Loading...Some in the Chattanooga-area Christian community were surprised in August when a local church spent $700,000 to erect three huge crosses whose only purpose is to be seen by motorists speeding by on Interstate 75. According to the church, the crosses are meant as a daily witness to passers-by, and the installation is one of only a handful of its size erected in the entire country. But many surrounding churches and worshiping communities wondered about all the other things for which that $700,000 could have been used.
Southside Abbey, a worshiping community led by the Rev. Bob Leopold, was inspired to think seriously about what else could be done with $700,000. An idea germinated based on the biblical concept of Jubilee, and Southside Abbey started a campaign to raise $700,000 to give away to groups working in the Southside of Chattanooga who are: feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing those in need, caring for the sick, loving your neighbor, forgiving your enemies, honoring widows, healing the land.
“Imagine the really great work that could be done with money raised under these guidelines,” said Leopold in a recent Chattanooga Times Free Press article.
“In the Jubilee, we are reminded that our wealth is not really ours,” he said. “Rather it is on loan to us.”
“I get goose bumps. The hairs on my arms stand up when I talk about this,” Leopold said. “Joy is a perfect description. It is jubilous.”
The fund will stay open 2013 and 2014. The funds raised will be distributed in 2014 to groups doing work in the Southside of Chattanooga. A web page has been set up for contributions: //southsideabbey.dioet.org/jubilee.html.
