Loading...RESOLVED: That the 182nd Annual Convention of the Diocese of Kentucky affirm the tithe as the minimum standard of giving for Episcopalians of this Diocese; and be it further
RESOLVED: That the Secretary of Convention make provision for the Convention members to indicate that they either are tithing or are firmly committed to progressing toward tithing by signing their name and clearly printing their name and parish and its town, or, if they feel it inappropriate to make such a private matter public, by clearly printing the word "Anonymous" and giving either their town of residence or the state or foreign country where they were born; and be it further
RESOLVED: That the record of names and "Anonymous" signings be published in the Journal of this Convention and in such other diocesan publications as the Bishop may designate; and be it further
RESOLVED: That each congregation is requested to consider a similar resolution at its next Annual Meeting.
Explanation:
The 1982 General Convention was the first to state that the tithe is "the minimum standard of giving for Episcopalians." Several subsequent Conventions (1988, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003 and 2009) have reaffirmed this concept in the same or similar language.
When the General Convention 1982 Stewardship Legislative Committee was first formulating its resolution, there was vigorous debate as to whether the resolution should be a canon (they decided "no"), whether passing such a resolution was too legalistic, whether the resolution should specify whether the calculation is restricted to gifts to this Church or whether financial support for other Godly work should be included, and so on. The 1982 Committee ultimately intentionally left such matters up to each individual Church member to decide. Subsequent General Conventions have followed this precedent. Tithing is an important spiritual disciple. Except in the most unusual circumstances, it is a major contributor to the giver's spiritual health and inner joy.
Note that the sometimes-offered wording "biblical tithe" is inaccurate because the word "tithe" does not always refer to the same thing in different places in the Bible: sometimes it refers to income, sometimes to property. Other biblical standards include "all" as in "You shall love the Lord your God with all"…and 50-50, as in "If you have two cloaks…"
Additional information, including the wording of the past General Convention resolutions, maybe be found at //drop.io/GC2009tithingresolution
