homepage
  roll on christmas  
click here to find out more about ship of fools click here to sign up for the ship of fools newsletter click here to support ship of fools
community the mystery worshipper gadgets for god caption competition foolishness features ship stuff
discussion boards live chat cafe avatars frequently-asked questions the ten commandments gallery private boards register for the boards
 
Ship of Fools


Post new thread  Post a reply
My profile login | | Directory | Search | FAQs | Board home
   - Printer-friendly view Next oldest thread   Next newest thread
» Ship of Fools   »   » Oblivion   » Offering in the plate versus direct debit. (Page 1)

 - Email this page to a friend or enemy.  
Pages in this thread: 1  2 
 
Source: (consider it) Thread: Offering in the plate versus direct debit.
Dennis the Menace
Shipmate
# 11833

 - Posted      Profile for Dennis the Menace   Email Dennis the Menace   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
I have been using direct debit for my weekly offering for the past 6 months as it is convenient and I had been away overseas for 7 weeks and didn't want to have to catch up. A week or two ago one member of our congregation stated in passing that the money given in this way has not been 'blessed' in the same way it should if it were placed in the plate on Sunday.

What are your thoughts?

--------------------
"Till we cast our crowns before Him; Lost in wonder, love, and praise."

Posts: 853 | From: Newcastle NSW Australia | Registered: Sep 2006  |  IP: Logged
churchgeek

Have candles, will pray
# 5557

 - Posted      Profile for churchgeek   Author's homepage   Email churchgeek   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
I'd say the money physically offered at the altar is blessed on behalf of all the money given to the church. If the church worried about this, they wouldn't give the option of direct payments!

--------------------
I reserve the right to change my mind.

My article on the Virgin of Vladimir

Posts: 7773 | From: Detroit | Registered: Feb 2004  |  IP: Logged
Sparrow
Shipmate
# 2458

 - Posted      Profile for Sparrow   Email Sparrow   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
So what? The insurance, gas, water, electricity companies etc who will be paid out of that money will not care if it is blessed or not!

--------------------
For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life,nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Posts: 3149 | From: Bottom right hand corner of the UK | Registered: Mar 2002  |  IP: Logged
ExclamationMark
Shipmate
# 14715

 - Posted      Profile for ExclamationMark   Email ExclamationMark   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis the Menace:
I have been using direct debit for my weekly offering for the past 6 months as it is convenient and I had been away overseas for 7 weeks and didn't want to have to catch up. A week or two ago one member of our congregation stated in passing that the money given in this way has not been 'blessed' in the same way it should if it were placed in the plate on Sunday.

What are your thoughts?

I pray for everything that's been given in the last week towards God's service. (That includes DD's too - God made them as well).

No issue here. [Smile]

[ 25. July 2015, 06:54: Message edited by: ExclamationMark ]

Posts: 3845 | From: A new Jerusalem | Registered: Apr 2009  |  IP: Logged
Palimpsest
Shipmate
# 16772

 - Posted      Profile for Palimpsest   Email Palimpsest   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
Does the same stickler for details count paper money? Does it have to be gold or silver to be blessed?
Posts: 2990 | From: Seattle WA. US | Registered: Nov 2011  |  IP: Logged
Dennis the Menace
Shipmate
# 11833

 - Posted      Profile for Dennis the Menace   Email Dennis the Menace   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Palimpsest:
Does the same stickler for details count paper money? Does it have to be gold or silver to be blessed?

Not sure. She tends to be a bit anal, was a happy clapper in her early years and seems to need to be involved with all activities, mostly self appointed!!

I have no problem with using DD, was her comment that prompted me to ask others.

--------------------
"Till we cast our crowns before Him; Lost in wonder, love, and praise."

Posts: 853 | From: Newcastle NSW Australia | Registered: Sep 2006  |  IP: Logged
Ariel
Shipmate
# 58

 - Posted      Profile for Ariel   Author's homepage     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis the Menace:
A week or two ago one member of our congregation stated in passing that the money given in this way has not been 'blessed' in the same way it should if it were placed in the plate on Sunday.

