Go forth and multiply

Press, 21 November 1987, Page 18

Go forth and multiply

Middleton Grange par-

ents were urged to go forth and multiply (their talents) and so they did.

Five hundred families were given $lOO and asked to use their talents to make it grow. In three months, the initial outlay trebled.

Peter yarrell, a committed Christian, was praying for spiritual guidance on a temporal problem (how to fund the school gymnasium) when he had an inspiration. Why not use the parable of the talents. Excerpt:‘Matthew’2s.

Ana unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one — and he sent them on a journey.

"Then he who received the five talents went and traded with them and made five more. And likewise he who received two gained two more. But he who received one went and buried his lord's money."

Like the servants in the parable, some accepted the challenge, others were overwhelmed. Many did not think they had a talent worth multiplying. Sixty families returned the $lOO, so eventually $44,000 was given out and at the end of three

months, $135,000 came back.

Nobody is quite sure how it happened, but one $lOO bill was increased a hundredfold to $lO,lOO. One family took 14 people for a cruise on Marlborough Sounds and recouped $l4OO. Another hired the Court Theatre, bought all the tickets for $lO, and resold them for $l5 to include supper. This netted $l3OO. Motel, bach, and caravan owners donated their hire fee.

One parent who bought shares (fortunately the share market collapse came two days after the

dealine!) increased the talent fourteenfold. But gambling was not encouraged as it does not reflect the spirit of a Christian school. There were no poker schools, and nobody put their $lOO on the gee-gees. Buying and selling came easily to some. One guy bought a tonne of fertiiliser and resold it in smaller lots. Another splurged his $lOO on Bluff oysters and made such a tidy sum he requested another $lOO to repeat the exercise. One hundred dollars invested in Avon products soon doubled, and 500 chickens bought wholesale were sold retail. Tupperware worked for some, and a potter invested in raw materials and sold her wares.

Many donated services from cat speying and neutering, vaccination and worming clinics, to family portraits. A solo mother made $5OO conducting a holiday programme for children. Teachers excelled. One converted joinery offcuts into breadboards for $250. Another sold his own blend of hair shampoo, conditioner, and paint stripper. Others conducted courses. A photography course netted $B5O. There were also classes in C.P.R.

and gourmet cooking. Husband and wife music teachers who roped in their muso mates for a musical soiree netted $2OO. They also combined with others to produce a book on children’s parties which sells for $3. Dinner parties where guests paid for their meal were very popular, and families combined for discos and dances. Children held stalls and video evenings and hired out their labour.

Three families organised a family concert spending $lOO to hire a spotlight, $lOO to hire the venue, and $lOO on printing. They intended to bring a big name from Auckland but found many talented entertainers within their own ranks. Despite abundant freebies and minimal ticket prices this netted $3OOO.

Crafft and baking worked well. One woman who sold her cakes, biscuits, loaves, squares of shortbread, and scones at fortnightly craft mornings cleared $6OO. A Dutch baker made 70 Dutch apple cakes which she sold for $5 to $6 each, and her husband sold ballpoint pens printed with the name of the school. Others sold cakes on polling day and hot dogs on Saturday.

The talent fest reinforced the parable that “he who uses his talents increases them, and he who buries them wastes them.” And although It

produced some spectacular gestures, its success depended much more on hard work and patient effort. Like life, in many ways.