The Dean

The words ‘church’ and ‘money’ in many people’s minds seem totally incompatible. Perhaps it’s because either the church is perceived to be talking about money too often (which is certainly NOT the case at St. Christopher’s) or, because somewhere in the back of people’s minds, there is a mistaken understanding of the way Christians should approach money based on a popularly held misreading of a verse in the New Testament.

In 1 Timothy 6:10 we too often read and hear quoted ’money is the root of all evil’. It does in fact read ‘the love of money is the root of all evil.’ Further, the single Greek word originally used for ‘the love of money’ (philarguria) in this passage actually means covetousness or avariciousness which puts quite a different complexion on what St Paul is saying. There’s nothing wrong with money. It’s the way we approach and use it. That is the significant thing. For so many people it is the be all and end all of life and they become consumed with covetousness and avariciousness which is basically selfishness and greed.

The church, like every other institution in the world needs money not only to survive but also to function, flourish and grow. There is a school of thought that says ‘God will provide’ all things needful for his work to progress and this will come to us automatically by some sort of divine magic. Certainly God will, and does, provide; but he does so through us and our stewardship of the resources he showers upon each of us as individuals, families, communities and churches. It is then our responsibility to dispose of that wealth as we feel called and inspired by him to further his work here on earth, locally through the work of the Church his body here on earth.

Too many people erroneously think that churches like St. Christopher’s Cathedral here in Bahrain are part of the Church of England and so get financial subsidies and handouts from long dead benefactors. That is no longer true in England and certainly never has been true of most of the Anglican Church anywhere else in the world. We are financially self funding, self supporting, relying on the generosity and free will giving of all those who see St. Christopher’s as their spiritual home and an integrally important part of the local community.

It is the responsibility of the Bahrain Anglican Church Council to exercise good financial stewardship of resources entrusted to its care. This includes not only the use of the money and resources at our disposal but also ensuring we have the appropriate level of resources to plan for the short and longer term. Over the last few months the BACC adopted two important policies. The first, our Outward Giving Policy, governs the way we give to charity. The second, the Funding Policy, aims to guide us as we raise the necessary income to meet our needs now and into the future. A digest of this second policy appears elsewhere in this edition of TBAN but anyone interested can obtain a copy of both policies in full.

You will note from this document that the provision of adequate funding for the life of St. Christopher’s Cathedral is not just the concern and responsibility of the Council or one or two individuals. For instance, it is manifestly unfair that the responsibility of organising events to raise over BD14,000 to enable us to balance the budget should fall on the shoulders of one or two people. It requires everyone to play their part in any one of the 4 areas listed in that document. If you think you can help then let us know.

Be aware also that the Cathedral AGM takes place at 7 p.m. on Sunday 18th March in the Coffee Room. Make sure you are on the cathedral membership list and consider carefully who should be on the Council and who serves as our churchwardens and other church officers.

St Christopher’s is your church and through it we all honour God by the decisions we make and the actions we take prayerfully before God.

Yours very sincerely,
Alan Hayday