From: stabosz@chopin.udel.edu (Rae Stabosz)
Subject: Re: contributions
Organization: University of Delaware
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1993 13:51:49 GMT

In article <9301021935.AA21135@courant.SLAC.Stanford.EDU> J Scott Berg <ALHY@SLAC.STANFORD.EDU> writes:

>I personally find these sorts of practices objectionable.  It seems to
>go directly against the principle that you should not give based on
>the benefits/praise that you expect to get from those around you.
>Jesus seems to spend a lot of time picking on the Pharasees because
>they do things that are inherently good for the praise that they will
>get from those who see them doing it.
>
>I always expected that if I write a check and put it in the collection
>basket, somebody just stamps that back with an endorsement and
>deposits it.  I would just assume that the parish council, my pastor,
>and anyone else had no idea how much I gave.  I don't want the way
>they treat me to be based upon how much I donate.  I want to donate
>out of love of God and concern for the Church and others, not based
>upon how I am treated or what I expect to get back from the Church.
>
>                                -Scott Berg
>
****

Just so Scott doesn't think he's alone out there with that "unrealistic"
notion, I'll mention that my husband feels exactly the same way.  He
puts in cash; I put in checks.  Neither of us uses the envelopes, but
I put the checks in so that a) I can take it off my taxes and b) if I
ever need to "prove" that my family contributes to the parish, there is
a record.

Eighteen years ago, when our oldest child was ready to enter first
grade, we had an interview with the pastor in order to determine if
our child could be admitted to the parish school.  The amount of our
contributions was the only point I remember in the interview.  Our
pastor was happy to see a record of steady contributions, and noted to
us that "it was in the bag" for us, because we were obviously serious
members of the parish.  He said, shaking his head, that he hated to
see all the people come and ask him to admit their kids to school when
they couldn't show any level of support for the parish.

We wound up not putting the kids in the parish school, not for that
reason but for others.  This year, we've decided that we've had it
with public schools and are looking for good Catholic schools to send
the kids to.  I thought of my parish's school and was immediately sorry
that I'd have only 1/2 of what our family contributes to show, only
the part that appears from my checks.  I figured I could cop a plea
and explain my husband's practice, and hope.  But in the end we 
decided against the parish school anyway, it's not our first or second
choice.  

My husband is really fierce about what Jesus says about not letting the
left hand know what the right hand is doing.  Once our diocese had one
of those special collections that some professional fundraiser had
obviously been hired to advertise, because they sent fancy brochures
with those cute little names for people who gave to various degrees.
The fancy names started with contributions of $100 -- then you were
in the Circle of Angels or something like that.  My husband sent them
a check for $99.  (No editorial comment on that, this is just a
demonstration of his irascible nature when it comes to so much of what
the institutional Church does to keep itself going.)

I think, actually, that he and Scott have the right idea about these
things, even though contributing to the support of the Church is one
of its laws.  I wish the pastors and bishops would preach more about
this so that people would be _willing_ to give, rather than being
coy, or cute, or hat-in-hand sheepish when it came to asking us to
contribute.  I don't know what it is that keeps many people from
doing their fair share, but I think there's got to be better ways
of alerting us all to our responsibility than the ways I see.

I do, though, like the idea of "no questions asked" if someone who is
a regular contributor comes asking for financial help from the parish.
It's not that I think that people asking for help ought to be grilled
at length, but that of course some wisdom must be shown in how money is
given out, when resources are so limited.  What I like about "no
questions asked" is that it assumes something like a partnership --
that a regular contributor is as invested in the parish finances as a
partner is in a firm, and the money asked for in time of need will
presumably be returned and more when the financial need is over.

I guess those are sort of contradictory notions.  I dunno.  I still
marvel that those old, beautiful city churches were built by folks
who had much more limited resources than most of us have.

Rae

Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU