PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

June 16, 2021

LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE (III)

Invest Locally

How you invest your resources gives a pretty good indication of your priorities and interests. When thinking of resources one generally thinks of money and wealth.  But it can also refer to ones’ time and talent.  When the churches I served held their annual stewardship campaigns, they would ask the members and friends of the congregation to support with the church with their prayers, their gifts, their time, and their talents.  How we choose to use our money, our time and our talents is a good indication of what we think is important.

In her book This Is Where You Belong Melody Warnick’s second suggested basic place attachment behavior is buy local.  Even though Melody’s focus is on how one spends one’s money, some of her suggestions involve the investment of time and talents.  One of her primary points is that when one spends money at a Big Box store only about 14% returns to the community.  Whereas, when one spends money at a locally owned business 52% continues to circulate in the community.

Another reason that Warnick gives for buying locally is that one is more likely to know those who work at a locally owned store rather than at a Big Box store.  While this may be true for Melody’s experiences, I have not found this to be the case.  I am about as likely to meet someone I know at either type of store.

I suspect that at least one of the reasons that Melody and I have had different experiences is the  size of the communities in which we have lived.  The smallest place Melody mentions is Blacksburg, Virginia, (42,000) while the largest is Austin, Texas (950,000), With the exception of an appointment in Fort Wayne, Indiana, (173,000) the largest town where I have lived while serving as a United Methodist pastor was Crown Point, Indiana, (11,000). Two of the appointments had parsonages in the open country and three were in small towns of less than 10,000.  Less than half the places I lived even had Big Box stores and one of these got their first just as I was moving.

An area that I think is important when considering investing locally is service.  Where do you go or whom do you call when something goes wrong.  Take my computer.  I have made it a practice while living here in Plymouth and before that in Kendallville to purchase my computer from a local store that also serviced computers.  I might have been able to buy it cheaper at a Big Box store but they did not have a repair service.  In most cases to have my computer fixed I would have had to travel at least forty minutes, leave the computer, and not get it back for at least a week.  By buying local I could drop it off on the way to the office or on another errand and have it back in a day or two.  It was worth the extra price I may have paid for the convenience and priority service.

Another area that I have tried to invest in as close to home as possible is transportation.  I bought my last two cars at a local dealership.  When they need serviced, it takes about 10 minutes to drop them off.  When a trouble light goes on, the service department at the dealership is always happy to have a look when I bring it in.  When I had warranty problem with the manufacturer, the dealership came through with a car to use.  Also, doing my car business with a local dealership is an investment in the future when I might need them.

One of Melody’s suggestions is to intentionally spend $50 each month at three locally owned businesses.  This sounds doable!  However, I would like to expand the suggestion to not only include goods, but also services.  Like most senior citizens I find that I am no longer able to do some of the things I used to do and am in need of help.  The list includes yard work, minor repairs around the house, servicing appliances, and for some, transportation.  In some cases finding persons to do these tasks is difficult, especially someone local.  Most commercial services charge around $70 just to show up.  A local person who will charge a rate more in line with a senior citizen’s budget is a real treasure and needs to be encouraged with a little extra when the bill comes.

On one level, tipping is a way to show people that you appreciate the service or assistance they have provided.   On another level, it is a way to make an investment in a person’s future.  In 2016 the local United Way had an emphasis to support and provide assistance for ALICE households – Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed.  These are households with income above the U.S. poverty level but less than the basic cost of living.  They live life on the brink of financial disaster.  Sometimes it is only the tips they receive that keep them afloat. For them a generous tip can make all the difference.

A final area where you might invest $50 is in social capital.  Social capital is “the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively.” (Google, dictionary)  Investing in local social capital can have positive impact on the health and wellbeing of a community.  Across Indiana an organization that is about the business of creating and sustaining social capital is United Way.  They bring people, groups, organizations, and business together to address community problems and concerns, work to find solutions, and create networks that allow a community to function effectively.  Another group that merits an investment of one’s resources is religious service organizations.  They help to coordinate the outreach ministries of their member churches. In every community there are a variety of groups, organizations, and clubs that help to create and sustain social capital.

An important way to invest locally is to regularly pray for the place where one lives.  Specific prayers for specific people, issues, or concerns bring one closer, not only to God, but to the focus of the prayers. Most churches have prayer concern lists that help one to know for what to pray locally.

Committing oneself to invest one’s resources, time, and talents locally will enhance one’s sense of belong and will increase one’s place attachment.   Where our treasure is there will be our heart also.