What are your thoughts?

Quite right. Nobody gets to see it, it's "virtual" money - just points of lights on a screen and units on a bank statement. But does it need to be blessed? It's a donation.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Schroedinger's cat

Ship's cool cat
# 64

 - Posted      Profile for Schroedinger's cat   Author's homepage     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
Most churches I have been involved in have had less than 10% of money "in the plate".

Maybe that explains something.

Actually, passing the plate is an aggressive and rather off-putting strategy (for newcomers). The symbolic offering of the plate is about acknowledging that all of the resources to run a church come from God's people, and giving thanks for them. I am sure, in the days when DDs were not thought of, the money that was given at times other than in the service was also blessed.

And passing the plate is, of course, not in the bible.

--------------------
Blog
Music for your enjoyment
Lord may all my hard times be healing times
take out this broken heart and renew my mind.

Posts: 18859 | From: At the bottom of a deep dark well. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
leo
Shipmate
# 1458

 - Posted      Profile for leo   Author's homepage   Email leo   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
One person in our church made a big fuss about the symbol of money being offered up together with the bread, wine and water.

As a result, someone had the idea of lamimnated little cards/tokens to be placed in the plate with the words 'I have given by standing order'.

I think it is daft.

--------------------
My Jewish-positive lectionary blog is at http://recognisingjewishrootsinthelectionary.wordpress.com/
My reviews at http://layreadersbookreviews.wordpress.com

Posts: 23198 | From: Bristol | Registered: Oct 2001  |  IP: Logged
Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984

 - Posted      Profile for Doublethink.   Author's homepage     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
Seems dumb, I think the plate is the problem - using a bag removes the opportunity for people to be tempted to judge others. Direct debit givers strongly concerned about the symbolism can always drop in a penny.

--------------------
All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell

Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005  |  IP: Logged
Moo

Ship's tough old bird
# 107

 - Posted      Profile for Moo   Email Moo   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
There is a teaching that says that things are blessed by being used for their intended purpose, (for God, of course).

Money given by DD is blessed when it is used to pay the light bill.

I like putting money in the plate because of what it symbolizes to me. I don't care what other people do.

Moo

--------------------
Kerygmania host
---------------------
See you later, alligator.

Posts: 20365 | From: Alleghany Mountains of Virginia | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
venbede
Shipmate
# 16669

 - Posted      Profile for venbede   Email venbede   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
One person in our church made a big fuss about the symbol of money being offered up together with the bread, wine and water.

As a result, someone had the idea of lamimnated little cards/tokens to be placed in the plate with the words 'I have given by standing order'.

I think it is daft.

That was advised at my last church by the diocese. They were never used.

--------------------
Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know,
Thro' the world we safely go.

Posts: 3201 | From: An historic market town nestling in the folds of Surrey's rolling North Downs, | Registered: Sep 2011  |  IP: Logged
Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356

 - Posted      Profile for Albertus     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
I like the idea of putting in a symbolic penny, if it really bothers you: but I don't think it matters.
Actually in the CofE at least the collection was not, originally, intended to be for the upkeep of the church (endowments were for that), but for alms. Of course, that's long gone.

--------------------
My beard is a testament to my masculinity and virility, and demonstrates that I am a real man. Trouble is, bits of quiche sometimes get caught in it.

Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008  |  IP: Logged
no prophet's flag is set so...

Proceed to see sea
# 15560

 - Posted      Profile for no prophet's flag is set so...   Author's homepage   Email no prophet's flag is set so...   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
Weekly donation in any form doesn't work for us. I give 2 lump sums per year. Weekly works if you're salaried. I think the point is to give at all.

