2024 was a big year for Manna Gum. After fifteen years of operation, it was time for a refresh.
In May, we ‘re-launched’ Manna Gum with a new website, new logo and new-look Manna Matters. We marked the occasion by a re-launch event at Ridley College in Melbourne (see photos above), which provided an opportune moment to restate what the ministry of Manna Gum is all about, and where we see ourselves going over the next fifteen year period.
The renovation of Manna Gum’s visual identity comes at a time when we feel like we are entering a new phase of ministry. Manna Gum’s core purpose is to renew our perception of the ways in which spiritual life and material life are fused together, both in scripture and in day-to-day life; and secondly, to renew our understanding of the ways in which the human economy, and human life more fully, is embedded within the greater economy of God’s creation, both in scripture and in the practical realities of life. Over the last fifteen years this work has given a central place to the everyday economics of our households: a foundational place for Christians to begin to reclaim the economic implications of the gospel.
This will remain important in Manna Gum’s work, however, over the coming years we hope to give more attention to two themes in particular: (i) the economics of the church; and (ii) Christian political witness. The first of these themes (the economics of the church) is really the inevitable extension of household economics to our local faith communities. The church is itself a household, and Christian economic ethics are intrinsically communal. For too long, the structure and management of churches has looked to the world of business for ‘best practice’; it is time to re-found our understanding of what church is all about, and what this means for the economics of Christian communities.
The second theme (Christian political witness) concerns the ways in which the gospel can speak into the great challenges of our century: ecological crisis, affluenza, social inequality, technologism, and the weakening of democracy. In my view, Christian political witness should also be an extension of our household and ecclesial economic practice, however, the ways in which we make the translation from the sphere of discipleship and faith to the secular public sphere is by no means straightforward, and requires careful thought.
Manna Gum will continue to cover a wide range of issues relating to economy, ecology, and faith, however these two themes will become a sustained focus of the coming years.
New website
Manna Gum’s ministry exists to communicate a message, and the website plays a critical role in that ministry. It is not merely a tool for promotion, it is first and foremost a repository of Manna Gum’s resources—articles, podcasts, webinars, books, and more—most of which are free. The website is the lynchpin connecting people with those resources.
Developing Manna Gum’s new website was (for us!) a large investment of time and money. We were incredibly blessed by the generous response to our appeals for extra support, as well as a grant from Gospel Resources Trust (see financial report below), all of which meant we did not have to cut corners in the quality of what we were attempting to do. The end result is a far more attractive, functional and easy-to use website. Also, the back end is far more pleasant for Jacob and I to operate than the migraine-inducing system of the old site.
The benefits of the improved website were immediate, with increased engagement with our resources, increased sign-ups to the mailing list, and fewer migraines for us. So a very big thank you to all those who supported this endeavour.
What’s new about mannagum.org.au?
- MannaCast episodes: all our episodes can be perused and accessed from the website.
- Easy-to-navigate menu bar.
- Clean layout for long-form reading.
- Easy sign-up to the mailing list, whether for email or hard-copy or both.
- Follow a series of articles more easily.
- Search by topic: perhaps my favourite bit, you can now easily search by a range of topic listings. It also shows the range that Manna Gum material covers.
- Recent Facebook posts: Manna Gum’s Facebook posts add a different flavour to our articles or podcasts, often engaging with topical issues or suggesting further resources.
MannaCast
The podcast has certainly been a valuable and fun addition to Manna Gum’s resources. It allows us to extend our range of subjects and seems to be effective at reaching people beyond our mailing list. If you listen to the podcast, please give us a rating and/or review as it helps people discover it more easily.
Podcasts in 2024
Click here to listen to MannaCast episodes. |
Webinar series: Christianity VS Capitalism
Between July and September we ran a six-part webinar series on Christianity vs. Capitalism. Not for the faint-hearted, this was a deep dive into a historical, analytical, and theological description of capitalism, and the challenges it poses for Christian witness. The webinars were recorded and can be found on Manna Gum’s YouTube channel, which you can access through the website. If you are not into all the conceptual stuff, skip to part six of the series, which gives the practical pointy end of it all.
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Speaking & teaching
A highlight for me this year was spending a day teaching for the Masters of Transformational Development at Eastern College, covering topics from a biblical approach to economics; colonisation and the loss of a biblical perspective; and economic development, poverty and human flourishing. I really enjoy the opportunity to go deep on subjects like this with a small group of engaged students. Another highlight for the year was being interviewed again on Meredith Lake’s Soul Search program on ABC Radio National. Opportunities like this are enormously valuable for introducing Manna Gum to a new audience.
- ‘Jesus and Money’ seminar, Merri Creek Anglican (Feb)
- Masters of Transformational Development (Eastern College) (Apr)
- Soul Search Interview, ‘Rethinking Prosperity’ (May)
- Reading the Bible in Australia book launch (May)
- ‘Food and Social Justice’ lecture, Uniting Church JIM convention (Oct)
Other writing
I am working on two books which I hope will come to fruition in 2025. The first is publishing my thesis as an academic monograph, and the second is a more popular book in the style of Coming Home, but opening up a broader understanding of economic life.
- Christian Witness in the Midst of Capitalism: An Australian Coversation with R.H. Tawney, John Howard Yoder and Oliver O’Donovan.
- Turning the Tables: Following Jesus in a world of money, markets, commerce and capitalism.
Show me the money
As an experiment in faith, Manna Gum continues to surprise us by continuing to work. After a big financial shortfall in 2023, it was great to break even in 2024. A huge thank you to our supporters and to Gospel Resources Trust for help getting us over the line with the new website. The cost of producing our materials, printed and online, has risen substantially in the last couple of years. The cost of hard copy Manna Matters has doubled in the last 3 years, from $3 per copy to $6 per copy, and the our growing online presence requires higher online service costs. All of this increases the challenge of covering our annual expenses. Please give your consideration to Manna Gum's Annual Appeal.
INCOME |
|
|
Supporters |
42,926 |
|
Donations |
30,571 |
|
Gospel Resources Grant (web development) |
8,000 |
|
Other Revenue |
1,139 |
|
Book Sales |
1,111 |
|
Interest |
1 |
|
Total Income |
83,748 |
EXPENSES |
|
|
Wages |
53,591 |
|
Web development |
10,793 |
|
Superannuation & Workcover |
6,594 |
|
Printing, stationery & postage |
3,746 |
|
Computer software & equipment |
1,355 |
|
Book publishing |
1,110 |
|
Web services |
1,073 |
|
Conferences & webinars |
714 |
|
Travel |
698 |
|
Hospitality |
588 |
|
Phone & electricity |
336 |
|
Bank fees |
336 |
|
Events |
113 |
|
Meetings & resources |
79 |
|
Total Expenses |
81,124 |
|
Net profit |
2,624 |