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My heart aches for this woman. I'm sure this definitely will affect her family on how it views this church. I hope she has a big family that attends this hypocrite of a pastor and they all quit attending his church. He obviously doesn't follow the teachings of Christ, therefore isn't really a Christian. I can't begin to imagine how she must feel. At her age, this disgusting act might kill her.
I quit going to church 25 years ago because my Mother was very active in the church and ALWAYS was one to visit the sick. She had what she thought were many good friends through the church. When she got sick with cancer, they turned their backs on her & hurt her deeply. Phony Christians that I chose not to be a part of.
A poster said the Catholic church wouldn't do that. The Catholic church used to shame people by printing monthly what every parishioner gave financially.
This makes me sick. This church doesn't even deserve the name.
But, the knee jerk reaction of some who claim ALL churches behave this way and demand money from their members is incorrect. I and my family attended the same church for about 20 years. Once a year, there was a mailing sent to every member soliciting an annual pledge. We never returned it and never pledged a dime. And yet we suffered no consequences, felt no pressure and were never solicited by any means other than the mailing the next year. I can think of dozens of non profits we've donated to over the years who call or send us letters asking for money 3-4 times a year or more. And don't even get me started on Time Warner Cable who sends me at least 1 letter per week trying to win me back as a customer.
Some churches are respectful and welcoming to even those who prefer to not contribute financially. And some are as disgraceful as the one in the story.
Let’s say that your religion considers one day a year to be especially holy. On that day, people complete a 10-day period of self-examination and making amends. Meanwhile, God decides what is in store for the coming year. Members of the community — even many who rarely attend services — gather to chant special prayers.
Now imagine that, to be there on that day, you have to pay hundreds of dollars.
That is the situation faced by millions of American Jews every Yom Kippur. At most synagogues, to attend services on that holiday, which this year ends Saturday night, one must have paid annual dues or have bought special tickets. The fees also cover tickets for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, which was last week.
While nearly all congregations offer discounts or free tickets based on need, the regular ticket price can prompt sticker shock. To take an extreme example, Temple Emanu-El, on East 65th Street in Manhattan, charges $2,970 for the best seats, which includes annual membership.
Church I went to was the same. Even though they didn't kick people out for not "tithing", they sure did preach a lot about it, begging us for $$$ all the time. Morning and night.
During Christmas season, that's when everyone started asking question when the pastor was asking for so much.
This is what happen on that Sunday
1) Church pass the plates around for the normal tithing. Nothing wrong.
2) Another plate was passed for "Jesus Birthday". LOL WTF?
3) One last plate was passed to help the church pay for Landscaping Maintenance. WTF!
Um, no, but I'm sorry that you had that experience. The small churches that barely survive financially but don't care because that's not what they're about just don't make the news.
Yup, one's relationship with God have nothing to do with these corrupt human organizations. Religions have been nothing but a hind-bound drag to human progress. God is great, but organized religion is nothing but a sophisticated scheme to fool the ignorant.
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