The new financial year has revealed the depth of cuts that are being made to the provision of services. We shall all encounter the affect of these financial measures, it may be in the loss of a resource we had enjoyed and benefitted from or it may be in the way we or a family member have found themselves suddenly having to come to terms with a reduction or removal of a resource relied upon.

Clearly the lives of people across the board are impacted by what is happening. However our greater concern is for those who are particularly vulnerable or at risk. The elderly and those with special needs, with the reduction in care facilities; young people with the inexplicable decimation of youth services; those fearing the loss of employment and those for whom employment is a distant dream; those who face anxious times as the benefit system is scrutinised.

In the midst of all this I hear good news stories of churches coming alongside people with various needs. This is not ‘Big Society’ but ‘Kingdom Living’ and the Church is being called to face up to these challenges and  be generous with time, finance, resources and to be daily living out discipleship as we follow the one who knew what sacrifice and simple lifestyle truly meant.

I am no great enthusiast for church appeals to give more money. I know we cannot do what we do without finance and I know we could do so much more if only we had more resources. For me though ‘God loves a cheerful giver’ goes beyond the offering in church on a Sunday. It is about offering the whole of my life in the service of the Kingdom. To stand with and journey with those who are vulnerable; to give time beyond the pursuit of ‘personal interest groups’ in the church and reach out to the one crying in the streets; to consider my own priorities in the light of the crisis faced by fellow human beings around me.

Now is the time for a Church that will rise to the challenges and show what true generosity means.

Andrew Millns

Regional Minister