Here I offer a personal reflection. Many of you know me as one of the founders of Wisdom & Money and as a current Co-Director. I have the joy of leading many of our circles and online programs, and of walking with some of you as a 1:1 spiritual companion. I came to this work over 25 years ago as a young inheritor, and have been steadily and faithfully shaped by it—and committed to supporting it—ever since.
Below is how I’ve answered these questions for myself.
With gratitude,
Rose Feerick
What got me here
As a young adult I received a gift of a financial portfolio at the same moment that I was making a conscious decision to simplify my lifestyle and choose work that was inspired by my faith and in service to all people. Becoming financially wealthy at that moment was a paradox for me. I tried talking to Christian activist friends who told me that Jesus was clear: give it away. That did not feel quite right. I tried talking to my family’s financial advisor who did not understand my questions. I noticed that none of my friends or family members seemed to feel the pain that I did when I opened my financial statements and looked at the companies I was invested in: tobacco, weapons, oil. This was the early nineties and SRI’s, ESG, and divestment efforts were not nearly as well known as they are now. I did not understand why more people of faith were not connecting the dots around the impact of our investments the way I was.
What drew me in
When I started reading materials from Faith and Money Network and later Harvest Time and now Wisdom & Money, I realized that there were others like me: faithful Christians with big money questions. I joined my first retreat circle in 2000 and found spiritual friends who were committed to talking about money in a context of prayer, compassion, transparency, and honesty, especially about the messy parts. That circle opened my heart beyond moral righteousness. Friends in the circle companioned me as I began to make changes my heart long wanted to make, but that I had been afraid to act on before. My faith came to life in that circle. Working with money gave me a path for integrating my actions and beliefs, on multiple levels. And as I did so, my life became more firmly rooted in Christ and my own heart.
Why do I stay in this work
The reason I am still a part of an organization that works with wealthy people is because I believe there needs to be a place that leads with compassion for people who know they have far more than they need. I think there needs to be a place where such people can ask their own hard questions, look at the reality of what we have, and discern how our financial resources can flow in service of wellbeing for all people. Money messages that are laced with fear, greed, or projection are common in our culture (and were in Jesus’ as well,which may be why he spoke of wealth so often). I learned that if I want to act in alignment with my best spiritual discernment, I need a place where I can become conscious of how those messages are at work in me and open myself to another way. That’s what Wisdom & Money is.
I needed support in community to change
Stepping out of “business as usual” is not an easy journey. I had deeply internalized the current financial system and its messages in my mind and my heart. Turning the inner ship around so I can make different money decisions has not been easy. Good people told me that it was simple – just give it all away. Maybe it looked that way from the outside. But for me, it was not simple. How do you decide what to give to? And how much? And when? And what about the tax implications of selling stock? How much should I keep for my own needs? And what about the people who gave those funds to me – how do I explain what I am doing without breaking relationship? And what about my spouse who sees things quite differently than me? These are some of the questions I had to work through in community in order to be able to do something different – once I was willing.
Why does that matter in a time such as this?
I believe that much of what is unjust in our world happens because good people simply go along with business as usual, maybe because it’s overwhelming or too scary – or maybe because it’s never occurred to us to do anything different. But what if we did not simply go along with the status quo? What if good, spiritually grounded people – who also happen to have significant financial resources – chose to act in service of the wellbeing of all people? I imagine people of wealth in interdependent, long-term partnerships across differences; adopting sustainable lifestyles; making well-discerned gifts in a context of long-term relationship; joining communities; and buying food and goods in ways that support workers and local businesses. And our investments would also be in service of the wellbeing of all. These choices–some small and some large–change lives, starting with our own. They also change the lives of people around us and the world. I’ve been watching that kind of change happen in very tangible ways in my life and the lives of people who are part of Wisdom & Money. I’ve been listening to the stories for twenty five years. Those stories give me hope, especially in a time like this.
It’s the piece we offer
The world needs more of us to do what we can to act on behalf of the wellbeing of all. Wisdom & Money exists to support those of us who know we have more money than we need and who want to offer our lives and abundance in service of all. It’s one part of a larger movement of people seeking to act in service of spiritual and social transformation. Faithfully working with money and people of wealth is the piece we offer.