That Rainy Day Money

I ponder today about the problem of the vast amounts of "rainy day" money held by our congregations. Most of this is never reported outside a small circle, and never really discussed. For some 30 years I worked with congregations, mosley small in membership, across the mid-West. Often I attended regular board meetings and sat through the business session before I made my presentation. At some each individual organization within the church made its fianacial report - the Sunday school, the cemetery association, the trustees, the women's and men's groups, the memorial fund, etc. I was aghast, often, at the amount of God's money stored away against, as they put it, a "rainy day."
This column is triggered by the fact that a friend and pastor of a small congregation recently told me that his church had around $50,000 tucked away with no visible purpose for it. I am also remembering a relative who died and his memorial money went to tht fund in his church. He was a well known and popular man, and several thousand dollars were given. A few years later I inquired about how it had been spent and found that it was still in the bank. "We cannot thing of anything we need," was the reason given. Legal? Yes, I suppose so. Morally and spiritually defendable? Not at all!
First, it is my understanding that money given to the church is give for the "Glory of God and for His purposes." We even say that in our prayer upon receiving the offering when we ask God to guide us to use this money for "Your will." With billions of God's people suffering and dying for lack of resources, how can we possibly say it is within His will to tuck away any money at all for a "rainy day" future?
I grew up when the Church talked and preached about sin - the sin of commission (doing what was against the will of God) and the sin of omission (failing to do what God wanted us to do). If we keep money in the bank that could feed a hungry child, or house a homeless family, or heal a dying person, we are guilty of the grievous  sin of omission. We have failed to act within the will of God. Each day thousands of God's people die becasue we Christians keep money in our bank accounts that could heal and save them. That is serious talk, but true. Is it the equivalent of murder?
Jesus spoke clearly about this in the parable fo the last judgment in Matthew. One group has used their resources to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the lonely and those in prison, at attend to the needs that were on the priority list of Jesus. They went to their reward - heaven. The other group had neglected to care for such needs and were sent to their "eternal damnation." They were guilty of the sin of omission. Their failing to do what they should have done had caused suffering and death.
Just suppose all of the 850 United Methodist church in Missouri turned in all their tucked away "rainy day" money. How big of a pile would that be? Millions. Wh would decide what to do with it? I'd like to help.