Is the United Church's Mission and Service Fund (M&S) still the best way of carrying out mission projects in this day and age?

That question arises when it is evident that many congregations are taking a hands-on approach to specific projects and raising far more dollars for them than they are contributing to the M&S Fund.

Proponents of that approach argue that a unified fund is seen as a relic of a more paternalistic age. While it may have seemed in times past that the church at large knew best what was needed and should be supported, people in this age of the internet now want to sift through information on their own and don't need anyone to do that for them. Computers have made the world a much smaller place today and people are more aware, and can choose, opportunities that suit their own likes.

This freedom of choice concept is not confined solely to mission work. For instance, at the community level most United Way appeals were created years ago as a "give once for all," vehicle but the proliferation of charities and causes has negated that "give once" concept in most places.

Many people giving to the M&S Fund believe they are helping fill empty bellies in Africa; they are less aware the fund also supports church structures such as General Council and Conference. This may sound like an attack on the Mission and Service Fund, but that is not the case. There is no question that M&S accomplishes much good work with the funds it receives.

With a unified fund, donors know their givings are going into one big pot, so to speak, but are not aware of just where their money is going specifically. Geoff Wilkins, chairman of the National Alliance of Covenanting Congregations, said his main reason for no longer contributing to M&S is that the Unified Fund provides an ideal vehicle for disguising where the money goes. "Despite periodic attempts, I have been unable to discover what exactly fits into each of M&S's categories and precisely what is spent on what."

He said that "in some ways, the Unified Fund is a bit reminiscent of government financing, with its opportunities for creative accounting and lack of transparency. With governments, however, there are people like the Auditor General with the power and the resources to examine things with some minuteness. And they report, publicly!" (I'll not hold my breath concerning the United Church of Canada.)

Judith MacCarthy of St. Andrew's United Church in Niagara Falls says that congregation made the decision to become "our own allocators" of our mission monies almost 20 years ago. "To this day some of us continue to wrestle with this decision as we read within Mandate (the United Church mission magazine) of the wide-reaching, Canadian and overseas mission programs," the chair of St. Andrew's Outreach committee states. In some cases there is overlap with projects supported by M&S.

"Because St. Andrew's Outreach team feels an obligation to our Canadian 'mother' church, a portion of our disbursements always goes to the UCC's World Development & Relief Fund, which is more wisely distributed than a local church can ever manage."

MacCarthy further points out that "much to our surprise, we discovered our church is not alone in choosing other overseas charities. Watercan, an organization providing clean drinking water and basic sanitation to the world's poor, lists eight United Churches donating to this worthy endeavor." The St. Andrew's team trusts our hands-on approach encourages more "giving for others" from church members. "We yearly debate our disbursement choices and welcome suggestions from the congregation for charity selections."

"My greater concern is how to balance the necessity for monies for the local church (staff, upkeep, that hydro bill!) with the greater needs in the world," she adds.

Rev. Shawn Ketcheson of Manotick United Church says that while his Ottawa Presbytery congregation still contributes approximately $20,000 to M&S each year "our passion is certainly for hands-on mission projects…For us it is important to get our hands dirty at home and abroad."

"We recently went on a mission trip to El Salvador to build a couple of Habitat houses and supplied the downtown outreach agencies of Ottawa with 600 winter sleeping bags. This is a yearly project for us," he pointed out.

At Metropolitan United Church in London, Ont., senior minister Rev. Bob Ripley says while individual members support the M&S Fund, the congregation is engaged in mission in many different ways. More than $100,000 annually supports local and global outreach projects from digging wells in Mozambique through United Church overseas personnel Bill and Karen Butt to sending mission teams abroad. Members going on those trips "not only have a life-changing experience but teach the congregation of the plight of those they serve," Ripley said. It has also been Metropolitan's experience that hearing from the representatives of organizations supported by Metropolitan as well as having church members bring first-hand reports of how their dollars, often matched by the Canadian government (CIDA), have made a difference, brings mission work to life, he adds.

These churches probably represent the tip of the mission iceberg, as church-wide statistics for 2004 reveal that some 250 congregations gave less to M&S than to outreach projects of their own choice.

Perhaps there is a better way of promoting the M&S Fund on the horizon.

Bay of Quinte Conference in eastern Ontario was given permission by the national church to conduct a pilot project under the Extra Measures Program which not only saw some specific major projects accomplished abroad but also increased funds and especially enthusiasm for the M&S coffers at the same time.

The United Church asked some of its international partners to submit a list of projects that would not have been funded otherwise and handed the list over to the Bay of Quinte Conference.

"We were expecting projects in the $200 to $400 range," said the Conference's executive secretary, Wendy Bulloch, "but what we got were requests in the $10,000 range." This was more than most individual congregations could take on alone. So groups of congregations within the Conference's presbyteries joined together to tackle the job.

One of the conditions set out for the program was that participating churches had to maintain their regular givings to the M&S Fund.

And that goal was accomplished, said Ms. Bulloch, who was obviously delighted with the outcome. The projects not only resulted in buying an ambulance, an AIDS hospice in the Congo and work in the Philippines, to cite a few examples, but the churches who participated did also increase their givings to M&S. In fact, it was the first time in several years that the Conference actually went over its M&S goal.

"This is really a good news story," Bulloch enthused as she praised the huge amount of enthusiasm that was generated as multiple congregations and whole presbyteries came together to make it a success.

While this might be a blueprint for boosting the M&S in the future, Judy MacCarthy of St. Andrew's asked if the term "mission" is becoming old-fashioned. Should a more 21st century term be found?" she wondered.