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BY LINDA WORTHINGTON
UMCONNECTION STAFF

The worship service at Calvary-Casa del Pueblo UMC in downtown Washington, D.C., was filled with celebration ? singing in English, Spanish and Shona, praying, liturgical dancing that evoked the Holy Spirit, hand clapping and hugs.

A part of that celebration on April 30 was the presentation of a $33,550 check to the Rev. John M?kwalu.

'We?re so glad to be here, to give you this check for your work. Truly God is in this place,' said the Rev. Sandy Rector and Anne Brown, representing the donor, Metropolitan Memorial UMC.

The church, which is a member of Friends of Casa del Pueblo, was able to substantially contribute to Casa del Pueblo UMC, Emory UMC?s Beacon of Light, and nine other missions in Washington, D.C., and around the world because Metropolitan Memorial UMC tithes all monies that are raised for their capital campaign, the Cornerstone of Faith.

Tithing the cash in hand at the end of the first year raised $320,000 for missions. The campaign has raised $3,200,000 and has pledges for more than $6,000.000, Rector said. The check to Casa del Pueblo, Emory Beacon of Light and the other recipients is but the first of the three-year Cornerstone of Faith campaign.

As plans for the capital campaign took shape, the Rev. Frank Trotter, senior pastor, presented the idea of tithing the money to further the work of the church. In January, 2005, the Capital Campaign Committee charged the Service and Advocacy Ministry (S&A) Team, as the missions and outreach group in the church is called, chaired by Brown, to develop a plan to allocate a 10 percent tithe of the building fund.

Arriving at Casa del Pueblo UMC that bright Sunday morning was no easy task, Brown said. 'It was so hard to pick' from the 38 applicants the eight-member S&A team had identified over the year they worked on the task ? developing criteria, contacting all potential recipients, visiting their sites, making the decisions. They decided to limit the number of grants they would give to eight, in an effort to 'make a difference.'

The S&A Team stipulated that two of the 10 programs would receive cash gifts directly, the grants subtracted from the tithe before the percentage calculations for the remaining eight recipients. Those two gifts were $5,000 to the Native American Youth Initiative and $10,000 to St. Paul?s UMC in Pass Christian, Mississippi, the church?s Hurricane Katrina mission partner. A VIM team will be providing hands-on help there in July.

Trotter has long supported, indeed, advocated, for churches to tithe capital campaign funds. Ten years ago, he led Reisterstown UMC in doing the same thing as a form of mission. 'I was troubled that money gets sunk in the essential, but doesn?t provide hands-on help where it is needed,' he said.

Trotter involved the congregation in the decision from the beginning by holding focus groups and allowing everyone the opportunity to voice opinions. 'There was initial anxiety of how we could give the money away,' he said. 'We have major, major issues (of the building) confronting us, and limited resources.'

'The person most influential was Bishop Mathews, our bishop-in-residence,' he said. 'People trust his vision.'

Different from most capital campaigns, the church did not set a goal for how much money the Cornerstone of Faith campaign would try to achieve. Rather the campaign is built on needs and hoped-fors, on 'just critical projects.'

'We have $13 million in needs,' Trotter said. Add to that the 10 percent tithe and the needs equal nearly $14.5 million over three years.

The capital improvements and construction have already started, including releading stained glass windows, mortar replacement, steeple replacement with an exact replica, new entrance and parking lot, and a new audio-visual system.

More than $91,000 was sent to the Clara Swain hospital in Bareilly, India, in honor of Bishop and Mrs. Mathews; and more than $18,000 went to the Russia Theological Seminary in Moscow.

Members of the Volunteers in Mission team going to Zimbabwe in July will hand carry the $24,400 for the Hartzell Primary School in Mutare, and $18,300 for St. Mary?s UMC in Zimbabwe.

In addition to the Casa del Pueblo gift, and $38,125 to Emory Beacon of Light, the church has also made significant contributions to the Community for the Homeless at Friendship Place and the Deaf Shalom Zone in Baltimore. An additional $30,500 was presented to the board of Wesley Theological Seminary, to help prepare students from other countries for Christian ministry.

'We received a wonderful grant of $15,000 from Metropolitan Memorial for the Deaf Shalom Zone,' said the Rev. Peggy Johnson. 'We were really low on funds and they saved the day.'

Trotter is passionate about tithing. 'This is a way to encourage stewardship, and it?s as important as confessions of faith,' he said.

'It?s embarrassing how few churches give, that we hoard the blessings of a capital campaign,' he added. 'They live out of a theology of scarcity, not abundance,' said Trotter, who encourages everyone to embrace a 'theology of abundance.'