--------------------
Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.
\_(ツ)_/

Posts: 11498 | From: Treaty 6 territory in the nonexistant Province of Buffalo, Canada ↄ⃝' | Registered: Mar 2010  |  IP: Logged
Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128

 - Posted      Profile for Baptist Trainfan   Email Baptist Trainfan   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
Some of our members who give by SO and DD feel so embarrassed when the offering bag comes round that they feel obliged to put in a little "something". We've told them that they needn't do so. (In fact, as we use bags rather than plates, there's nothing to stop them just pretending to put something in!)

When I served in West Africa, the offerings took ages because some people put in money and took change. One hopes that what they took out was less than what went in!

Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009  |  IP: Logged
Leorning Cniht
Shipmate
# 17564

 - Posted      Profile for Leorning Cniht   Email Leorning Cniht   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis the Menace:
A week or two ago one member of our congregation stated in passing that the money given in this way has not been 'blessed' in the same way it should if it were placed in the plate on Sunday.

If he or she is worried about the physical cash being blessed, that's not what the church spends - the church hands that cash to its bankers, where it passes back into general circulation, and writes cheques on its bank account.

My giving is automatic and monthly, and I don't feel the need to put a token in the plate when it passes.

Posts: 5026 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2013  |  IP: Logged
Japes

Shipmate
# 5358

 - Posted      Profile for Japes   Email Japes   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
I give by standing order and will continue to do so as long as I am an organist. I am otherwise occupied when the offertory is happening and most people in my church know better than to disrupt an organist at work...

--------------------
Blog may or may not be of any interest.

Posts: 2013 | From: Somewhere in the middle | Registered: Dec 2003  |  IP: Logged
cliffdweller
Shipmate
# 13338

 - Posted      Profile for cliffdweller     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Albertus:
I like the idea of putting in a symbolic penny, if it really bothers you: but I don't think it matters.

Judging by their groans when I present them with the piggy banks the kids have been using to raise $$ for world relief, I'm guessing it matters to the volunteers charged with counting and depositing the weekly proceeds...

--------------------
"Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid." -Frederick Buechner

Posts: 11242 | From: a small canyon overlooking the city | Registered: Jan 2008  |  IP: Logged
HCH
Shipmate
# 14313

 - Posted      Profile for HCH   Email HCH   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
Why pay any attention to such comments?
Posts: 1540 | From: Illinois, USA | Registered: Nov 2008  |  IP: Logged
Chorister

Completely Frocked
# 473

 - Posted      Profile for Chorister   Author's homepage     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
We've just had a stewardship drive and have been asked, if at all possible, to give by direct debit - for ease of administration and improved administration of Gift Aid. This means that the church ultimately gets more money without the individual needing to put more in. There was also an option to automatically link giving to inflation, if the donor wishes.

The scheme is called The Parish Giving Scheme, if anyone would like to read up about it. I understand it is being rolled out to CofE parishes a few at a time, with the intention that it will be available everywhere eventually.

--------------------
Retired, sitting back and watching others for a change.

Posts: 34626 | From: Cream Tealand | Registered: Jun 2001  |  IP: Logged
Lamb Chopped
Ship's kebab
# 5528

 - Posted      Profile for Lamb Chopped   Email Lamb Chopped   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Japes:
I give by standing order and will continue to do so as long as I am an organist. I am otherwise occupied when the offertory is happening and most people in my church know better than to disrupt an organist at work...

[Big Grin] [Devil]

--------------------
Er, this is what I've been up to (book).
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!

Posts: 20059 | From: off in left field somewhere | Registered: Feb 2004  |  IP: Logged
Heavenly Anarchist
Shipmate
# 13313

 - Posted      Profile for Heavenly Anarchist   Author's homepage     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
Our church no longer has a collection, as almost all donations are via DD and the collection baskets were virtually empty. We don't expect visitors to donate (and this was always stated when there were collections) so there seemed little point in continuing to have a collection. Being an independent church, we don't usually formally bless collections anyway, though sometimes thanksgiving prayers are said for special collections (which we can also DD for).

