Frequently asked questions

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Living is Giving presentation and table group discussions at the Synod meeting in October 2007. This page has been updated to incorporate some of the questions and feedback arising from that session. Keep checking the site for responses to more of your questions and feedback.

My congregation is keen to more strongly support Living is Giving. What can we do? What feedback is available?

You should receive updates three times a year containing news and stories about some of the good things that are happening as a result of your giving. If you haven't seen these on display in your church building, talk to your congregation's secretary.

Here are a few other ideas to start you off. For more, contact Emma.

• Talk to your treasurer and see if your congregation can increase its annual contributions to Living is Giving. Even a small increase will make a difference. If your congregation joined with all the others in this Synod and committed just one per cent more of its total annual expenditure to Living is Giving, there would be approximately $570,000 more available to carry out the important work of the church.
• Take an active role in promoting Living is Giving in your congregation. Be the person who is passionate enough to organise your congregation to make decisions about which ministry areas it will support each financial year. Keep people in your congregation up to date with what’s happening in the ministry areas you support by reading the updates you’re sent three times a year … and make sure they’re displayed somewhere in your church building. You can also find them online on the Living is Giving website.
• Make use of the resources available.

What resources are there to help me promote Living is Giving in my congregation?

There are lots of resources available, including …

• The annual Living is Giving Handbook in March Insights, which has information about the different ministries you can support through Living is Giving
• The Living is Giving Leaders Guide which is sent to treasurers at the start of the year
• a free DVD
• update posters which we send out three times a year to congregations and individuals, giving them feedback on the ministries they support through Living is Giving. These stories are also downloadable from the Living is Giving website
• the monthly e-newsletter, Community Connections, which contains information about news and activities in the life of the church, and about Living is Giving — including prayer points
• And our website — livingisgiving.uca.org.au — has lots of information, links, resources including Bible studies, and PowerPoint presentations you can download and screen at church or meetings.
• Getting someone to come to your congregation to speak about Living is Giving or the focus areas you are supporting.

Is there any Living is Giving material available for people from non English speaking backgrounds?

Yes. We are working hard to ensure that people in our migrant ethnic congregations are able to obtain information about Living is Giving.

A summarised version of the 2008–09 Living is Giving Handbook is available in Tongan and Korean.

Summarised versions of the 2007 Synod Fund Annual Report, With Grace and Courage, are available here.

And if you are interested in learning more about Living is Giving in your congregation, presentations in some languages other than English can be arranged. Just contact Emma on (02) 8267 4475 or emmah@nsw.uca.org.au.

Do we really need to re-evaluate our mission focus areas every year?

You don’t have to change your mission focus areas from year to year. The idea behind the mission focus areas is that they include many of the Uniting Church’s priority ministries, giving congregations the opportunity to focus their giving on ministry and mission activities that accord with their mission goals and passions.

If these goals remain the same from year to year, that’s fine.

There is also the option of contributing to the undesignated fund, supporting the overall mission of the Uniting Church.

The main thing we DO ask congregations to re-evaluate each year is their level of financial giving. Each year it costs the Synod more to carry out its important and varied work, and we ask congregations to increase their giving each year as they are able. If every congregation in the Synod committed one per cent more of its total annual expenditure to Living is Giving, there would be approximately $570,000 more to devote to these ministries offered in Christ’s name.

How much difference does the Living is Giving project make to the contributions of congregations to the Synod?

Apart from special appeals, Living is Giving is pretty much the only way congregations give to the Synod.

Why does the handbook now refer to mission focus areas instead of projects?

We became aware of people feeling it wasn’t accurate to suggest by using the word “project” that the existence of those areas of mission were conditional on being included in the handbook and were totally dependant on Living is Giving contributions.

Most of what were called “projects” were already budgeted parts of the boards’ work for the current financial year and Living is Giving receipts would only affect budgeting in subsequent years.

The phrase mission focus area more accurately represents the desire that congregations focus their prayers and giving on areas which align with their mission priorities.

