{"id":1077,"date":"2009-02-08T06:13:00","date_gmt":"2009-02-08T06:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/churches-report-drop-in-sunday-collections.html"},"modified":"2009-02-08T06:13:00","modified_gmt":"2009-02-08T06:13:00","slug":"churches-report-drop-in-sunday-collections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/churches-report-drop-in-sunday-collections.html","title":{"rendered":"Churches report drop in Sunday collections"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The economic downturn is hitting some churches in their most sensitive area: the collection plate.<\/p>\n

From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel<\/a>: <\/p>\n

For weeks now, Matt McCarron has been unable to muster the strength to go to Sunday Mass.<\/p>\n

A lifelong Catholic, he’s often found solace in prayer. And though young, he tries to give faithfully for the needs of the church, $20 a week when he was employed full time.<\/p>\n

McCarron, 19, lost his job as a machinist last month and is back at the pizza joint where he worked in high school. He moved in with his parents to save money.<\/p>\n

“I just feel let down,” said McCarron, who’d prayed that God would spare his job and is embarrassed that he can’t support the church the way he’d like. “I’m not sure I can afford even $5. I hate that feeling.”<\/p>\n

Like McCarron, many people of faith are struggling, spiritually and financially, as the economy continues to unravel.<\/p>\n

Across the religious spectrum, many congregations and faith organizations in southeastern Wisconsin say giving is flat or down, at a time when the need for services, from food and clothing pantries to housing assistance and spiritual counseling, is skyrocketing.<\/p>\n

Few are immune.<\/p>\n

\u2022 ?Lakeland Baptist Association, which represents 40 churches in seven counties, saw its member contributions drop 15% in 2008, one of the worst years in the past seven, said executive director Keith Cogburn. The American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin saw contributions from its 60 churches fall 5%, executive minister Arlo Reichter said.<\/p>\n

\u2022 ?Donations fell 6% last year in the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, with 138 congregations in seven counties, said finance director Dave Groenewold. One-third of the congregations have said they’ll have to cut their 2009 commitments.<\/p>\n

\u2022 ?The Milwaukee Jewish Federation is projecting a roughly 10% drop in its $8?million Jewish Community Foundation drive, which funds congregations and numerous programs across the community, said Federation executive vice president Rick Meyer. One synagogue reported a 40% drop in its own fund drive, Meyer said.<\/p>\n

\u2022 ?Within the Muslim community, giving dropped 1% at the Islamic Society of Milwaukee in 2008, from a record year in 2007, according to executive director Isa Sadlon. But at the Islamic Da’wa Center on the city’s north side, donations have fallen as much as 40% in six months, said administrator Will Perry.<\/p>\n

\u2022 ?The Archdiocese of Milwaukee said it can’t quantify a decline in the middle of its fiscal year, but the Archdiocese’s annual operating fund drive fell 1.4% in 2008, said finance officer John Marek. Anecdotally, individual churches say giving is way off.<\/p>\n

“I’m sure the hardest hit are in the central city, but it doesn’t exempt us at all,” said Father John Yockey of St. Jerome Catholic Church in Oconomowoc, where a drop in weekly donations has left the church $65,000 in the red.<\/p>\n

“More people have lost their jobs .?.?. some with no advanced warning,” he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Continue at the link<\/a> for the rest.<\/p>\n

Meantime, it seems that more women who find themselves in dire economic circumstances are turning to a modern solution: egg donation<\/a>. <\/p>\n

PHOTO:<\/b> by Tom Lynn<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The economic downturn is hitting some churches in their most sensitive area: the collection plate. From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: For weeks now, Matt McCarron has been unable to muster the strength to go to Sunday Mass. A lifelong Catholic, he’s often found solace in prayer. And though young, he tries to give faithfully for the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ripped-from-the-headlines","category-the-people-in-the-pews"],"yoast_head":"\nChurches report drop in Sunday collections - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/churches-report-drop-in-sunday-collections.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Churches report drop in Sunday collections - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The economic downturn is hitting some churches in their most sensitive area: the collection plate. From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: For weeks now, Matt McCarron has been unable to muster the strength to go to Sunday Mass. A lifelong Catholic, he’s often found solace in prayer. And though young, he tries to give faithfully for the…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/churches-report-drop-in-sunday-collections.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-02-08T06:13:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_0DySLTT4PWo\/SY6_HjOdTZI\/AAAAAAAAFFU\/1Zk_TcfGdAo\/s400\/churchecon07p1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"deacon greg kandra\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Churches report drop in Sunday collections - The Deacon's Bench","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/churches-report-drop-in-sunday-collections.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Churches report drop in Sunday collections - The Deacon's Bench","og_description":"The economic downturn is hitting some churches in their most sensitive area: the collection plate. From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: For weeks now, Matt McCarron has been unable to muster the strength to go to Sunday Mass. A lifelong Catholic, he’s often found solace in prayer. And though young, he tries to give faithfully for the…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/churches-report-drop-in-sunday-collections.html","og_site_name":"The Deacon's Bench","article_published_time":"2009-02-08T06:13:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_0DySLTT4PWo\/SY6_HjOdTZI\/AAAAAAAAFFU\/1Zk_TcfGdAo\/s400\/churchecon07p1.jpg"}],"author":"deacon greg kandra","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/churches-report-drop-in-sunday-collections.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/churches-report-drop-in-sunday-collections.html","name":"Churches report drop in Sunday collections - The Deacon's Bench","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/churches-report-drop-in-sunday-collections.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/churches-report-drop-in-sunday-collections.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_0DySLTT4PWo\/SY6_HjOdTZI\/AAAAAAAAFFU\/1Zk_TcfGdAo\/s400\/churchecon07p1.jpg","datePublished":"2009-02-08T06:13:00+00:00","dateModified":"2009-02-08T06:13:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/052b8cd86cc713feaccdc8282b03cf10"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/churches-report-drop-in-sunday-collections.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/churches-report-drop-in-sunday-collections.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/churches-report-drop-in-sunday-collections.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_0DySLTT4PWo\/SY6_HjOdTZI\/AAAAAAAAFFU\/1Zk_TcfGdAo\/s400\/churchecon07p1.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_0DySLTT4PWo\/SY6_HjOdTZI\/AAAAAAAAFFU\/1Zk_TcfGdAo\/s400\/churchecon07p1.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/02\/churches-report-drop-in-sunday-collections.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Churches report drop in Sunday collections"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/","name":"The Deacon's Bench","description":"Where a Roman Catholic Deacon Ponders the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/052b8cd86cc713feaccdc8282b03cf10","name":"deacon greg kandra","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/a4e\/a4e07ce6fde3f10d4d9753243fd48d45x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/a4e\/a4e07ce6fde3f10d4d9753243fd48d45x96.jpg","caption":"deacon greg kandra"},"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/author\/deacon-greg-kandra"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/365"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1077\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}