--------------------
'I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.' Douglas Adams
Dog Activity Monitor
My shop

Posts: 2831 | From: Trumpington | Registered: Jan 2008  |  IP: Logged
Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356

 - Posted      Profile for Albertus     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Chorister:
We've just had a stewardship drive and have been asked, if at all possible, to give by direct debit - for ease of administration and improved administration of Gift Aid. This means that the church ultimately gets more money without the individual needing to put more in. There was also an option to automatically link giving to inflation, if the donor wishes.

The scheme is called The Parish Giving Scheme, if anyone would like to read up about it. I understand it is being rolled out to CofE parishes a few at a time, with the intention that it will be available everywhere eventually.

We have something very similar here in Wales. It seems to work quite well: the Representative Body (i.e. provincial HQ) administers it for the whole province. I used it until my income dropped and, ceasing to be a taxpayer, I could no longer Gift Aid my donations.
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008  |  IP: Logged
Augustine the Aleut
Shipmate
# 1472

 - Posted      Profile for Augustine the Aleut     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
Some of our members who give by SO and DD feel so embarrassed when the offering bag comes round that they feel obliged to put in a little "something". We've told them that they needn't do so. (In fact, as we use bags rather than plates, there's nothing to stop them just pretending to put something in!)

When I served in West Africa, the offerings took ages because some people put in money and took change. One hopes that what they took out was less than what went in!

Not just in West Africa, in my student days at Trinity College Dublin in the 1970s, a prominent academic, who had just read the lesson, put in a pound note and took 50p out. While I kept a straight face during this, during the coffee hour I heard him complain to another Fellow that the problem with decimalization was that one could no longer just put a ten-shilling note on the plate.

A now-deceased Missourian of my acquaintance, a son of the manse, told me of once hearing a Holiness preacher who advised the congregation that he did not want to hear the devil's hooves jangling in the plate, just the gentle rustle of the angels' wings.

But to the OP: in Anglican outlets in Canada (and I have seen similar proceedings in UCC and Presbyterian franchises) the offerings get blessed in toto, and without reference to format. As my libertarian friends would say, it is all fiat money anyway, without intrinsic value (unless one is dropping gold coins on the plate). Many churches now have the plate at the entrance on a stand with the wine cruets and the bread box (forgotten the ecclesiastical name), and we are spared the change fumbling and plate passing during the service.

[ 25. July 2015, 21:47: Message edited by: Augustine the Aleut ]

Posts: 6236 | From: Ottawa, Canada | Registered: Oct 2001  |  IP: Logged
Cathscats
Shipmate
# 17827

 - Posted      Profile for Cathscats   Email Cathscats   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
I have never thought of an offertory prayer as "blessing" the gifts, actual or virtual. We tend to give thanks and ask God to help us use it for His kingdom.

--------------------
"...damp hands and theological doubts - the two always seem to go together..." (O. Douglas, "The Setons")

Posts: 176 | From: Central Highlands | Registered: Sep 2013  |  IP: Logged
Sober Preacher's Kid

Presbymethegationalist
# 12699

 - Posted      Profile for Sober Preacher's Kid   Email Sober Preacher's Kid   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
Pre-Authorized Remittance (as it is called in the UCCan) provides donors with a business card to put in the plate to say they made a PAR donation.

As my Anglican friends have informed me that the Anglicans and Presbyterians outsource their PAR plans to the UCCan (in other words, we rent out our clerks and send them the forms) I would trust the same facility is available in those shacks.

I have been called in to count the offering a few times (that church did it on Monday) and the actual revenue from the plate is quite small. It's donor cheques and PAR that haul the freight.

--------------------
NDP Federal Convention Ottawa 2018: A random assortment of Prots and Trots.

Posts: 7646 | From: Peterborough, Upper Canada | Registered: Jun 2007  |  IP: Logged
Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492

 - Posted      Profile for Sir Kevin   Author's homepage   Email Sir Kevin   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
If I don't write a cheque, I put a fiver in the plate at weekend masses. My parish does offer electronic contributions, but I think that is too impersonal and I like writing cheques as they have duplicates that I leave in the book so I always know how much I've donated!

