January 9: Jelly Roll Budget

By Magdalena I. García

They say that only two things in life are certain: death and taxes. Well, there is actually a third one: budget meeting. And in my congregation it always happens on a frigid, Saturday morning in January, when the days are short and dark, and one would rather roll over in bed and sleep another hour...or another month!

This morning I spent five hours sitting in a cold parlor—along with several other faithful lay people—going over the proposed church budget for 2010. Now, there are many things I love about church life, but there are definitely a few that I could do without. And budget drafting is near the top of the leave-it-‘til-Christ-comes-again list, right along with chasing a flying squirrel out of the sanctuary on a hot summer day, or vacuuming sewer water out of the boiler room on the eve of the Christmas play.

I have thought about this for a while now. Why would I rather do just about anything else—like clear mouse droppings from a Sunday School closet–rather than sit in a budget meeting? Well, I’ve actually come up with a few answers, but the most satisfactory one came yesterday morning. Just as my toes were starting to get numb my mind became crystal clear. And this insight came as I stared at the Cappuccino Swiss Jelly Roll!

The main reason I dislike this annual exercise is because year after year we spend hours pretending we are putting together a new budget, while we toss around the same old line items, figures, and rationales. But can you imagine the day we dare knead a church budget without a set recipe? Can you imagine the day we let our cravings—or better yet, the world's longings–shape the budget? Who knows, we might end up with a Cappuccino Swiss Jelly Roll! But if not many people want to partake of the old recipe, what have we got to lose?