RevWrites- March 21

One of the most impressive things about NAC has been the willingness of the members to consider the needs of others before their own needs. This is clear evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit.

This willingness to look first to the needs of others has been most evident in our older members. Time after time our older members have led by example. They have given way and given up the things they loved. And all for the sake of those seeking Christ or new to faith in Christ.

I’m sure that, being human, there have been times when they’ve given way through gritted teeth. Nevertheless, they’ve cared enough about others to look first to the needs of those others.

For many years we have cared about visitors or newcomers to encourage them to ignore the collection plate when it is passed round. We recognise that many people outside the church often view churches as only interested in their money. So we’ve tried to dispel that impression by telling them to “simply pass the plate along.”

I don’t know where the collection plate originated. The practise of passing the plate seems to have been there a long time. But it might not be that old. In England, where the C of E is the established church, most churches were centrally funded in some way or other, and most still are. So they don’t depend on weekly collections. In the US, the collection plate seems to have been introduced in the 19^th century.

At our Annual Meeting last night we heard that the Parish Council and the Parish Leadership Team have agreed that we will stop using the collection plate. Over the next six months we will talk about why we have made this decision and invite your feedback and provide time for discussion.

One major reason is that most of our giving is now received electronically. More and more of our members are giving by bank transfer. There are good reasons to encourage this way of giving. One is it ensures people act responsibly and faithfully by giving even if they’re away.

Of course, members of NAC will still be able to give directly each Sunday if they don’t want to use bank transfer or some other form of direct giving. We will need to work out some way to enable these members to give envelopes or even cash! I don’t think the wardens want to refuse to receive cash, although I can tell you funny stories where people have refused cash, even large amounts of it.

This all has to be worked out together over the next months. We are good at managing change. We are good because of the deeply ingrained willingness of our members to look to the needs of others. We will work this out together too. In fact, I look forward to it so I might see the deep character of NAC at work once more. It will cause me once more to thank our Father for changing us more into the image of his Son.

Neil