--------------------
If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.

Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002  |  IP: Logged
seasick

...over the edge
# 48

 - Posted      Profile for seasick   Author's homepage     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by venbede:
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
One person in our church made a big fuss about the symbol of money being offered up together with the bread, wine and water.

As a result, someone had the idea of lamimnated little cards/tokens to be placed in the plate with the words 'I have given by standing order'.

I think it is daft.

That was advised at my last church by the diocese. They were never used.
We have those available for people who want them - they say "Please bless the gift I have given by standing order". There are some for whom it is important and it seems a relatively simple thing to do to help someone feel their gift is valued.

--------------------
We believe there is, and always was, in every Christian Church, ... an outward priesthood, ordained by Jesus Christ, and an outward sacrifice offered therein. - John Wesley

Posts: 5769 | From: A world of my own | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Galloping Granny
Shipmate
# 13814

 - Posted      Profile for Galloping Granny   Email Galloping Granny   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
Friends and fellows, most of whom give by DD, tend to put a gold coin into the offering bag as a symbolic gesture.
Or as a lesson for the kids, since one youngster (now an ordained clergyman) once told his mother he didn't see why he should put a coin in the offering when Mr X didn't 'and he's rich' (Mr X, a lawyer, was probably one of our more well-to-do members).

GG

--------------------
The Kingdom of Heaven is spread upon the earth, and men do not see it. Gospel of Thomas, 113

Posts: 2629 | From: Matarangi | Registered: Jun 2008  |  IP: Logged
Pigwidgeon

Ship's Owl
# 10192

 - Posted      Profile for Pigwidgeon   Author's homepage     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
Paying by check once a month works best for me. I do feel that using checks or direct debits is more secure -- loose cash has been known to "disappear" from collection plates before it has a chance to get to the bank at various churches.

--------------------
"...that is generally a matter for Pigwidgeon, several other consenting adults, a bottle of cheap Gin and the odd giraffe."
~Tortuf

Posts: 9835 | From: Hogwarts | Registered: Aug 2005  |  IP: Logged
cliffdweller
Shipmate
# 13338

 - Posted      Profile for cliffdweller     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by HCH:
Why pay any attention to such comments?

Assuming that's a response to my remark about the groans of volunteers who count the plate offerings/ kids collections upon being presented with piles of pennies... They really are rather light hearted, and that's all I meant to convey. They aren't asking us to stop having the kids save up their pennies and bring them in for world relief. Although to be fair, volunteers are volunteers-- we ought to honor and respect their time and effort as much as we do any other use of resources. Counting pennies is time-consuming for very little material benefit, so it bears considering whether it's a good use of their time. With the kids' banks for world relief, everyone (including our money-counters) have agreed it's worth the effort for the pedagogical benefit it has in teaching the kids about giving. The question here was whether the symbolic benefit of dropping a penny in the offering plate to represent your DD is similarly worth the effort of counting all those pennies.

Although upon reflection perhaps the pennies don't need to be counted, but instead could simply be scooped up and put in a bowl in the narthex in a sort of "give a penny/ take a penny" way to be used from week-to-week similar to the business cards others have suggested.

--------------------
"Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid." -Frederick Buechner

Posts: 11242 | From: a small canyon overlooking the city | Registered: Jan 2008  |  IP: Logged
The Intrepid Mrs S
Shipmate
# 17002

 - Posted      Profile for The Intrepid Mrs S   Email The Intrepid Mrs S   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
For the very first time, tonight I heard a visiting preacher bless the electronic donations as well as those actually in the plate, which made me wonder if he'd been reading this thread?!

Mrs. S, looking nervously over her shoulder [Eek!]

--------------------
Don't get your knickers in a twist over your advancing age. It achieves nothing and makes you walk funny.
Prayer should be our first recourse, not our last resort
'Lord, please give us patience. NOW!'