Why doesn’t Living is Giving operate like other fundraising campaigns like TEAR Fund or World Vision, where an amount is nominated that buys a cow or a pond for a community for example. These programs make it easy to understand and get a sense of how my money is helping real people.

Living is Giving contributions do help people, but the motivation for giving through the regular Living is Giving process is supposed to be about a congregation’s mission plan and how congregations participate in the life of the Synod.

And we do not want to give the impression that congregations directly purchase specific items through Living is Giving.

Most of the mission areas congregations are supporting require a sense of solidarity and teamwork. We need everyone’s help to fund the big picture stuff. It’s also a work in progress rather than a one-off gift.

Living is Giving updates show working examples of what your money is doing, trying to get people to look at the bigger picture of what is going on in the church; helping people feel involved in a long-term strategy.

We’re hearing more talk about why we should be thinking beyond the idea of “denominations”. If that’s the case, why would we support a Uniting Church-focused program like Living is Giving?

Yes — the “Church” is certainly bigger than any denomination. But it also is comprised of the many churches, faith communities and individuals who manifest “Church” in special and particular ways. In Australia, the Uniting Church has a special identity, character and calling, spelled out in our Basis of Union. It’s something we think is worth belonging to and worth contributing to. Even as we reach out to the growing numbers of people who are not interested in denominations and institutions, we do so from a particular theological basis … and we can’t aspire to move with God transforming communities without a solid financial foundation.

What sort of accountability is there for the way the money is spent in the various projects?

Contributions to Living is Giving become part of the money available to the Synod Fund. Money in the Synod Fund is allocated according to budgets set by the Synod’s boards, which in turn seek to follow strategies and priorities set by delegates from presbyteries and elected members at annual Synod meetings.

So the annual Synod meeting is the main way that directions and goals for the boards are determined, and it’s also the main way boards report back about what they have done over the last two years.

Synod and the councils of the church that send representatives to Synod are all part of the accountability process. They receive reports from boards and hear what they have done to meet the church’s strategic directions.

Many funding recipients are in varying degrees scrutinised by their boards, by the Synod Fund Management Committee, and by the way in which they cooperate with the Mission Promotions Officer.

If they are recipients of SMRF funding they are subject to a strict accountability process.

Where does undesignated money go?

Money given to the undesignated fund represents congregations’ support for the overall mission of the Uniting Church.

General contributions by congregations become part of the Synod Fund, and the Synod Fund allocates money to areas of the church’s work including those not directly covered by Living is Giving — for example, to the work of the Secretariat, the Board of Finance and Property, the Communications Unit (which produces Insights magazine) — and to the work of the Synod, Assembly, presbyteries, congregations and new faith communities wherever needed.

Camden Theological Library at UTC is one place that receives funding this way.

Every year a memorial service is held to commemorate the Myall Creek Massacre — and that receives funding from the Synod.

And, importantly, the Synod Fund uses part of its income from investments and Living is Giving to contribute to the work of the Assembly and its agencies. So Uniting International Mission, UnitingJustice, UCOA and Frontier Services all receive funds this way for the important work they do.

Which mission focus areas are the most popular with congregations?

For this and other financial information, check out the 2007 Synod Fund Annual Report to the People, With Grace and Courage.

None of the mission focus areas really get our congregation enthused. Living is Giving seems a bit "inward focused". We can think of lots of other places we’d rather send our money.

There are only 15 mission focus areas, so of course they cannot represent the breadth of the church’s mission and service. They do however include many of the Uniting Church’s priority ministries and are thought most likely to accord with congregations’ priorities.

If you are not enthused by the mission focus areas, consider that undesignated contributions help all the church’s mission financed through the Synod Fund —probably including an area of mission about which your congregation is passionate. Ask if that is the case: perhaps a quarterly update can be prepared with your interest in mind.

There is nothing preventing a congregation taking on or supporting special projects that excite it. That is how we engage with our local communities, if we have the resources. But first we need to remember how important Living is Giving is so the church can share resources and be at mission in communities that are not so fortunate.

We’re a poor congregation in a very poor area. Why would contributing to Living is Giving be a priority for us?

