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A Proposal (please read)
9 years ago
I need to come forward about something.
One of the things really vexing me is that I can't make a living off being clergy in my church. We have a very small congregation and our coffers are honestly just enough to sustain the church itself with a few minor splurges for new fittings and fixtures here and there. We're part of a small denomination and each parish is extremely DIY and while we're not averse to growth, we don't want to grow for the sake of growing or become a cash cow for our clergy because that'd disrespect our entire purpose.
The good news is, because no one's in it for the money, my instruction (which is more an apprenticeship with a structured reading list with journals to help us develop our own exegesis of the material) is free of charge. Even the books are, for the most part, on loan from our bishop at no cost. I can, of course, buy some of my own books and equipment if I choose (and I've already bought a couple of books that seemed very useful) but if I can't afford them, they are provided for me.
The bad news is, I can't really give this the attention I would like to because I am forever distracted by the business of making a living, or trying to figure out how I'll get well enough to deal with juggling both church business and a day job. The last job I worked had me stretched to the breaking point trying to do that and I'm currently trying to recover from a major decompensation I had due to the resulting stress.
So I have a proposal, and I wanted to run this by people. I would like to start a GoFundMe to essentially become a mendicant.
A mendicant is a person who pursues their spiritual practice while being supported by charitable donations. It is something that used to be common in the west many centuries ago and is still common practice in many parts of Asia. Once upon a time, people like me who really didn't "fit" outside of an ascetic profession would have had this as their only lifeline. Nowadays, it's hard for a mystic to survive; most have to sell their services in some way, or learn some craft that can make them a living; the ones who can't usually end up living under bridges or going through a mental health care system that fails them at every turn because it can't understand them as anything but a problem to be solved.
The truth is, I've had this idea for years but I was afraid to bring it up because people get really cynical when you start asking for donations to take up a profession that doesn't actually produce any material wealth. I'm still not sure it's a good idea to ask.
I can offer some guidelines of good faith though, to show that I'm not just sponging and that I am actually working toward the priesthood like I say I am. For starters, I can make my reading notes publicly available so that my supporters can see that I am actually doing my studies. And of course, I would be obligated to work toward my goal and to post my progress as I moved through the various orders.
Honestly, this is the only thing I can really think of sticking with long-term, aside from writing, that doesn't make me sick with dread.
Any thoughts on this, though? Is it a terrible idea? Are there ways I can make sure that people know I'm not just freeloading and that I am, in fact, actually spending my time just as I said I would?
One of the things really vexing me is that I can't make a living off being clergy in my church. We have a very small congregation and our coffers are honestly just enough to sustain the church itself with a few minor splurges for new fittings and fixtures here and there. We're part of a small denomination and each parish is extremely DIY and while we're not averse to growth, we don't want to grow for the sake of growing or become a cash cow for our clergy because that'd disrespect our entire purpose.
The good news is, because no one's in it for the money, my instruction (which is more an apprenticeship with a structured reading list with journals to help us develop our own exegesis of the material) is free of charge. Even the books are, for the most part, on loan from our bishop at no cost. I can, of course, buy some of my own books and equipment if I choose (and I've already bought a couple of books that seemed very useful) but if I can't afford them, they are provided for me.
The bad news is, I can't really give this the attention I would like to because I am forever distracted by the business of making a living, or trying to figure out how I'll get well enough to deal with juggling both church business and a day job. The last job I worked had me stretched to the breaking point trying to do that and I'm currently trying to recover from a major decompensation I had due to the resulting stress.
So I have a proposal, and I wanted to run this by people. I would like to start a GoFundMe to essentially become a mendicant.
A mendicant is a person who pursues their spiritual practice while being supported by charitable donations. It is something that used to be common in the west many centuries ago and is still common practice in many parts of Asia. Once upon a time, people like me who really didn't "fit" outside of an ascetic profession would have had this as their only lifeline. Nowadays, it's hard for a mystic to survive; most have to sell their services in some way, or learn some craft that can make them a living; the ones who can't usually end up living under bridges or going through a mental health care system that fails them at every turn because it can't understand them as anything but a problem to be solved.
The truth is, I've had this idea for years but I was afraid to bring it up because people get really cynical when you start asking for donations to take up a profession that doesn't actually produce any material wealth. I'm still not sure it's a good idea to ask.
I can offer some guidelines of good faith though, to show that I'm not just sponging and that I am actually working toward the priesthood like I say I am. For starters, I can make my reading notes publicly available so that my supporters can see that I am actually doing my studies. And of course, I would be obligated to work toward my goal and to post my progress as I moved through the various orders.
Honestly, this is the only thing I can really think of sticking with long-term, aside from writing, that doesn't make me sick with dread.
Any thoughts on this, though? Is it a terrible idea? Are there ways I can make sure that people know I'm not just freeloading and that I am, in fact, actually spending my time just as I said I would?
