I write to you on St. Nicholas Day thinking of the people and parishes of our diocese and the holy currencies that flow from God’s love. In our quest for vital parishes and seeking God’s presence in our neighborhoods, the small book Holy Currencies: 6 Blessings for Sustainable Missional Ministries by Eric H. F. Law is a real gift!
The artwork introducing the concept shows currencies of Relationship, Truth, Wellness, Money, Time & Place, and Gracious Leadership flowing in a dynamic circular fashion one into another. The image is like a camera lens, a magnifying glass, or a monocle, and I invite you to reach into your imaginary Christmas stocking and pull it out. When faced with a personal or parish dilemma… when you feel stuck and under-resourced… like Sherlock Holmes, pause and pull out this lens and look more closely. When I do so, I find that illumination often comes. We are so programmed to pursue money, which IS holy and empowering, as the only means to our goals that we can be blind to the other currencies God offers us.
We can view a piece of scripture through the lens of these six interconnected currencies and find it comes alive! We can even see the saints anew. Too often I keep the saints of the Church lovingly captive in icon or stained-glass form, or my pious devotions. But, through the lens of Eric Law’s Holy Currencies, I am aware that these people are missional models for us. Their reputation remains over time because they engaged and bore Jesus’ Way of Love in a vital, resilient fashion manifesting so many of these currencies. They were out and about in their neighborhood and its social issues, in the messy societal and church politics of their day, in times of famine, illness, and war.
While historical evidence about St. Nicholas is scant, there is the kernel of a story about a bishop named Nicholas that has evoked many beloved legends. He is said to have bestowed bags of gold upon three daughters who were about to be forced into prostitution over a debt. There are icons depicting Nicholas at night handing bags of gold through a window as the young women and their father sleep. Bishop Nicholas was likely present in his community and relationship with these young women. A relationship is where the cycle of God’s blessings often starts! Nicholas confronted the menacing Truth of their desperate turn to prostitution. The Truth led him to share the holy currency of his Money for the sake of their Wellness. It was an act of Gracious Leadership. When we open our Lesser Feasts and Fasts and study the saints, holy currencies pour out.
In 2025 Diocesan staff and Council of Trustees members are studying Holy Currencies; active parish clergy have received it in the mail as a present; it will form the basis of our clergy gathering this spring; is being discussed on all of my visitations; and our Convocation Deans will each sponsor a Holy Currencies Event for Wardens and Treasurers. I encourage you to pick up the lens of Holy Currencies and take a selfie with it! Which of these six currencies are richly present in your own life that God calls you to tap for Jesus’ Way of Love?
by the Rt. Rev. Cathleen Bascom
835 SW Polk St.
The Harvest is the diocese’s triennial news magazine