Following the Spirit’s Flow of Generosity

From Georgetown classrooms to Haitian streets, Rose Feerick confronts economic inequality and discovers a deeper vocation. Through her work with Wisdom & Money, she encourages people of wealth to discern what to do with their money and the spirit in which to do it.

One moment, Rose Feerick sat in class with children of United States senators. The next moment, she took a two-mile bus ride to volunteer with women experiencing homelessness. Studying theology at Georgetown, the disparity she witnessed in these two close but distant worlds shook her to the core.

Another time, she volunteered in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, seeing for the first time the troubling inequalities in the global economic system. A few hours later, she landed in New York City and drove with her family to vacation in the Hamptons.

“I was reading the Bible and got the feeling that this level of economic inequality is really not the way we’re supposed to operate as humans,” Feerick reflects. “I had a deep conviction that this was not right.”

But what was she to do about it? What was hers to do? 

Feerick’s father was the eldest child in a family who immigrated to the United States with next to nothing. He worked hard throughout his life and wanted to give his children opportunities and financial stability that he did not have. When Feerick graduated from college, her parents humbled her by gifting her a stock portfolio.

The activist and social movement organizations where she volunteered had a simple solution: give it all away, or else risk becoming the oppressor by fueling systems that benefit the privileged. When she met with financial advisors, they could not wrap their heads around the kind of spiritual questions she was wrestling with. As she expressed a desire to live simply, it was as if she were speaking a different language. She sensed that the answer to her questions about money might be more nuanced.

What she needed was help with discernment. What should be her own unique relationship with money considering her socioeconomic background, her family, and her own passion for theology and justice?

Wisdom & Money (W&M), formerly called Harvest Time, helped Feerick discern what was hersto do amid the troubling economic national and global landscape. It had such an impact on her that she became a board member and has served as co-director since 2003.

Feerick reflects that a pivotal insight arose within the organization when they delved into the story of Mary of Bethany in chapter 12 of John’s Gospel. When Mary anoints Jesus with expensive oil from an alabaster jar, Judas exclaims, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages” (John 12:5). Jesus tells Judas to leave Mary alone. Mary decided to offer a gesture of love by anointing the Messiah with nard, the oil of the Song of Songs (Song of Songs 1:12); that was hers to do. This story provided W&M with an architecture for helping people discern what to do with their money and the spirit in which to do it.

W&M states on its site that they are a “web of people of wealth who seek to align the flow of their financial resources with the Holy Spirit in service of Divine Love and Justice.” Reverence for this mystical flow and each person’s unique entrance into its waters creates a culture of joyfully walking alongside one another rather than offering prescriptive solutions or weaponizing guilt to drive action.

“Our work is more spiritual companionship than movement building, but a lot of money moves because of what we do,” Feerick says. “We’re not trying to convert anyone to ask these questions, but we are trying to find the people for whom these questions are alive. Wealthy people moving money in the flow of Spirit are going to be finding themselves in relationship across cultural differences so we support each other to act from inner clarity and in a spirit of partnership. It can’t be a question of right or wrong. It has to be: What is my jar of nard to offer, and to whom?”

Even well-intentioned activism can sometimes lead to caricaturing or shaming people who have wealth. W&M elevates the humanity and unique vocation of each wealthy person as they discern what to do with what they’ve received. Feerick shares the story of a man named John who came to W&M admitting that he had been unable throughout his life to give away anything he had earned. The relational culture at W&M, anchored in non-judgment and curiosity, made way for John’s story: When he was in college, his father experienced a financial crisis and took his own life. For John, trauma and money were closely linked.

When some of his W&M friends were traveling to Rwanda, John threw some leftover change in a collection basket for his friends to gift there, and everyone in the group cheered. It seemed absurd to John considering how little he gave in comparison to what he had. But that was the beginning of a generative movement in his life. Fast forward several years: He had built a retreat center to host organizations like W&M who were seeking the movement of the Spirit to heal the world, often offering hospitality free of charge.

“Bernard, a former W&M board member, has a helpful phrase,” Feerick reflects. “He says that so much shadow gets attached to the flow of money, but where there is a big shadow, there’s also a big light.”

Reflect with Us  
Rose Feerick’s story invites us to see generosity not as a rule to follow, but as a living relationship — one that unfolds through curiosity, discernment, and trust in the Spirit’s movement in our lives. What questions about money, resources, or influence feel most alive in you right now? Where might the Spirit be inviting you to discern what is truly yours to offer, and to whom? Share your reflection with us. 

We Conspire is a series from the Center for Action and Contemplation featuring wisdom and stories from the growing Christian contemplative movement. Sign up for the monthly email series and receive a free invitation to practice each month.