Editorial Inspires Spirit of Abundance
Episcopal News Service. August 31, 1995 [95-1219]
(ENS) An editorial written by Nan Ross, communications officer for the Diocese of Arizona, has inspired a grassroots movement to restore the $2.2 million in Episcopal Church funds embezzled by former treasurer Ellen Cooke... a dollar at a time.
The editorial, which ran in the Arizona Episcopalian newspaper under the title "We Are One" and has been reprinted by other diocesan newspapers, urged readers to send in one dollar per church member, noting that the 2.5 million Episcopalians in the country could offset the loss caused by Cooke's theft.
"What if every one of our 2.5 million Episcopalians mailed just $1 to Presiding Bishop Browning?" Ross asked in the editorial. "We'd have more than a $300,000 surplus! What if we proclaimed the Kingdom of Abundance throughout the dioceses of the Episcopal Church? We'd be claiming God's power to redeem this tragedy!"
As a result of the editorial, the presiding bishop's discretionary fund has in recent months received a large number of one and five dollar bills and checks for modest amounts, with memo lines that say "to replenish stolen funds," "this might help," "Ellen Cooke disaster," "embezzlement tragedy," and simply "re: abundance." Some of the contributions are accompanied by letters explaining that the givers are following Ross's suggestion of giving one dollar for each Episcopalian in the immediate family. Others expanded their giving to include their extended family, and one person gave an extra two dollars: one from her dog and one from her cat.
So far more than $2,500 has been received. The overwhelming majority of contributions have come from Arizona, with a large number from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia, and Kansas, and a scattering of donations from many other states.
Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning said that he was "enormously grateful for this outpouring of dollars, which has been a wonderful sign of our connectedness and caring for one another in this church." He noted that "it has been a sacramental offering and a practical help as well." He said that it wouldn't be possible to acknowledge the gifts because he didn't think the donors would want a third of their contribution spent on mailing a thank-you note back to them.
Ross attributed the inspiration of her editorial to the atmosphere in the Diocese of Arizona. "I brought a special perspective: I live and work in a diocese where We Are One is our vision. We work hard at finding ways to connect and work together in this diocese, and the result is a vast amount of generosity. Instead of thinking in terms of scarcity, which is human nature to do, we promote abundance."
At the diocese's annual convention last fall, Bishop Robert Shahan gave back $142,000 to the 65 congregations represented at the gathering. "We wanted to tithe back to the congregations," he said at the time. "If we truly believe that God has called us into a kingdom of abundance, then we need to act that way."
Ross said that the positive response to "We Are One" has changed her thinking about small contributions. "It helped me realize how a little money can go a long way if a lot of people are involved," she said.