Philanthropy

 When i was a kid my mom worked for our church, so we literally grew up in the church.  When we were on summer break we had to go with our mom every day to work and so we saw the church change and grow and become a second home and family.  when i was eight the parish had out grown the tiny downstairs for after service coffee so we built a parish hall.  It was the first building i had ever seen built, it was fun to watch and play in.  So this church has a lot of meaning to me and  a lot of history.  Fast forward twenty years and i am too busy for church.  i have a job that requires sometimes 80 hours a week and sundays are often my only day off so i dont attend as often as i should.  flashback about 8 years and i was in my fraternity and community service was a cornerstone.  we all did countless hours hleping kids or homeless or build houses, you name it, we did it.  that is how i contracted tuberculosis (its diagnosed and treated, im not going to die like doc holiday!!) but it never really meant anything to me, nothing emotional anyway.  but since i graduated i have not done any service really.  but this past summer i was asked to sit on a committee at my church to renovate the kitchen, as a professional consultant basically.  so we have worked and worked and worked, i just got prices and helped with logistics, one guy must have put in 100 hours on his computer doing cad drawings. but anyway we finished our design about three weeks ago and we have just been tweeking it the past couple weeks in preparation for the vestry meeting this past thursday.  So i, being the high anxiety person i am, called my mom about an hour before the meeting to ask what to expect.  these are older folks voting to spend about 40k of other peoples money, so i knew it wasnt going to be easy.  she told me that certain members had certain ways to beat down an idea.  one lady who was like a second mom to me when i was a kid had the reputation of intimidated people (i probably would have laughed if she tried) one guy is a penny pincher so he tears proposals apart and makes you start over and there were two or three more i was warned about.  so i went in all nervous, saw the agenda and how it was at the very bottom and given the most time, thats never good.  so the presentation comes and the vestry member on the committee makes the presentation, the guy that did all the cad drawings does his part, and then i am asked to speak.  so i give my two cents worth, assuring them of its safety and effeciency and accessibility.  when i finish i received an immediate motion to accept the proposal as stated (he actually wanted to add more)and a second from the lady that was suppose to intimidate.  It passed with no question really.  So i was stoked and they formed a new committee to help with a capital campaign to improve the church overall.  When i came home i was thrilled and excited and the next day was just better for knowing what we had achieved.  But now i know i have to do this, it makes me feel better as a person to give of my time and effort.  feels like a breakthru!

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