I’m 77 now, and have been giving substantially from my inheritances since I was 32. Since 1997, I’ve been giving $200,000+/year, 50% of my adjusted gross income. I’ve been inspired to be a giver, first, by my Christian faith: I was a parish priest in Georgia for 12 years, and have been influenced by groups like Church of our Savior in DC, where I have reflected more deeply on stewardship and wealth. With a group called Shalem, I reflected deeply on the encounters Jesus had with people of wealth and power. Best known is the story of the rich young ruler whom Jesus asked to give away all his wealth and follow him, but in the New Testament there are ten others with whom Jesus talked, not about giving it all away, but about right stewardship of wealth. Jesus’ words of stewardship made sense to me.

My giving has also been inspired by working most of my life on issues of poverty and peace: I worked for a dozen years in the federal government at HUD in the model cities program. Over time, I’ve chaired committees in Georgia and in Washington DC, on civil rights, peace in Central America and peace in the Middle East.

In my giving I’ve been especially drawn to groups creating an alternative vision for how money and wealth can be used in our society: More than Money, the Ministry of Money, and Responsible Wealth and also to Bartimaeus Ministries, an ecumenical experiment in discipleship and mutual aid.