Dirty Idealist Update

Well, a congregation 650 miles away has offered us their adoption account.  So this decision doesn't mean we can't get a tax deduction for those who give gifts.  I love them for that, but then they’ve been the one congregation that ever really felt like family to us.  The irony is, since we do not attend that congregation, if they were to get audited this could raise questions for them. 

Hubby took some time with the email the Elders sent us and replied to some of the comments with more questions.  My personal favorite is this one:  (Keep in mind that they said “No” to starting an adoption fund and “No” to fund raisers at church.)

“We do want to encourage the two of you (and others) in your adoption pursuit.”

Hubby’s reply:

“We appreciate the encouragement!  I am not trying to mean, rude or sarcastic here, but I’m curious what the elders are thinking of when “want to encourage” us? What does that look like?”

So hubby is my hero.  It will be interesting to see if we get any reply to the questions he asked that came up from the email we got with the notifications.

The question of starting an adoption fund for us boils down to laws that have to be followed in order for a congregation to keep it's 501c3 status.  If you don't follow the laws, the government can yank your 501C3 status.  Ok, I doubt that happens often but apparently it could happen.  Of course all that legal stuff is open to inperpretation and different churches handle that stuff very differently.   

My daddy said it best.  Yes, there are a lot of laws the churches have to pay attention to in regards to keeping their 501C3 status, but it is still the choice of the congregation whether to use those laws to include or exclude.  (AMEN!) 

And it is wicked of me I know, but since I have a blog that I use to update friends and family about the adoption progress…  I want to post about my frustration over these issues there.  But people from my congregation will likely read it.  And what happens when those who made this decision get wind of how it went across in our household?  I don’t know whether or not to post about this.  It’s not honest to leave it off the blog, because this is all part of this process.  But it’s not going to get us any brownie points with our congregation leaders if we tell the truth on that blog.  I want to be respectful, but I think their decision is a load of crap.  Soooo… I just don’t know how to handle that.