You get more of what you subsidize and less of what you penalize.
From: announcements@christkirk.lumen.co
Date: Thu, Dec 17, 2015 at 11:26 AM
Subject: Surprise Trip for Doug and Nancy!
To: GeneralSurprise Trip for Doug and Nancy!
*Kirkers, *
*It’s Doug and Nancy’s 40th wedding anniversary this month! In honor of that, and to show our love and respect for them, let’s send them on a fun and relaxing trip.*
*I’ve heard tell that Doug has wanted to go to Scotland for a while, so that’s what we’re shooting for. The plan is to announce it to them right after the Christmas Eve service next Thursday night. *
*This is the only fundraising letter you will receive, so please respond to John Carnahan (jcarnahan@turbonet.com) if you can participate and just how much you can give. It’ll be spendy — north of $10,000, but we want it to be memorable for them.*
*Make checks out to John and simply hand it to him when you can — this isn’t tax-deductible.*
*Let’s bless them in response to the blessing they’ve been to us for all these years!*
*John Carnahan*
*Moderator, Christ Church Elder Session*__
Christine LaMoreaux
Christ Church Administrative Secretary
(208) 882-2034 | office@christkirk.com | www.christkirk.com
From: announcements@christkirk.lumen.co
Date: Sun, Dec 27, 2015 at 3:51 PM
Subject: Christ Church from the Wilsons
To: GeneralDear Kirkers,
Nancy and I want to thank you all for your most generous gift, and to do so in a little more detail than I used the other night at the Christmas Eve service. At the time, Nancy and I were caught completely flat footed, and there was nothing really to say in the moment other than a simple “thank you.”
In case you couldn’t tell, we were totally surprised. (Nancy thought John Carnahan must be getting up to make an announcement about the parking.) We were surprised at the gift, surprised at the occasion, and after we got home, surprised at the amount. Wherever we might want to go for a vacation, we could probably go there twice. We were and are truly overwhelmed and blessed by your kindness to us.
As I said in the call to worship this morning, I am extremely grateful for the community of saints that God has given to us. Your generosity is straight out of the New Testament.
Nancy and I have already talked a good bit about where we would like to go. So far we haven’t settled on anything definite, but we are enjoying the process of thinking about the possibilities, and we will be praying for the Lord’s direction for what kind of vacation would be most beneficial and enjoyable. What a fun problem you have given us!
May the Lord bless you all abundantly for your abundant gift to us. We appreciate you all very much and thank God for each one of you.
Cordially in Christ,
Douglas Wilson, minister“A thing may be too sad to be believed or too wicked to be believed or too good to be believed; but it cannot be too absurd to be believed in this planet of frogs and elephants, of crocodiles and cuttle-fish.” G.K. Chesterton
Blog: www.dougwils.com
Twitter: @douglaswils
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dougwilsImportant final message: If this email seems a little brief and abrupt to you, it is because I am trying to manage the volume of my email correspondence with the “three sentence rule.” It is not that I am trying to be rude by being abrupt, it is rather that I am trying to avoid the rudeness of people’s emails getting buried at the bottom of my inbox, which, like the psalmist’s cup, runneth over. So, there you are.
Oh gag.
Here’s an idea. Take most of the money from the surprise vacation trip (he probably does need a break from all the consequences of all his really wretched decisions) and donate it to a local food bank. With the remaining hundred dollars Doug and Nancy can hop in their little red pickup and drive north — just to the edge of Moscow where they can rent a room for a couple of nights at the motel where so many of our local sex offenders live. Hello Steven Sitler! That could be a sweet weekend that should haunt Doug and Nancy for years to come. (Don’t let the younger grandchildren drop by.)
Rose Huskey
And why, for heaven’s sake, should this trip cost north of 10K?
*****Also, what in the world do all those asterisks mean? Do they represent snowflakes cause it is December? *****
Maybe I’m reading too much into this…but did the church specifically give them the $$ for a trip to Scotland? Wilson seems to be thanking them for a gift that is for any old non-specific trip they want to take.
Perhaps this only pings my radar because of a similar situation in the controlling/abusive church my family left several years ago. The pastor and his wife were originally from one coast of the US and now living on the opposite coast. Pastor’s wife had mentioned many times to people that her family really wanted them to visit…her parents wanted to see their grandchildren more often, some extended family had never met the children, friends from school days all lived in that area, etc, etc. Pastor’s family was also from that area.
Some people in our small congregation decided a very nice Christmas gift would be money for them to fly to visit their families. Everyone gave generously to provide enough money for plane tickets, etc. for pastor and his large family. Gift was presented at the Christmas Eve service.
Pastor thanked the congregation after Christmas for the lovely Christmas gift, said he and his wife would be considering how they could best use the funds. His decision ended up being to use the money for some home repairs and remodeling he wanted to have done.
We all knew that a gift is a gift, and you can’t add conditions to a gift. So even while we were giving him money for a trip, we knew it was his to spend however he wanted. But this deliberate decision not to spend it for something we had designated and something we knew his wife and children very much wanted came across as really controlling. With what we know now after our escape from his control, I don’t think we ever should have expected the money to go to anything his wife wanted…least of all anything that would’ve put her in more contact with her family.
Anyway, I apologize for the length of this comment. Doug Wilson’s control over his church members just rings too many familiar bells from our experience. 🙁
The remarkable thing about the response from The Douglas is that he did not, even once, use the word “boobs”. I thought he’d at least end his message with a “P.S., boobs”. He’s losing focus.
@Beth: Your read is accurate and your perception is correct.
@CNW: Priceless.
Still not enough for the downpayment on a cathedral 🙁
Oh, I went exactly where Beth did. This made my stomach turn. I would have felt deceived by the leadership of the church.
So, CC, you want to send him to Scotland to see the real thing and get smashed at a distillery while you’re stuck in Idaho with an ersatz kirk and pretend seminary? That said, I think this is a wonderful idea if the trip to Scotland is one way and they don’t come back.
Otherwise, I back Rose’s idea of a romantic getaway at the sex offender motel on the outskirts of Moscow. It will hold so many memories for them down the road and it’s certainly an apt way to celebrate the essence of their 40 years together and especially Doug’s ministry in Moscow. Really, it would be a very Christ-like thing to do.
Oh, my dear Kirkies, What will you people think of next?
Good Morning Howl,
You are right on the money with your insights. I was laughing at loud at your comment – please keep up the good work.
Rose