Thread

Agreed, narthex acceptable but not entering the church

100% Neither of the parishes I attend participate in this. Antiochian**

We stopped during C19 for “reasons,” and never did it again after that. It made no difference.

Agreed. When do you think it should be done, and how to do it anonymously?

Made no difference in what sense? And may I ask how you accept donations now? This seems like a perfect use case for Bitcoin and Lightning.

I'm not sure there needs to be a specific time set aside for it. Just have an easy way to donate small and/or large payments that's always available. People can be reminded of this in appropriate settings: casual gatherings, newsletters, etc. Bitcoin and Lightning would serve this need well. That's not necessarily going to be 100% anonymous, but I think it's close enough.

The Antiochian parish I go to does it. The OCA parish I go to doesn't. I'm currently in the process of deciding which one will become home and this will certainly affect my decision.

Yes. Some sort of collection box in the narthex seems acceptable.

At this point any church likely has an online giving portal that can do auto-tithes. If you pass on the in-person collection, I think most can assume you’ve given online, not that it matters what our fellow sinners are thinking. I believe the offering is gathered during the liturgy as a real offering of our sacrifice.

So you don't see it as clashing with Jesus' teaching from Matthew 6:3?

We put the plates by the door. We already did digital and ACH. But those both picked up the slack and the net change was negligible in giving. I’m in a rural area that isn’t tech savvy. QR codes confuse our people.

Glad to hear it all evened out! And yeah, I hear ya. Probably wouldn't be a good idea to have Bitcoin and Lightning as the only options, but surely it wouldn't hurt to be one of them? Unless your people think there's something inherently evil about QR codes (I've heard some stories). It also strikes me as strange that parishes are so casually using paper money emblazoned with luciferian imagery inside the house of the Lord.

I pass the collection basket around at my Church. I've done it for years. I was on our parish ministry council for years. I've never heard of one person complain about feeling bad they were unable to give at that time. I've never heard of one person feel left out for this reason. Nobody can see how much you put in, only if you put anything in. Do you think the same criticism you have couldn't apply to a offering basket at the entrance? If you are very concerned about other people, you could watch and see who does and does not give. Giving is also not totally anonymous. There is a basic commitment to give you fill out at my Church to become a member. Obviously you can give more than that, or less if you can't. But it is a named commitment. It can also serve as a reminder for other people to give. It gives children a chance to give and participate in the service. My Church, until a recent surge in attendance, struggled with finances off and on. If we made even less of an effort to make opportunities for people to give our situation may have been even worse. Do you feel the same way about a special offerings taken at the end of liturgy? Or only the one in the middle? It is a fair point you make, but I disagree.

I don’t. I see that teaching to be about other giving, not liturgical sacrifice. Also physical offerings (cash and checks) are encouraged to be placed in envelopes to avoid this issue I believe.

Fair enough. I'll give this some more thought, then. And I definitely like the idea of envelopes. They don't do that at the parish I've been visiting.

Well, people often keep these sorts of thoughts private, so just because you've never heard someone voice the thought, it doesn't mean they haven't had it. The Antiochian parish I've been visiting passes around an open basket, so the notes are on full display. There's obviously different levels to this. Varying degrees of tastelessness in my mind. An offering basket at the entrance is nowhere near as bad (it doesn't interrupt the sacredness of the service); an offering basket passed around once the proceedings conclude is also not as bad (again, the sacredness of the service is preserved), but I still think there are better ways. The OCA parish I've been visiting doesn't do either and seems to be thriving. Why does your parish insist on attaching your name to payments? Does it not trust you to do the right thing without surveillance? As I said, I'm quite keen to tithe as soon as I settle on a parish I can call home. But ironically, the parish that's being more pushy with the tithing is likely the one I'll turn away from. I'm inclined to give more generously when not prompted to do so.

Hmm, from my experience people have not been slow to voice complaints about how much the meals at fundraisers cost, or other such things. The mode of giving has never come up though. I also attend an Antiochian parish, and if it's easy to see what everyone gives then maybe that isn't as covert as it should be. Ours is a basket, not a plate, and nobody can see what you put in besides the person holding the basket. I think you do have a point on "interrupting" the service to some degree. It's not something I had ever put much thought into, probably because I've never heard anyone complain about it as I said. I'm sure there are better ways and my parish has always been open to adjusting how we do fundraisers and other such giving events. We do not attach names to all payments, only for the basic giving commitments formal members have made. This is a spiritual matter as much as it is a financial one, and our priest leads by example every time and gives as much or more than anyone else. Surveillance is not the right word to use, but being a visible member of the community is valuable. I do understand privacy concerns though, (especially in this world). Being pushy certainly isn't the goal, and it is not something I've seen come up as an issue so your point surprised me a bit. I don't think my parish is married to taking collections in the middle of service and would be open to change if there was a need, but we haven't seen the need ourselves. Also, concerning the verse you quoted in your original post, I don't think it is as much about giving in secret as it is about not being prideful in what you give. Giving secretly can also be useful, especially if it is an amount that could easily lead to pride. Pretty much every large donation that has ever happened at my Church has been done anonymously for this reason. It's a balance!