Update on St. Benedict's Benevolence Fund

UPDATE

I want to thank everyone who has contributed to this. All of the money raised has been used for poor people in Durham, NC, simply for necessary items, mostly food and medicine. On Thursday May 2, at our Diocesan Synod, this was part of the annual parish report I prepared for St. Benedict's Anglican Church here in Chapel Hill, NC.

"Some of the new families have been very faithful to bring food for the food basket. I mention that because giving what we are able to give to the poor has become a feature of our life as a parish. This has caused me to look into the idea of a “Go Fund Me” campaign to help some of the poor who call the church because their very real emergency needs are not met by anyone else, and not by social programs. A few of us have gotten to know some of them, and their families. The “Go Fund Me” campaign adds to what I was trying to accomplish through a discretionary fund that did not stretch far enough. Most of the poverty seems to be in Durham more than in Chapel Hill. I believe this is part of our calling, and we need not be afraid to obey the clear commandments Jesus Christ gave us in the Sermon on the Mount...If I have anything to suggest for the benefit of other congregations, it is this: Do not be afraid to give and to love 'the least of these.' Jesus said, “Freely you have received; freely give.” I believe that between seeking to obey that command, and praying for God to give the increase, we are simply handing Him five loaves and two small fishes. And, that is when He places it back in our hands and says, 'Give ye them something to eat.'”

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The text of the complete Parish Report presented to the Synod of the Diocese of the South, Anglican Catholic Church, on Thursday May 2, 2019.

St. Benedict’s was established exactly forty years ago, in 1979. I think it possible that only one founding member remains alive. It is not the same congregation that I came to ten years ago, nor could it be because so many have departed this earthly life. It is a new generation, people who know nothing of the beginnings, the difficult work of establishing a new parish, but also who know nothing of the times of strife and trouble that preceded my arrival.

The parish has been growing with a good steady trickle, and it appears to be increasing to a steady stream. Some of us have met regularly for Evening Prayer on Wednesdays, for a couple of years now, with parish growth as an emphasis. I composed a prayer for that purpose that a few of us also say both in Morning and Evening Prayer. Last year, early in the morning of Whitsunday, I was (to use a Bible phrase) “In the Spirit on the Lord’s day.” I was convinced, and remain convinced, that God revealed to me that He has heard our prayers, and that we would soon see the beginning of growth. And, that is precisely what began late in the Summer, and has been continuing. Even now, when we get back home, I plan to baptize a young man who is a catechumen in the classic sense. Most of the growth has been, of course, people looking for a church. It seems also that we have been given an inroad to UNC students. Thanks be to God: It is really His work, as in, His doing; for, other than the prayers, we really have not started anything that has seemed to work, nothing for which we can take credit. We just Continue to be Anglican Catholics, and we also continue to pray for parish growth, and “it is God that giveth the increase.”

          I am glad to say that the people are very glad to be part of the parish. One of our newest members was still, until finding us, suffering the stress of trying to cope with the Episcopal “Church,” and has let me know how delighted she is to have found us (Yes, there are still some of them out there). Others are new to a liturgical church, and the young man, the catechumen I mentioned, is new to it all.

          I am also happy to say that the new members include younger families (younger than I that is), and that we have the happy sound and sight of several children, some of them very young. The occasional squawking and chirping of toddlers and babies is a sound of health; it is a sound of life. The Rabbi who started Hasidic Judaism (The Baal Shem Tov) once called to the attention of his congregation a baby who had made a typical baby noise in the Synagogue on Shabbat. He said to the congregation, “The sound that baby made is the most pure praise of all.” Well, even if not – even if it is just a baby crying for attention – it is still a sound that indicates health, new life, and growth.

Some of the new families have been very faithful to bring food for the food basket. I mention that because giving what we are able to give to the poor has become a feature of our life as a parish. This has caused me to look into the idea of a “Go Fund Me” campaign to help some of the poor who call the church because their very real emergency needs are not met by anyone else, and not by social programs. A few of us have gotten to know some of them, and their families. The “Go Fund Me” campaign adds to what I was trying to accomplish through a discretionary fund that did not stretch far enough. Most of the poverty seems to be in Durham more than in Chapel Hill. I believe this is part of our calling, and we need not be afraid to obey the clear commandments Jesus Christ gave us in the Sermon on the Mount.

Our ministry at the Stratford Senior Care Facility, a Chapel Hill nursing home, continues. Every Saturday afternoon we provide the only regular church service that a good proportion of their residents can attend. That ministry began five years ago when the Activities Director who worked there called me. She asked if we recorded our services, and could we provide such recordings for their residents who cannot get to a church? The Stratford has, mostly, people on the low rungs of the economic ladder; the facilities for the richer folks have several churches doing services. But the Stratford’s Activities Director had, I believe, given up asking for anyone to actually give their time and attention to the people there who wanted an actual church service. Recordings Indeed! It was obvious that the Lord was opening a door, and that the only obedient response was to go through it. I said, “No, we haven’t been recording them. But we can do better than send recordings.” So, we have been there regularly on Saturday afternoons for five years. When he was able to be more active, Fr. Lindsay fulfilled a large part of that ministry. I report the attendance of those services because they are St. Benedict’s services.

          If I have anything to suggest for the benefit of other congregations, it is this: Do not be afraid to give and to love “the least of these.” Jesus said, “Freely you have received; freely give.” I believe that between seeking to obey that command, and praying for God to give the increase, we are simply handing Him five loaves and two small fishes. And, that is when He places it back in our hands and says, “Give ye them something to eat.”