RECESSION-PROOF
I haven’t been associated with grade school life for some time now. Do grade schools still have recess? I remember sitting in the classroom watching the hands of that big clock on the wall move ever so slowly until they hit that magic minute when the bell would ring and send me and my classmates chattering and running out onto the playground. I hope we still value this playtime for our children.
Our community also relishes its playtime. This month that takes the form of the February 5th Shrove Tuesday event, a night of games and prizes and food to which all are welcome (Thanks to all who are making this event happen for us!). This is one of those planned playtimes. But there is all of that unplanned and unscheduled playtime that also occurs wherever and whenever two or three gather. Laughter and joy are important elements of our community life, and I celebrate this aspect of our being together.
This sense of joy is more prevalent, it seems to me, when we do not have to stress out about financial matters here at Hope. Let me say that I am proud of the way we have responded financially over the past year. We are keeping up, for the most part (we are cutting it close), with our budgetary demands, and at the same time responding to a call for building repairs. I am grateful to us all for the generosity with which we offer our financial gifts.
That being said, I ask that we be particularly mindful during these first quarter months of 2008. This run from January through March can get a bit bumpy financially. Although we have not yet had to borrow for operating expenses during this fiscal year (which runs July – June), we’re not out of the woods yet. Your continued financial diligence throughout this period will make us recession-proof, no matter what the Fed does with its interest rates. It would be a great blessing if we did not have to acquire debt beyond our building repairs.
And while we are working on making ourselves recession-proof, let’s not become recess-proof. Giving and supporting ourselves financially can be a joyful activity, and the levity can continue to blossom in all of our being together. This is my winter prayer for us.
- Pastor Vance Toivonen