Posts: 1464 | From: Neither here nor there | Registered: Mar 2012  |  IP: Logged
Galloping Granny
Shipmate
# 13814

 - Posted      Profile for Galloping Granny   Email Galloping Granny   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
I was talking $2 coins rather than 'pennies'. But then, we're a small congregation with few children.

GG

--------------------
The Kingdom of Heaven is spread upon the earth, and men do not see it. Gospel of Thomas, 113

Posts: 2629 | From: Matarangi | Registered: Jun 2008  |  IP: Logged
Galloping Granny
Shipmate
# 13814

 - Posted      Profile for Galloping Granny   Email Galloping Granny   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
PS

And then, at the end of the tax year those whose giving is recorded get a receipt which, along with other charitable donations, entitles us to a 33% refund – and some of us immediately pass this on to church funds. As I make jellies to sell for Cristian World Service, I see the refund as covering the cost of sugar etc.

GG

--------------------
The Kingdom of Heaven is spread upon the earth, and men do not see it. Gospel of Thomas, 113

Posts: 2629 | From: Matarangi | Registered: Jun 2008  |  IP: Logged
la vie en rouge
Parisienne
# 10688

 - Posted      Profile for la vie en rouge     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
I usually write a cheque. They are still quite widely used here. It means there are no banking charges for me or the church, and the money can be traced back to me so I can offset it against tax. I don't give for the purpose of getting a tax break, but it is a nice plus. Cash can't be traced.
Posts: 3696 | Registered: Nov 2005  |  IP: Logged
Sipech
Shipmate
# 16870

 - Posted      Profile for Sipech   Author's homepage     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
I object to direct debits as then the person/church/company taking the funds has the control over it. I much prefer standing orders where I can say how much and when the payment is made. Cheques can be a pain as you never know when they'll be cashed.

I've done cash-counting a lot, but never been in charge of the church finances. As a chartered accountant, it causes me pain as to how ineptly our finances are handled. They have no understanding of the accruals principle, so record as income in one financial year the cash received as deposits for an event happening in the next financial year. [Waterworks]

--------------------
I try to be self-deprecating; I'm just not very good at it.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheAlethiophile

Posts: 3791 | From: On the corporate ladder | Registered: Jan 2012  |  IP: Logged
LeRoc

Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216

 - Posted      Profile for LeRoc     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
Change is often a problem in Brazilian shops. I admit that I sometimes use the collection plate to change a R$ 100 (€ 30) note [Hot and Hormonal]

--------------------
I know why God made the rhinoceros, it's because He couldn't see the rhinoceros, so He made the rhinoceros to be able to see it. (Clarice Lispector)

Posts: 9474 | From: Brazil / Africa | Registered: Aug 2002  |  IP: Logged
Twilight

Puddleglum's sister
# 2832

 - Posted      Profile for Twilight     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis the Menace:
one member of our congregation stated in passing that the money given in this way has not been 'blessed' in the same way it should if it were placed in the plate on Sunday.

What are your thoughts?

I think you should have told her that you were trying to follow Jesus' directive in Matthew 6, that says when you give, don't let the left hand know what the right hand is doing. DD is much closer to giving in secret than flopping a big bill in the plate.
Posts: 6817 | Registered: May 2002  |  IP: Logged
Jammy Dodger

Half jam, half biscuit
# 17872

 - Posted      Profile for Jammy Dodger   Email Jammy Dodger   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by The Intrepid Mrs S:
For the very first time, tonight I heard a visiting preacher bless the electronic donations as well as those actually in the plate, which made me wonder if he'd been reading this thread?!

Mrs. S, looking nervously over her shoulder [Eek!]

Yes I've heard someone in a service, during the offering, say something along the lines of: " and for all of you giving by standing order just pause for a moment and think of that money leaving your account - that is still your act of giving even if you haven't put something in the bag this morning"

That was a few months back so pretty sure they hadn't been reading this thread [Smile]

--------------------
Look at my eye twitching - Donkey from Shrek

Posts: 438 | From: UK | Registered: Oct 2013  |  IP: Logged
Lord Jestocost
Shipmate
# 12909

 - Posted      Profile for Lord Jestocost   Email Lord Jestocost   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by The Intrepid Mrs S:
For the very first time, tonight I heard a visiting preacher bless the electronic donations as well as those actually in the plate, which made me wonder if he'd been reading this thread?!

