I felt compelled to write this today – Charity in a digital age.

I felt compelled to write this today – Charity in a digital age.

Harry in Africa reports of lack of food and what he believes will end the cycle of hunger; namely capital to start a business.
This is my reply:

“Harry:
I hear you and feel for you. It is the same everywhere these days. I am not sure how you would make an income if the people around you are in the same situation? Like me when I appeal to people to put in something to go to / for you, I do not know where they are going to get it. I live far from my family (1300km) and the people around me, some of them live in the poorest postal code of all of Canada.

You can verify that. I mention this because as I said I am a man of limited means at the moment as is all of our Vancouver FPECC ministers.

We have been a church for 7 years officially, current in it’s federal filing as a bona fide non profit church and yet we still have not created a bank account because there are very, very few times over the years that people have given money to us. We have not even applied for our tax exemption ID # Harry. We are not like many churches both in North America and over seas.
I know this does not help you with your hunger, I feel compelled to shed light on the truth of our circumstances as they have been and at the moment are. I write these things Harry because I am going to publish them. I know some people need to hear it.

I was at the store two weeks ago. There are loaves of bread that sell for $7.99 before taxes. Record breaking Inflation in the last two years has been hard.
COVID made many business shut down and are now closed forever. As we are in cities that is where people live and work, during COVID people stayed away from one another, so many jobs where lost and are never coming back.

We have our food banks (free food lines) in Canada with huge line ups. Millions of new immigrants, refugees, illegal aliens, young people who are only in Canada to go to university are lining up for free food in addition to the native poor.

Again I know your situation is harsh, harsher than it is here, I just want to let you know we as a small church in the poorest postal code in Canada have by Gods grace and provision given to you in love and compassion, that is our way, the way of The Lord.

We are told in the word there is or can be pain in the offering, we try not to shy away from this precept of the faith, but faith coupled with wisdom has to be used when doing so. If the Lord wants this to happen then I pray he make that very clear to us.

On facebook alone I / we are friended by other real brothers and sisters over seas and here wanting our support but there are many more frauds than real people.

Our facebook group is at times over run with People from Malawi. Liberia, Sudan (Africa), India, Pakistan and North America that find me / us and want $upport. They $eek money, attention, books, bibles, food, clothing, anything from me / us. It amazes me that so many think we are interested in being sold biblical study courses from a bible school in Africa, or to join them in their local churches events.

Why? Because we are all rich Canadians and if we are real Christians and a true church based on the Gospel of our Lord we will hear them and give what ever it is they are asking for.
Some want us to sponsor them for citizenship, bring them to Canada on a religious working visa, or just sponsor short trips for them over here or send them to a seminary somewhere.
Harry as you probably know some of these men and woman are vile liars to the core, I do not like saying that about people but for some it is true. After years of people around the world trying to “con” us with all manner of stories of danger, peril, war, famine, and Christian persecutions.

Some of the worst of it is when they bombard us with words of love and blessings and take our time to get us familiar with them and then they will plead for help and some times make outrageous requests and stories up. Some of them are men with many wives do it like a pack of wolves hunting. Defrauding Western Christians is a sport and a honourable way to make a living in some Islamic communities here in Canada and over seas. India has become very sophisticated, they have scam call centres that only target us.

Men will bring some treat to a local orphanage and take pathetic, heart breaking pictures of children and older women and woman cast out for some reason into the streets, sitting in the dust. Dozens of pictures in a single facebook message and dozens of video / voice calls via messenger to put me / people on the spot and pressure us to give. The desperation they have to get money is overwhelming at times, for me Harry I actually take some of it to heart and do my best to say a prayer none the less for them in hopes it is real. Even if I do not reply to them before I have to block them. Experience has brought me wisdom in many matters.

It is vile because the needs they are presenting to us are real needs and anyone with a heart is going to feel a genuinely godly sorrow.

Being made to feel pressured into giving by some of the things they share is repugnant.

The thing that truly hurts among the most of it Harry is that many of them are true. The wicked have made people much more cautious now. We have robot / AI phine calls and spam texts on every smart phone, in every email, on all our social media daily!

People have (and rightfully so) had enough and will not listen to anymore stories and they ignore even the “rich” charities that legitimately advertise online, on our buses, TV’s, Radios, even with Huge out door billboards on the streets and freeways. You go to a public business / place they have stickers coming and going reminding you about this charity, that charity, give now! give today! here is a hundred ways you cab give!. it seemingly never ends. The opportunity to exploit peoples good nature to them seems like an inexhaustible pool of profits.
The times I have made a public appeal for emergency funds for you in the group, on my wall, and my website I attacked people from your country and other places because they they could identify me as a “giver” or charitable. I am not angry with them, they are most likely alot like you and in similar circumstances and it brings me no joy to certain that is true. Again I am but one man of humble means this moment. Please pray that changes miraculously for the better in a steady long term way and I am certain to share.

As of right now I cannot beat your drum in the ears of my people and tell them to give towards your even if it hurts them and expect it to go well for you or I. Christmas is traditionally where the pressure to give as Christians / North Americans is the fiercest. People ask me in real life at times and I mention you Harry. I say we do what we can to support a small church in Malawi when we can.

People in the west have developed what is called compassion fatigue and we are in one of the worst recessions this country has ever seen with record high inflation on everything. People, working class who have “solid” employment who live from pay cheque to pay cheque and are fortunate enough to have a company subsidized life insurance plan are economically speaking worth more dead than alive. After all taxes an average person in Canada could be paying 53% on every dollar. Federal, Provincial and Regional taxes. If you have any savings at the bank if you earn even $0.10 interest it could be taxed.

I am not joking Harry, when we go to pay for food, at the check out (where you pay) before you can complete your payment and leave with your things you must in many cases answer a question would you like to donate money to this or that charity!

In some stores where you serve yourself, where no one working at the stores waits on costumers, all they do is stock shelves and take your payment and they ask you before you can complete your purchase how much money do you want to tip them for just doing a job they are being paid to do.

You have to choose a set amount of cash or choose a percentage of your total purchase (taxes included at times) starting at 18% / 22% /28% !!!

This is not what I would like to say and this is probably not what you wanted to hear Harry. People here are going to read it and people over there are going to read it and it will not be what some of them want to hear.

I took this moment to write this for you Harry because as you know, I do care, not just in word, but in deed, and I wanted to let you know this is what some of us wrestle with and so that others might benefit from hearing it as well.

Every Blessing.
John
(Rev. John)”