Generosity – DreamersAndGiants.com

This week, something has come up again and again. While at first glance, these events may appear totally unrelated, they share a common theme.

Generosity, Thankfulness, and Appreciation are linked – frontwards and backwards. And further, they are self-perpetuating.

Throughout this past week, I have had conversations about these things with my class, as they asked – and answered – some interesting questions. It began with the gift of over $11 million dollars from the estate of Thomas Albinson. This was followed on Monday by a dedication ceremony for a bench out on campus.

Example 1: Tom Albinson Estate Gift of $11 million

Because Tom Albinson appreciated his experience at Wesleyan during his college days, especially his friendship and mentorship of Professor Franck Bayard, he left money to Wesleyan to help strengthen and expand the Business Department, Media Studies, and the College Radio Station. People and activities that had impacted his life were never forgotten.

The announcement came during the Founders Day Convocation, and was a complete surprise to the gathered crowd. Many jaws dropped, and a murmur went through Wesley Chapel.

Why would anyone give that much money? The connections made in the 1970s were powerful and transformative.

Generosity-Thankfulness-Appreciation.

Example 2: Bench Dedication

On the Monday following Founders Day, I had my class meet out in front of the library for a bench dedication instead of in the classroom. It was a chilly morning, and the family of David and Dot DuBois had come long distances to dedicate a bench in memory of their parents.

Although they did not complain (at least to me), the body language of the class before the dedication ceremony began indicated that it was really cold out there and to stand outside for the purpose of dedicating a bench might mean that I had lost my mind. After the ceremony, however, they wrote reflections telling how much they had enjoyed being part of such a ceremony. They look forward to sitting on the bench and thinking about the students who had come before them. They felt connected to the DuBois Family, and will now be searching for David and Dot as we continue studying college history this semester. They even enjoyed the singing of the Alma Mater out in the middle of the campus.

The family told great stories of how their parents had fallen in love at Wesleyan, and how in later years the entire family would come to campus each year for Annual Conference. The place had made quite an impact on them. This bench, dedicated to their memory would be a place for current and future students sit and study or ponder.

At the end of the discussions (and a visit from Bob Skinner to tell them more about the Albinson Gift, the DuBois family, and others who have made gifts), my class and I have come to the following conclusions.

Why give a gift? (Generosity)

In Appreciation – In honor or in memory of someone or something or because you are thankful for someone or something.
To Celebrate – Holidays and Life Events such as birthdays, graduations, marriages, anniversaries, new baby, new job, new home. Generally involves gifts to individuals or small groups of people such as families.
To Support – To give aid for disaster relief, research, personal or institutional needs, etc. There are thousands of people and causes in need of support.
To Surprise – For no reason at all other than to surprise a person. Often done out of appreciation or generosity.

How to receive a gift? (Thankfulness)

An initial Thankfulness for the generosity of the giver might include a thank you card or letter as well as verbal thanks.
Honor the gift by recognizing the generosity of the giver.
Thankfulness tends to focus on the appreciation of the gift.

Thankful for gift and giver (Appreciation)

Connections are made between the giver and the receiver.
A deeper understanding of the importance of the gift is involved on the part of the receiver — while often the gift is given in the first place because the giver appreciates the receiver.
Taking the time and effort to truly know about both the giver and the value of the friendship and your connection as well as that of the gift.

Gifts can be as simple as a smile, a hug, or an encouraging word or as huge as an $11.4 million dollar donation. The result is a greater connection and a stronger community – one that extends beyond time and place.

The gifts we encountered this week were given because Tom Albinson and the DuBois family recognized the value of Wesleyan and what happens here. They were not responding to a need only, but to the value. This is true of countless others as well who have been Generous, Thankful and Appreciative.

Don’t you just love, love, love APPORTIONMENTS?