I was just thinking that it would surely only require a small extra line in the liturgy. "All things come from you and of your own do we give you, of your own does the church debit us directly, and of your own does the government reimburse us for tax paid where applicable."

You could then add a prayer to bless all the electromagnetic forces and sparkly little electrons that allow this to happen.

Posts: 761 | From: The Instrumentality of Man | Registered: Aug 2007  |  IP: Logged
leo
Shipmate
# 1458

 - Posted      Profile for leo   Author's homepage   Email leo   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
And a competition to set it to music for those of us who like to intone.

--------------------
My Jewish-positive lectionary blog is at http://recognisingjewishrootsinthelectionary.wordpress.com/
My reviews at http://layreadersbookreviews.wordpress.com

Posts: 23198 | From: Bristol | Registered: Oct 2001  |  IP: Logged
Og, King of Bashan

Ship's giant Amorite
# 9562

 - Posted      Profile for Og, King of Bashan     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
One person in our church made a big fuss about the symbol of money being offered up together with the bread, wine and water.

As a result, someone had the idea of lamimnated little cards/tokens to be placed in the plate with the words 'I have given by standing order'.

I think it is daft.

We have those. I hadn't thought of the blessing angle- I just thought it was so that others saw a show of support, or so the giver didn't worry that he looked like a cheapskate by letting the plate go by.

I would set up for direct debit, and in fact I have asked the stewardship committee multiple times to contact me, but I still haven't gotten a call. At least having offered, I don't feel bad if my pledge comes in a week late.

--------------------
"I like to eat crawfish and drink beer. That's despair?" ― Walker Percy

Posts: 3259 | From: Denver, Colorado, USA | Registered: May 2005  |  IP: Logged
Wet Kipper
Circus Runaway
# 1654

 - Posted      Profile for Wet Kipper   Email Wet Kipper   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
Are there churches that do actual Direct debit, where it's the church taking the money from your account,(after filling in a form) or are we all really meaning a Standing Order where we choose a regular amount to give?
Posts: 9841 | From: further up the Hill | Registered: Nov 2001  |  IP: Logged
Leorning Cniht
Shipmate
# 17564

 - Posted      Profile for Leorning Cniht   Email Leorning Cniht   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Wet Kipper:
Are there churches that do actual Direct debit, where it's the church taking the money from your account,(after filling in a form) or are we all really meaning a Standing Order where we choose a regular amount to give?

Our church encourages some kind of electronic withdrawal thing (can't remember what it's called - still don't fully understand US banking) where it's the church taking the money. I don't do that - I tell my bank to make an automatic monthly payment (ie. basically a standing order). In practice, this means that once a month, my bank prints out a check and mails it to the church.
Posts: 5026 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2013  |  IP: Logged
Og, King of Bashan

Ship's giant Amorite
# 9562

 - Posted      Profile for Og, King of Bashan     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Wet Kipper:
Are there churches that do actual Direct debit, where it's the church taking the money from your account,(after filling in a form) or are we all really meaning a Standing Order where we choose a regular amount to give?

I believe mine does the first, but as I said, despite multiple requests that they contact me to get set up with direct debit, I haven't heard anything, so I can't tell you for sure.

-Og, whose phone, electric, and water bill would be late every month but for the wonders of autopay.

--------------------
"I like to eat crawfish and drink beer. That's despair?" ― Walker Percy

Posts: 3259 | From: Denver, Colorado, USA | Registered: May 2005  |  IP: Logged
cliffdweller
Shipmate
# 13338

 - Posted      Profile for cliffdweller     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Galloping Granny:
I was talking $2 coins rather than 'pennies'. But then, we're a small congregation with few children.

