Church Budgets ≠ Anxiety

anx·i·e·ty

/aNGˈzīədē/

noun

1. a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.  

Many years ago, I was given a great gift… I was taught how to recognize my own  situational anxiety. And my life has not been the same since.

The anxiety I have been able to recognize in myself is, as I stated above, situational… meaning that it is in some ways different than that of an anxiety disorder, disproportionate levels of anxiety lived with on a daily basis. My anxiety was most often provoked… a fear surfacing or a tense situation in my life that would leave me feeling angered or distraught. Neither of which rendered me very functional.

And, after a great amount of self-work, once I was able to identify my own anxiety and that which caused it to come to the surface, I’ve been able to work at “nipping it in the bud,” as is often said. I’ve been able to learn my own triggers and feelings that previously almost always led to a session of anxiety felt throughout my body and overflowed into many areas of my life.

Actually, on one occasion, my own situational anxiety landed me in the emergency room at a local hospital with chest pains. Believe me, I don’t want that experience again.

So why am I telling you all of this? Well, in part, to set the stage for what I see as the heart of this piece I’m writing. And I also share this in hopes of naming something that many of us have experienced…and perhaps still experience on an all-too-often basis…as a way of saying that we are never truly alone in our experiences.

I share it also to let you know that for the type of anxiety which I have experienced, with work, I’ve found it can be controlled in a way. And as I stated already, the anxiety I am going to speak of is different than the clinically diagnosed variety which can lead to needing much more attention and possibly medical assistance than that which I have experienced.

Becoming better at recognizing that which raises my own levels of anxiety has also allowed me to be more aware of the experience in others. And that being said… I want to name an experience that I’ve witnessed more times than I can count of unnecessary anxiety growing within the church…nearly any church.

Now of course there are many things that can cause anxiety. Yet the one that seems to be the most prevalent in my observations is that directly linked to money. And in churches, I come about almost always when the community comes together to talk about its budget for the coming year.

For many of us, 

Church Budgets = Anxiety

And they don't have to!

Here at Newman UCC, we’ve had our share of anxiety-producing budget meetings in the past… as many churches do.

Significant deficits

Fewer pledges

Increased expenses

Unsure markets

You name it. If it has anything to do with the actual church budget, it has the ability to create anxiety in at least one, maybe more of the community members.

And knowing that we will be gathering in just a short amount of time for our Annual Budget Meeting, some in the church have begun recognizing their own church budget anxiety and doing a bit of “self care.” They are looking for any excuse at all to not be available to sit in on the meeting. LOL

When in reality what we need is for those people who recognize their own anxiety around this topic to show up and be part of the conversation that, I hope, will lessen that anxiety and replace it with a much healthier emotional experience.

You see, not one of us knows what the future holds. We don’t know exactly what God has in store for us, what new ministries may emerge, what old ministries may be retired. We don’t know how much it will snow or how much energy the solar panels will generate. 

What we do know is that God is calling us to be a place of ministry, with and for our neighbors… locally and globally. And we do that, in part, with resources named in our annual budget process.

So this year when we gather for our Budget Meeting, we will go in to that meeting with a budget… and we leave with a Mission Plan. The work we will do in that meeting will provide direction for that in which we will share in the coming year. Work and ministry. Worship and fellowship. Fundraising and advocacy. 

And in the midst of that process, we will give thanks for the incredible ways God’s Spirit has been at work in and through the very generous members of our faith community. 

So come, set aside your church budget anxiety and be part of celebrating God’s ministry in this place! 

Because:

Church Budgets ≠ Anxiety