Dear St. Luke’s,

I think it was this past May that I found a very large brick of nearly worthless Venezuelan money for sale, and immediately I knew that I needed it. I didn’t know what I would use it for, but I had no doubt I would put it to good use. Initially, I would hand large sums of the currency to guests in our home as welcome gifts. That was fun, but it was just the beginning. When a lemonade stand appeared on my way home, I paid for my lemonade with US currency but tipped with about fifty 100 bills of this currency. The eyes of the six boys running the stand became impossibly large, then they began scrambling to get their fair share; not caring about the value of the fistful of bills they just received.

Slowly, I brought this odd practice to St. Luke’s on Sunday morning. If you have done anything to help out at St. Luke’s you got a 100 Bolivar note to compensate you for your service. The vast majority of the adults who received this compensation were generally confused and maybe a bit concerned, while our younger members rejoiced in these little treasures. Almost immediately, they began to ask what they could use them for. If they could not spend them at the store, then why have them? This was a good question, and one I had not considered. Eventually, I told them that when I ran out there would be a prize table set up after Church. They asked when that would be, and I said it had to be a surprise, so always come to Church, and don’t forget your Fr. Nick Bucks!

Well, the time has come. I am down to my last few Bolivars, and there will be a prize table set up after Church with candy and Fr. Nick-Nacks that anyone can get by exchanging their collected Bolivars.

This whole enterprise is funny (at least it is to me), but it is flavored with something that feels a bit uncomfortable. I am clearly making fun of something, but it is not immediately clear who or what is bearing the brunt of the joke. Is this meant to be sacrilegious? Is it just good fun? To be honest, I didn’t really put that much thought into it. When the idea popped into my head, and when I saw our youngest members engage in a new way, I leaned into it more and more.

I strive to be a devout Christian, and I am part of the institution of the Episcopal Church, which is an institution I deeply believe in. I never want to make light of what makes us faithful, and I do not want to make fun of the habits of those I disagree with, because I do not want my humor to be scornful. In my mind, and in my spirit, the bullseye of humor should rest on the areas that we tend to take too seriously because when we laugh at our own seriousness, we are reminded to be humble. We should never laugh at what the cross represents, but making the sign of the cross with a bit too much gusto at the altar may be fair game, and hopefully, laughter can be a reminder to make sure that our public worship is not performative, but faithful.

If you have not gotten your Fr. Nick Bucks, there are still a few bills left to earn before the table is out on Sunday, and there is a lot to help with at the Church. If you are worried about what my intent is with this exercise in religious consumerism, it is an opportunity to point fun at the more trivial parts of running a Church, but it is mostly to laugh with children and to help them pay attention to what is happening on Sunday morning. I hope to see you at the prize table on Sunday!

Blessings,

Nick