[Magdalen] Lottery tickets

[Grace Cangialosi]

That is shocking--and depressing.

When Virginia was debating the lottery 20-some years ago, all the main denominations came out against it. My daughter, who was in college, bought one ticket every week at the local 7-11. When I was visiting one weekend, she asked if I wanted one. I said I was afraid that if I bought a ticket, I'd win, and then I'd have to explain that to the Bishop!

Fast forward a couple of years. At a clergy day the bishop was telling us about buying some lottery tickets one evening when a man recognised him and asked if it wasn't true that the Episcopal Diocese had come out against the lottery. The bishop replied that if he won, he would tithe a portion of it!  I went up to him afterwards and said, "NOW you tell us!" Since then I think I've bought two or three tickets.

On February 13, 2016, at 6:37 PM, ME Michaud <michaudme at gmail.com> wrote:

Yup.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/05/lotteries-americas-70-billion-shame/392870/

On Saturday, February 13, 2016, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com> wrote:

> This morning I stopped at our local Sheetz for some coffee and noticed a
> new sign at the register. It was headed "Lottery Packs" and listed prices
> for packs of 100 tickets-- $1 tickets for $100, $2 tickets for $200...up to
> $5 tickets. I asked the young clerk if people actually buy them, and she
> said they'd just gotten them in, and she hadn't sold any yet, but that
> people have been asking for them. Absolutely blows my mind! Sheetz
> customers, by and large, are not particularly affluent. (But then, I don't
> know how folks can afford $50+ cartons of cigarettes, either...)