Dang MOOOOOOM and BBBobbio ya do that one time many, many years ago and it just haunts ya for life! 
Ok kiddies, put on your Dr. Denton’s and gather round. Unca swampy has a tale.
On Thursday I got a phone call from the Senior Warden of the Church Vestry. Just to explain terms, the Senior Warden is Episcopal speak for the elected “chair” of the Vestry. The Vestry is Episcopal speak for the governing board elected by the Parish (Episcopal speak for local congregation) at its annual meeting. But I digress. He called me as a member of the Vestry to explain a situation and request my vote on said situation. The situation bein’, a young man of the Parish (who IMO ain’t all there) had been arrested for criminal damage to property and was in jail and need two hundred bucks for bail. This young man is part of a family consisting of mom, sis and him who is, so it seems, forever asking for financial assistance, food and such, meanin’ at least twice a month and has been for a couple of years. Ok, yes, as a church we should help out those in need. However, I say enough is enough and this family has gone beyond the point of enough. But I digress again. I raised the question of the fact that this two hundred bucks would bond him out of jail (and I did not want the boy to sit in jail, really!) but would that also obligate the church for a couple thousand bucks should he, say, skip out of the county or whatever. A couple hundred bucks is one thing but a couple thousand is way beyond my comfort zone money givin’ away wise. SW saw my point and investigated it and turns out as he understood it we wouldn’t be so cool, I’m good with usin’ a couple hundred bucks from the Vestry’s discretionary fund to bail him out of jail. However, I expressed the very strong opinion that it should be made clearly understood to the family that there would be no more approachin’ the church for money for at least a year. Yeah, I’m mean but there are others who need help as well and I feel we’ve gone above and beyond for these folks who show up at church only when they want a handout. We good so far?
Fast forward to this mornin’ at church. I am approached by first the SW to give me a heads up that a couple other members of the Vestry may approach me about what I said about no more help for the family. Thanks Steve cause I don’t like bein’ blindsided! I was approached. Not to get into gender issues here y’all but these two are women who told me they were shocked (SHOCKED, I SAY!) that I had expressed that as a condition of lettin’ the family have bail money. I repeated my stand that enough is enough and there are others with needs also. Thus I am possibly a semi-awful person. A couple of parishoners, again, women also expressed their shock (SHOCKED, I SAY!) at my feelin’s on this. I again stated that my opinion is unchanged. Really semi-awful person am I! However, other members of the Vestry, I might add, the clear majority, which includes two other women have let it be known to me that they agreed with my opinion. Now, lest y’all think good ol’ Steve is a blabbermouth, it is the usual way we do bidness in these matters when we are not meetin’ but rather bein’ polled by phone or email. Everyone is informed of everyone else’s vote/opinion. I just happen to be the one with a, shall we say, rather strong opinion in this particular matter which I knew would be relayed. I would not have said it if I didn’t mean it. So, the majority vote/opinion of the matter was to bail the kid out (yay) but to explain to the family that no more church funds would be available to them for the next year.
Ok, the no more church funds may not be exactly true because the Priest and the Deacon also have small discretionary funds and each may do with them as he so pleases, so if they use some or all of those funds for that family well, they can. However, no Vestry discretionary funds or monies from the general fund will be used, cause, well, enough is enough and there are others with needs. YP is on vacation, so he hasn’t said anything to me but our Deacon told me this mornin’ he fully understands my opinion and the decision of the Vestry on this. This kind of leaves me with the feelin’ that he’s decided he’s done enough for 'em for a while.
Why did I feel the need to share this you ask? Cause I thought we needed a tale and I just wanted to express it so I can move on.
So, I am a possible semi-awful person, but I will give you bail money.
Oh and it has stormed pretty much all afternoon and looks like we’re in for some more. YAY!