Many of our Living is Giving heroes are precisely such congregations. They have little, but they still try to give something. Partly it’s about identity, solidarity and ownership. It means they are part of the Uniting Church at mission. It means something to them. And it means something to the people involved in the mission focus areas they support … they are partners in mission with people from remote New South Wales to the highlands of Papua New Guinea.

Living is Giving seems pretty irrelevant to our congregation. We prefer to support local projects.

There is nothing wrong with a congregation taking on or supporting local projects that excite it. That is how we engage with our local communities … if we have the resources. But first we need to remember how important Living is Giving is for the existence and mission of the whole church … so we can share resources and be at mission in communities that are not so fortunate.

Living is Giving is not irrelevant to any congregation that is part of the Uniting Church.

Administering Living is Giving in my congregation is just too much hard work. The process is too cumbersome.

There are many ways to administer Living is Giving. Some treasurers take the simple option and tick a few boxes or leave it the same as last year. Easy. The most cumbersome way is the most democratic, the way that gets everyone involved in your congregation’s mission planning. That you are making that effort should be a cause for great joy.

Even if my congregation nominates a mission focus area to support, doesn’t the money just go into one big pool and get divvied up according to the whim of Synod bureaucrats?

Contributions to Living is Giving become part of the money available to the Synod Fund, allocated according to budgets set by Synod boards, which in turn seek to follow strategies and priorities set by delegates from presbyteries and elected members at annual Synod meetings. This is no whim. Living is Giving contributions do not directly and immediately support a mission focus area. But they count towards those mission focus area continuing in the next financial year and offer guidance to Synod, the Synod Fund Management Committee and Synod boards as they act on the Synod’s priorities.

Why can’t we just ditch Living is Giving and start again with a program with a better basis?

Living is Giving is evolving so that it is best able to meet Synod’s mission, educational and financial needs as well as the changing expectations of congregations. The Synod Fund Management Committee has considered alternatives and some of those might be pursued, but Living is Giving has many good features and abandoning it totally would be counterproductive, given the expense and lead time needed to organise and administer a new program.

How much money is spent on administration and promotion?

The Synod Mission Promotions Committee allocates around $100,000 for Living is Giving promotion and materials. Staffing is funded by the Board of Mission through the employment of administrative assistant Mele Akau and by contracting promotions to the Communications Unit, principally Synod Mission Promotions Officer Emma Halgren.

How are the Living is Giving mission focus areas selected?

Mission focus areas represent mission activities of the New South Wales Synod from which congregations should find relevant options with which to identify.

Some are directly related to the work of a single board. Some reflect cooperation between boards or efforts for a common purpose.

All are financed partially or totally by the Synod Fund, through the budgets of the boards or Synod Secretariat.

The budgets and hence the mission focus areas reflect the priorities for the Synod arising from its strategic directions.

Can my congregation have a say in how Living is Giving money is spent?

Two-thirds of the Synod Fund is allocated according to the ways in which the boards attempt to meet Synod’s strategic directions. The strategic directions are determined by the Synod meeting — whose members are largely appointed by presbyteries. So, in that respect, members of the church can influence Synod spending through the councils of the church. One congregation’s good idea can go to presbytery, gaining friends and admirers until it becomes a mission program funded by the Synod.

The remaining third of the Synod Fund is distributed through the Synod Mission Resource Fund, depending on applications from congregations and presbyteries and how they are prioritised by representatives from presbyteries and SMRF committee members at an annual consultation.

The extent to which congregations support mission focus areas also has an effect. In any financial year boards will have already budgeted for the work of particular mission focus areas. But future budget allocations will depend on overall contributions from congregations.

The level of interest in a mission focus area sends a signal to the boards, the Synod Mission Promotions Committee and the Synod Fund Management Committee about the mission priorities of Uniting Church congregations.

I thought Living is Giving and Synod Mission Resource Funding were different. Are they connected in some way?

Synod Mission Resource Funding (SMRF) is a process which annually distributes one third of the Synod budget to innovative capital and ministry projects. Grants of over five million dollars were distributed in the past two financial years.