Pardon me if you are not familiar, or only marginally familiar, with the “Methodist lingo” of Apportionments. For me, the word “Apportionment” invokes joy in my soul: it helps me remember who I am. If I am sad, I say “Apportionment!” and voila! I am immediately happy. Perhaps because I am reminded of my Mom and Dad teaching us about the tool called money and telling us: for every shilling we had, we spent 80% on our budget, saved 10%, and set aside 10% as A-Portion-Meant-For-Others. In the same way, every United Methodist congregation would set aside an A-Portion-Meant-For-Others in their budgets.

My favorite Apportionment story was when I was twelve years old or so, and a group of United Methodists came to visit Kenya where my father was the Presiding Bishop. The group was on a global tour to visit, record and report on the work of Apportionments. And because the Methodist connexion is tight and intimate, I should have known the real possibility of some day pastoring the widow of the only African-American in the group, Bishop Edsel Ammons!

Looking back at that trip, I still marvel that Bishop-Dad had invited me to join the group on their trip to Garba Tulla, a town which lies in the middle of nowhere in Northern Kenya. Because it was at a terrible time of a drought and famine, every day the newspapers were filled with pictures of men, women, children and cattle lying on the dirt starving to death. The Methodists had drilled a borehole with Apportionment funds and were the only source of hope for miles. The Methodists had also opened a children’s orphanage and had employed a missionary who was a nurse from Oklahoma or Arizona, I don’t remember where, and paid her with Apportionment money. To this day, that trip is seared in my mind. It was the first and last time in my life to witness someone actual breath their last and die of hunger. For the longest time I would wake up gripped by sadness, fear and guilt.

I also remember the silent and sober journey from Garba Tulla. Since it was my very first time to ride in an airplane, it was disappointing not to glimpse Jesus or the heavenly gates in the clouds as i had expected. I stared out of the window and wondered how and if those “others” in our portion-meant-for-others should include the people of Garba Tulla whose religious practice was mostly either African tradition religions or Islam. That evening I did ask Dad “why are we helping people who are not Christians like us?” Dad did not miss a beat when he said quite simply “We are friends of Jesus. We do not help other people because of who they are, we help other people because of who we are.” Years later, Dad’s answer has become mine. There are things we do, not because of who ‘they’ are but because of who we are.

These are the days of remembering and being clear who we are. As the United Methodist denomination figures out the terms in a inevitable and difficult ‘divorce’, we are living in a messy and painful reality. Its so painful its easy to loose sight of ministry which God uses and instead focus on the the money we control. Since in our divorce ‘there a good people on both sides’, most of us are hoping that is done in an orderly manner in what has been touted as “a gracious exit”. Such an option expires on December 31, 2023,

Judicial Council ruled that any church that chooses to disaffiliate from the UMC in “a gracious exit” can take their property but must have paid their Apportionments in full and pay an additional year of Apportionment. Call me a romantic or naive, legislating my beloved Apportionments feels like the stripping down of ministry to nothing but cold, hard cash. However, be as it may, for some that might convince them that we are obliged to pay Apportionments no matter how angry we might be at the “good people on the other side”. After all, should we decide to disaffiliate as a congregation, we would want to have made sure we can! Its down to the practicality of it I suppose. Thank God ministry will happen in places like Garba Tulla whether the money is given willing or grudgingly.

For me, I continue to hold on to Garba Tulla and other place I have seen Apportionments at work. Pastor Ken, the bold and big-hearted pastor of FUMC Moheto is a graduate of Africa University which we have always supported with our Apportionments.

Throughutt out my life, with only a slight slip up last year, I have served only congregations who met 100% of their Apportionment commitment. I consider it my M.O. My commitment is such that when I was appointed to a congregation in Wisconsin and learned they had not paid their Apportionments in years, I declared I would not accept a salary until they met their apportionment! What can I say? I shamelessly love, love, love, Apportionments. Apportionments help us do ministry beyond ourselves and in spite ourselves. Together we accomplish what we would not accomplish alone.

Tag: Generosity