Arizona 'Tithes Back' to Congregations
Episcopal News Service. November 21, 1994 [94189M]
Bishop Robert Shahan of Arizona recently gave back $142,000 to the 65 congregations represented at the recent annual diocesan convention. The money represents 10 percent of what each congregation had given in the form of diocesan assessments during the previous year. Shahan handed out checks that ranged from $15 to $18,000 during a "reverse offertory" at the convention Eucharist. "We wanted to tithe back to the congregations," he said. "If we're going to be leaders in stewardship commitment, we needed to do something so different that the people would remember it. If we truly believed that God has called us into a kingdom of abundance, then we needed to act that way." The bishop said that the return of the money came at a sacrifice: "The diocesan staff went without raises and found creative ways to get more work done."