[Magdalen] Please pray for Ascension, Chicago

[Grace Cangialosi]

This raises a question for me that I'd like to put to the pub.
How many of you who are clergy know the amounts of your parisioners'
pledges? My home parish rector was adamant that it was not a good idea to
know them, and he didn't.  I followed the same policy when I was vicar.  I
knew who pledged, and I had a list of pledge amounts, but not matched up.
That was a small mountain parish, and I was amused the first time I got the
list of pledges to discover that most of them were for $52!  They'd always
put a dollar in the plate since they were kids there; that's what you did.
There were, of course, a few larger ones. And 100% of households pledged!
But I saw the wisdom in my former rector's position when I accidentally saw
the pledge amount of a couple in the parish.  They were one of the better
off couples, and their pledge was very small.  And I did find that I felt
resentful about that later on, and it colored the way I viewed them, even
though I knew it shouldn't.

On Sat, Jan 17, 2015 at 7:07 PM, Scott Knitter <scottknitter at gmail.com>
wrote:

> On Sat, Jan 17, 2015 at 5:50 PM, Marion Thompson
> <marionwhitevale at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I deplore that people leave a place for reasons like staff changes. Is
> not
> > God still there?  Can't people focus on that?
>
> One parishioner sent me a draft of his "resignation" letter, which
> recounted his 30 years of service, generous contributions, and gave
> the amount of the large bequest he intended to make. My response was
> that this letter is obviously from the heart and I can't possibly
> suggest any changes, and I hated that he felt he has to leave. But I
> personally won't miss his constant dramatics and self-promotion, and
> his habit of raising up his own presence as more important in the
> parish than anyone else's. He's a grand, talented, passionate,
> faithful guy, but I'd really rather not know what someone's monetary
> giving amounts to, especially when it's used as a threat (that it'll
> be taken away) or a self-glorification (realize how much I've given).
> Give, yes. But with one hand only (so the other doesn't know, let
> alone any other parishioner knowing).
>
> God is still there and is still in charge. One can stay there and
> worship even while dealing with anger at the rector over firing a
> friend.
>
>
> --
> Scott R. Knitter
> Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA
>



-- 
Grace Cangialosi
Ruckersville, VA

It's a good thing Mary didn't have to wait for a Doctrine of the
Incarnation
before she said "Yes" to God.