in the food court that they fellowship with like-minded believers.
The term itself also holds a key to its identification. An “abomination” is something “disgusting, intensely hated or loathed,” an “ill omen.” The outward appearance of a mall does not seem so bad, but the Evil One lurks around every corner, seducing innocent people into making life-destroying purchases. When you go inside, you are drawn into its evil clutches, compelled to return again and again.
“Desolation” is a state of ruin as in a barren wasteland. This is exactly what a mall does to the environment, to your pocketbook and to your soul. Earth, grass, flowers and trees are ruined by pavement; your wallet is left barren and empty—your soul the same. It all fits; it all makes sense! Why haven’t we seen this before? People all over North America rush headlong to the mall only to be devoured by this arch-enemy of the Most High.
A building such as this is none other than the abomination of desolation, more dangerous than a despot, more luring than a brothel, more captivating than a cult! Buyers beware.
Fundraising and theology: Does the end justify the means?
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Has a Christian institution—school, church, service agency, relief and development group, mission organization—asked you for money lately? It’s likely that most readers have received letters requesting donations, either in the mail or as magazine inserts, not to mention TV commercials and programs devoted to specific causes. Canvassers, both volunteers and paid workers, knock on our doors. Telemarketers phone us at home. Pardon the pun, but fundraising has become a “growth industry.”
Fundraising is a very public face of Christianity. That statement might make us squirm in our pews, but raising money is one of the endeavours through which non-Christians are most likely to get an impression of what Christians believe and value.
So what does Christian fundraising say about what Christians believe? For starters, I think an outsider could be easily convinced that God is broke! Money seems perennially tight, except in response to rare high-profile disasters like the Asian tsunami. It appears that for many Christian organizations there is never enough money to meet the budget, launch a new program or respond to an urgent need. Many, but not all, of our fundraising letters perpetuate a “scarcity model”; there are never enough resources to respond to the needs.
On an individual level and, dare I say it, maybe even on a congregational level, I think many Christians also feel there is never enough, that we need to keep more money for ourselves.
Organizations write increasingly desperate letters in an effort to gain a response. I worry when an appeal says, “You can save a life.” That’s a very strong claim. It implies by extension that withholding funds is an exercise of power that denies life. Maybe God can use the money to help the organization help someone, but I am troubled by ascribing lifesaving power to money.
This neediness perpetuates a vicious cycle. Donors begin to wonder if their last gift made any difference: Is there no hope? Why bother giving if the situation never improves? Conversely, if the situation sounds too hopeful, donors might feel their help is no longer required.
We are in danger of confusing wealth with powers traditionally reserved for God. Do we give our money to whichever organization sounds the most desperate? Is need the only criteria for giving? As long as donating money is primarily an emotional response, fundraising letters will dance awkwardly between portraits of desperate need and hopeful progress.
Fundraisers also talk about a phenomenon known as “donor fatigue,” in which donors becomes tired of repeated requests for money and stop giving to a charity. As a result of donor fatigue and a host of other factors, many charities are continually searching for new donors.
It’s important to know that, as a general rule, it’s not a donor’s first gift that makes money for a charity. Acquisitions—acquiring new donors—are often a “loss leader,” as the return for the charity is less than the investment in fundraising costs. The money usually comes in the subsequent gifts received after a donor comes on board.
Many one-time donors give to resolve the cognitive dissonance created by troubling images of suffering. For instance, many Canadians responded to the December 26, 2004 tsunami devastation seen on TV. How can some people suffer so greatly while I am healthy and well? Giving money helps us resolve the tension between our situation and what we see happening to other people elsewhere. This behaviour is commendable, but often not sustainable. Will we still give when the TV is no longer covering the story?
So don’t give to a new charity if you only plan on giving once! Determine if this is a cause you would like to support in the long-term, instead of merely responding to a strong emotional appeal out of guilt or fear.
Let’s return to our earlier question of what our fundraising practices reveal about Christian beliefs. I examined numerous fundraising letters for a theology paper I wrote. Too often, Christian fundraising letters imply that the organization will do whatever it takes to get more money; fundraising becomes a necessary evil which funds the real ministry.
I think that fundraising is a ministry, and one that needs more thoughtful reflection in Christian circles. We need to think about how and why we give money. I believe that the relationship between donors and Christian organizations needs to be about more than money, and our giving needs to be based on faith, not solely on emotion.