GG

Albertus had earlier suggested a penny. But again, my comment was an offhand one, not intended to be taken so seriously. This ain't hell!

--------------------
"Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid." -Frederick Buechner

Posts: 11242 | From: a small canyon overlooking the city | Registered: Jan 2008  |  IP: Logged
Augustine the Aleut
Shipmate
# 1472

 - Posted      Profile for Augustine the Aleut     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Jestocost:
quote:
Originally posted by The Intrepid Mrs S:
For the very first time, tonight I heard a visiting preacher bless the electronic donations as well as those actually in the plate, which made me wonder if he'd been reading this thread?!

I was just thinking that it would surely only require a small extra line in the liturgy. "All things come from you and of your own do we give you, of your own does the church debit us directly, and of your own does the government reimburse us for tax paid where applicable."

You could then add a prayer to bless all the electromagnetic forces and sparkly little electrons that allow this to happen.

O Lord, we beseech thee mercifully to hear us; and guide us that we, to whom thou hast given an infinite number of pixels, may so direct them to assemble in godly order so as to support the ministries of thy Church; and by thy mighty aid be directed to your coffers and not to the treasuries of Nigerian princes, through....
Posts: 6236 | From: Ottawa, Canada | Registered: Oct 2001  |  IP: Logged
Banner Lady
Ship's Ensign
# 10505

 - Posted      Profile for Banner Lady   Email Banner Lady   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
It took me a long while to get over the feeling of not contributing properly when the offering plate went past without me putting anything into it.

This despite the fact that our household tithes, with the money going in a number of different charitable directions via electronic transfer, and I volunteer much of my time to church (not specifically parish) related activities.

I figure God knows what is going on, even if the sides people and clergy think I'm a bit of a freeloader. TP will always use the collection time to disappear to the loo. I'm sure that is noticed, too!

--------------------
Women in the church are not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be enjoyed.

Posts: 7080 | From: Canberra Australia | Registered: Oct 2005  |  IP: Logged
Dennis the Menace
Shipmate
# 11833

 - Posted      Profile for Dennis the Menace   Email Dennis the Menace   Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Wet Kipper:
Are there churches that do actual Direct debit, where it's the church taking the money from your account,(after filling in a form) or are we all really meaning a Standing Order where we choose a regular amount to give?

Sorry, my mistake. I meant standing order, that is what I use but our church will direct debit but it is a pain in the a.. to set up.

--------------------
"Till we cast our crowns before Him; Lost in wonder, love, and praise."

Posts: 853 | From: Newcastle NSW Australia | Registered: Sep 2006  |  IP: Logged
Mere Nick
Shipmate
# 11827

 - Posted      Profile for Mere Nick     Send new private message       Edit/delete post   Reply with quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis the Menace:
I have been using direct debit for my weekly offering for the past 6 months as it is convenient and I had been away overseas for 7 weeks and didn't want to have to catch up. A week or two ago one member of our congregation stated in passing that the money given in this way has not been 'blessed' in the same way it should if it were placed in the plate on Sunday.

What are your thoughts?

Show her the ending checking acct balance on the bank statement and ask her to state what percentage of the total consists of non-blessed money.

That person seems to be one who is on the prowl to find things to get all bent out of shape over.

--------------------
"Well that's it, boys. I've been redeemed. The preacher's done warshed away all my sins and transgressions. It's the straight and narrow from here on out, and heaven everlasting's my reward."
Delmar O'Donnell

Posts: 2797 | From: West Carolina | Registered: Sep 2006  |  IP: Logged



Pages in this thread: 1  2 
 
Post new thread  Post a reply Close thread   Feature thread   Move thread   Delete thread Next oldest thread   Next newest thread
 - Printer-friendly view
Go to:

Contact us | Ship of Fools | Privacy statement

© Ship of Fools 2016

Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM 6.5.0

 
follow ship of fools on twitter
buy your ship of fools postcards
sip of fools mugs from your favourite nautical website
 
 
  ship of fools