The Synod Mission Resource Fund receives one-third of the budget available to the Synod Fund and comprises contributions from congregations, through Living is Giving, and investment funds.

Can my congregation just give money to Living is Giving mission focus areas of our choice? Or should we give some of our money as undesignated?

When Living is Giving began it was intended that congregations make a tithe (or undesignated contribution) towards the general operation of the Uniting Church and then select projects to support in accordance with their mission priorities.

In recent years many congregations have opted to concentrate as much if not more on particular projects.

Irrespective of emphasis, the most important thing is a congregation’s overall financial commitment and contribution to the mission of the Uniting Church. That common effort can be directed through particular mission focus areas or be undesignated, recognising that Synod boards perform many ministries — and legal, financial and administrative activities — not listed in the Living is Giving handbook.

How do I know that my Living is Giving contribution is making a difference?

Every month, Insights magazine features a Living is Giving page which highlights a particular project. And three times a year, your congregation receives updates on each of the mission focus areas it supports.

These are stories of hope — stories of the exciting and diverse work the Uniting Church is doing in Australia and around the world, and of the lives that are being touched as a result.

Can I make a donation directly to a Living is Giving mission focus area? Or must I go through my congregation?

Anyone can give to Living is Giving mission focus areas. While congregations can support the ministry and service of the wider Uniting Church through Living is Giving — thanks to members’ contributions through the offering plate on Sunday or Giving Direct electronic transfers — individuals can also contribute directly to the same or other mission focus areas on a one-off or regular basis. See individual giving for more information.

Do I really have to help decide on Living is Giving mission focus areas? Isn't there someone better placed to make choices about my congregation's giving?

You don't have to help decide. However, God does speak to and through the church. Ours is a shared wisdom. Unless people in congregatisons are able to participate in decision making about the church's mission, they will not own the mission and will be disinclined to give to it. This is why Living is Giving offers congregations the opportunity to choose mission focus areas.

What has Living is Giving or the Synod Fund ever done for my congregation?

Do you have a minister who received his or her training at a Uniting Church theological college? Do your children or grandchildren receive religious education at school from a volunteer teacher trained by the Uniting Church? Has your congregation ever received financial assistance through Synod Mission Resource Funding? Have you ever been glad that Frontier Services cares for people in remote areas? Or called on the Children's Services Forum for assistance with a child care centre? Will your congregation be sending young people to NCYC? Have your members ever benefited from a university chaplain or received pastoral care from a Uniting Church hospital chaplain? Do you use Uniting Church Christian education, social justice or worship resources? Do you read Insights or look for comment from the Uniting Church in the secular press? These are just a few of the ministries and resources sustained in whole or in part by Living is Giving and the Synod Fund. For a flowchart illustrating how the Synod Fund works, click here.

Can my congregation establish a Living is Giving team? What would such a team do?

Some congregations have an informal Living is Giving team which receives the Living is Giving information from the Synod, identifies projects or directions that would interest its congregation and helps with collective decision-making. These congregations find this a valuable process. But each congregation will have its own way of participating in Living is Giving.

What if I haven't received a current Handbook?

Handbooks are sent to congregations inside Insights magazine every March. If you didn't receive one, or you had one and can't find it, first ask your secretary or treasurer. If they can't help, Mele ’Akau at the Board of Mission will be happy to send you one (or more). You can phone Mele on (02) 8267 4393 or send an email to livingisgiving@nsw.uca.org.au.

Is my local church “assessed” as to what we should give to Living is Giving?

No congregation is “assessed” by the Synod, and your contribution should be based on what you can afford to give. However, the Uniting Church cannot afford to regard Living is Giving as an optional extra. The Uniting Church is interconnected and interdependent. Many of the things your congregation expects its church to do can only be done by cooperative effort and mutual support. This is why each congregation is challenged to set an intentional goal for Living is Giving each year. By setting aside a thoughtful proportion of your congregation's annual income you become an important partner in the whole work of the Uniting Church.