Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Church peeve
Give and it will come back to you,good measure pressed down,shaken together and running over.
How many times have you had that quote thrown at you especially when your church is on a fund raising drive?Yes,we know giving is an act of love and money is necessary to carry out God's work.But seriously,a lot of times the fund raising drives are a major source of irritation to me.I may have just booked a one way ticket to the hot place for that blasphemy but on the other hand I may get some points for honesty.
The church I attend is currently building a Church Hall which is supposed to house functions etc put on by the Church.The members are supposed to raise the bulk of the funds for its completion and so far it is pretty much behind schedule.Then,there is the problem of the pews with quite a number of them needing to be replaced.Once more the members are expected to pull their weight and come up with the necessary funds.So far so good. we have two projects to work on.
Easter sunday arrives and we notice the entrance to the church has been graded.We pay it no particular attention until the steward announces that it is yet another project for us to fund.By now the murmurs are increasing but it gets better when she announces the fascia boards need replacing as well.
Truthfully,I don't mind contributing but it is biting off to much at one time.It gets even more ridiculous when you consider that the vast majority of the members are unemployed(non pensionable) and a sizable portion are children and young adults of school age.So really it is a bit too ambitious to hope to pull off all these projects simultaneously.Don't forget there are also little other ongoing projects.Small wonder people have the impression that church is or can be a huge money making venture.
How many times have you had that quote thrown at you especially when your church is on a fund raising drive?Yes,we know giving is an act of love and money is necessary to carry out God's work.But seriously,a lot of times the fund raising drives are a major source of irritation to me.I may have just booked a one way ticket to the hot place for that blasphemy but on the other hand I may get some points for honesty.
The church I attend is currently building a Church Hall which is supposed to house functions etc put on by the Church.The members are supposed to raise the bulk of the funds for its completion and so far it is pretty much behind schedule.Then,there is the problem of the pews with quite a number of them needing to be replaced.Once more the members are expected to pull their weight and come up with the necessary funds.So far so good. we have two projects to work on.
Easter sunday arrives and we notice the entrance to the church has been graded.We pay it no particular attention until the steward announces that it is yet another project for us to fund.By now the murmurs are increasing but it gets better when she announces the fascia boards need replacing as well.
Truthfully,I don't mind contributing but it is biting off to much at one time.It gets even more ridiculous when you consider that the vast majority of the members are unemployed(non pensionable) and a sizable portion are children and young adults of school age.So really it is a bit too ambitious to hope to pull off all these projects simultaneously.Don't forget there are also little other ongoing projects.Small wonder people have the impression that church is or can be a huge money making venture.
# posted by Abeni @ 11:12 AM 
Comments:
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think you somehow copied the post twice
but as to what you say churches have to like the rest of us live within their means. is all right to want to improve but realize the limitations of your congregation. you want to put everybody in the poorhouse? cuhdear!
either that or the church should be trying to increase its base alot so that it has more congregation to get money from
but as to what you say churches have to like the rest of us live within their means. is all right to want to improve but realize the limitations of your congregation. you want to put everybody in the poorhouse? cuhdear!
either that or the church should be trying to increase its base alot so that it has more congregation to get money from
Sometimes the church hides between the "religious purpose" of the activity when demanding gratutious funds. Jdid is right though... they need to live within their means too. If it's for the benefit of the congregation, and they are not able to fund the activity, then pause the activity until sufficent funds can be gathered.
In my humble opinion.
In my humble opinion.
I know exactly what you mean. My church started a fundraising project years ago called "Vision '98". It's 2006 and I have yet to see the vision. LOL.
Doc,I did and they told me give and it will come back to you-the lord likes a cheerful giver and all that:)
I don't know why you are worrying? Give Pastor the same thing you would give him if there weren't any fund raising drives on and let Pastor go find the rest where he can. If he takes you on personally about how your contributions are too small, tell him that gas gone up, light bill gone up, rent gone up, prices gone up and pretty church can't feed you.
Good post. I think a church's main objective should be to understand where their congregation stands in terms of money, etc. If they have a congregation of people who cannot pay large funds for things often, they could make better arrangements. If someone can give a ton of money every week and does it then that is noble. But if another person can't afford to make such gestures all the time, I think the church should probably take that into consideration. Especially if some think that the " church " is making them feel uncomfortable or guilty if they can't give. Some people can shove out money every time the church needs it, others can't. Like I said, churches should look at their members individually. Celebrate the ones that can give but don't chastize the ones who can't. I believe people try to give to their church for whatever reason when they can. If they haven't lately, it may just be a bad time for them. Once again, good post! Hope you are doing okay!
In The Light
In The Light
Hi Abeni!
Thanks for your blog... too bad that the church leadership is out of touch with the reality of the people; too bad. A sign of bad leadership! I am a pastor myself. I am a little surprised with some of the comments that there is always this "money" issue in the church. For example: I work harder and more hours than any one of the members and have a salary less than most... My wife and I also give generously whenever it is needed...we want to be an example that way as leaders. We work and give to God (first of all)keep that in mind... Not to people. Hope that you will be able to look at God first and foremost. Wish you all the best!
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Thanks for your blog... too bad that the church leadership is out of touch with the reality of the people; too bad. A sign of bad leadership! I am a pastor myself. I am a little surprised with some of the comments that there is always this "money" issue in the church. For example: I work harder and more hours than any one of the members and have a salary less than most... My wife and I also give generously whenever it is needed...we want to be an example that way as leaders. We work and give to God (first of all)keep that in mind... Not to people. Hope that you will be able to look at God first and foremost. Wish you all the best!
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