Something bugged me just a little in church today. In mass, our priest wore a t-shirt instead of vestments. I am not a liturgical purist, so the casualness of attire didn't cause the problem. But the message gave me pause. The t-shirt advertised a business owned by one of our very active parishioners, who advertises monthly in our church newsletter. Last week our priest explained that he would wear t-shirts of our advertisers, to give greater exposure to those who support our ministries. I value local businesses, especially those who support local charities and churches. But, I wasn’t sure that commercials belonged in mass. It felt a little like our church space was for sale to the highest paying advertiser.
Remember the Simpsons? If you were around in the 1990s, you can’t help but know one of the funniest and most intelligent cartoons of the time. The shirt on Fr. Tim’s back reminded me of a Simpsons episode, the one where Homer destroys the church with a poorly timed rocket launch. In order to rebuild the church, Rev. Lovejoy turns to Mr. Burns, the local millionaire. Mr. Burns promises to build a successful church, by running it like a business. In no time, neon signs cover the walls and product displays fill the sanctuary. Upset at the commercialism in her church, Lisa searches for a new faith. She converts to Buddhism after she meets Richard Gere at the Springfield Buddhist Temple. Much hilariousness ensues, as usual. Watching the show, I agreed with Lisa. There is something a little ironic about listening to a sermon about faith in abundance and commitment to mission, while the priest is a walking billboard. However, knowing my priest, there was more to learn from this.
On the way home, I mentioned to my husband, “I’m not sure how I feel about the advertiser t-shirt thing.” He reminded me that churches do rely on businesses for support, that we need to pay the bills, and we should recognize businesses who value our ministries. It is a blessing that parishioners and community members advertise with us, so we can continue serving our little town. My husband often reminds me of “the real world”, especially regarding money. I prefer my fantasy world of economics, where everyone has enough, and if they don't we can give it all away to anyone who needs it, where I can round up my income and round down my expenses, and where it all works out in the end. I don’t like the nitty gritty of making a budget and sticking to the bottom line. This attitude drives my husband crazy, and it probably doesn’t help my church, either.
I don’t want to go to church to talk about money. I don’t want to hear about budget woes, or pledges, or fundraisers. I want inspiration, education, mission, fellowship, and service to the community. I don’t want to be bothered with how we pay for those things! When I’m sitting in mass, ready to worship, I don’t want to think about how St. Ignatius requires area businesses to fund our existence, that we depend on money to make our mission. Perhaps that was exactly Fr. Tim’s point, that the church’s supporters and advertisers (individuals and businesses) literally put the shirt on our priest’s back.
Besides the obvious benefit of bringing exposure to our advertisers, maybe our priest is showing us something. Maybe he is showing us that the church, with our lofty goals, our commitment to service, and our mission to spread the grace of God, also lives in the real world. The church also has bills to pay and requires money to pay those bills, as distasteful as it may be to some of us. The church has financial decisions to make. We must live in the nitty gritty world of bills, rummage sales, fish dinners, and pledges, while we create the kingdom of God. We take the secular (money, time, work, donations of furniture and clothes) and turn the secular into the sacred. We live in the paradox of caring for the needy, giving from the heart, putting others’ needs first, while we preserve our resources in order to maintain our mission. Episcopalians love symbols; they are deep in our language and our liturgy. Wearing t-shirts of advertisers during mass might just be another symbol of the work that creates the kingdom of God.
I understand the reason for advertising to raise funds, but it just feels wrong! Especially so for an older generation, such as I am, where this was absolutely unheard of, but this is a new time and a new generation...or is it?
ReplyDeleteIt might be good to note that the reason the Protestant Reformation, that event that led to the Episcopal Church and other Protestant Churches, came about because it seemed reasonable to the Catholic Church to sell salvation...!? You would give your priest a certain amount of money and all your sins were forgiven, forever! They needed the money to build some some fantastic cathedrals... Well, Martin Luther took exception to that and about 100 other things the Church was doing at the time, the 1500s, wrote them down and posted them on the entrance to his church! Well the 'protest' took off like wildfire and before you know it there were bloody battles and burnings at the stake of "heretics" by the Catholic Church all over Europe! Fortunately, leading to a huge loss of influence by the Catholic Church, with their loss of credibility. Isn't that what we are talking about, credibility? Also, let us not forget about the time Jesus went through the temple turning over merchants' tables! Clearly, that was a message that you may not what to entangle business and worship! It's easy to understand the temptation, but again, clearly it is just wrong....isn't it!? And what message does it really send to congregations, especially the youth? Shouldn't the priest, at the very least, have faith that the Lord will provide? Didn't Christ say just exactly that?
Jeffrey,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up some important points. I think it's an important distinction that these businesses have been part of our church family for some time, advertising in our newsletter and supporting our mission. They were not promised some sort of extra exposure for giving money. I view it more as an acknowledgment of their long-term support, or a "thank you" of sorts. There was no "quid pro quo" here; it was a gift to our parishioners whose businesses support the mission of the church. As a parishioner, maybe I will frequent those businesses before another one that does not support a charity that I value. Probably, thirty, forty, or fifty years ago, churches would never even need to place ads in their newsletters, and now that is commonplace.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI hear you, but I think it could be a slippery slope... What happened to the Catholic Church evolved over several hundred years, it could happen again! Christ recognized the conflict between faith and money, I just think we as imperfect beings need to be very careful about keeping them separate and in proper perspective...it is a 'danger zone'! I know there is a big debate going on now about 'Liturgy,' but I believe it is one of those things that give the Episcopal Church a reverence that seems to be missing elsewhere, certainly an important aspect for reverence to God! If there is anything wrong with Liturgy it's that the meaning of it is not well understood anymore...work should be done in that area!? Wearing proper garments is a very big part of that in my opinion, even beyond the monetary issue... But, it still begs the question, is that business, or will future businesses, give for the right reasons? Theologically, that is as important as the gift, if I understand what Christ was trying to teach? The end can never justify the means...wouldn't you agree? Bottom line, there will always be bills, the Lord will provide, we need to have faith, don't we? Wearing a t-shift advertising a business during what should be a solemn ceremony in reverence to the Trinity can only be, well, wrong...?
Delete