CCD Program is Expensive!

[CilladeRoma]

One should not be forced but it happens often.
I have a few friends who belong to churches where it is “expected” to tithe 10% of your gross income. Period.
Part of being a member is agreeing to share financial information and paying that 10%.
When churches are autonomous, like most Protestant fellowships that practice this, this is how they keep their churches going.

As someone who is a collection counter, I see the lack of support given first hand. It’s sad.

 

[Vico]

…

I read on Quora, from a post of a teacher David Arthur, that charges are because the archdiocese or the monks and nuns that run the program, require to pay their bills for running a school which is a non-profit business.

 

[ShrodingersCat]

A lot of people have other charities that they like to give to. Or donate online if the parish offers that. Or maybe give to the missions. If people don’t volunteer for a parish it’s often hard to see why the parish needs the money more than the third world.

 

[CilladeRoma]

That’s the point.
People in my area have a fit if we ask them for a “reasonable” fee for Faith formation. In my parish, for Confirmation, we asked for $35 from each family. That was to help with books and towards the required day long retreat. People complained. It should come out of the parish budget, they said.
So the parish looked at the budget, and the only way to do that was to eliminate 2 part-time positions, a maintenance person and an office support person. Now they complain that the grounds are not upkept they way they should be and it takes too long to get sacramental records or letters of good standing for sponsors etc, because the person who did that was let go.
Whether we like it or not, our parishes need our support, or we will not have them.

 

[lilypadrees]

I have a few friends who belong to churches where it is “expected” to tithe 10% of your gross income. Period.
Part of being a member is agreeing to share

Do you know which denominations do this? I guess things have changed over the years because we were never asked or expected to show our financial statements in any of the Protestant churches we went to after moving here. The pastors would speak of everyone giving 10% of our income, of course. But they never demanded proof of income to make sure each person or family was giving that 10%. It was always “Give what you can.”

Please note that I don’t have a problem with any church asking its members to give. I highly encourage giving. It’s the forced showing of one’s private financial statements that I find abhorrent. Unless proof of income is needed for enrolling a child in (and attending) that church’s school or something like that, I don’t see the reason behind demanding members show their income.

 

[lilypadrees]

Our parish has online giving as well as envelopes which can be mailed to those who request them. And of course, the two weekly collection plates, one for the parish and the other for that week’s parish supported charity.

Now that it’s Spring, Father will be on his riding mower having fun with the lawns. I admit to wishing he’d pop a wheelie with it. But that wouldn’t be a proper thing for a priest to do.

 

[blackforest]

I admit to wishing he’d pop a wheelie with it. But that wouldn’t be a proper thing for a priest to do.

Says who? Who says priests (and priests to be) can’t have any fun?

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[TheLittleLady]

From my experience with Mormon friends, the reason for the visit is that your local leaders will sit down and go over your budget. Help you determine where expenses can be cut and where extra income can be made.

Inside the (is it ward or stake, I cannot remember, but like a parish) there are business owners who will hire other parishioners who need jobs.

It is more mentoring than “pay up”.

 

[CilladeRoma]

We do on-line giving as well.
We are still almost $40K in the red for the fiscal year, which ends June 30.
We are also looking at a $15k shortfall for the diocesan ministry appeal, that we will have to make up any shortfall. So we are really $55k in the red.

If we do not find a way to come up with this money, not only will we lose staff, we are going to lose programs too. Many people are already grumbling about it, but very few have come up with any concrete ideas to raise funds or volunteer their services to help at least maintain the “status quo”.

Regarding the tithing- most of my friends who talk of this belong to evangelical, non-demonination Churches, whose only support comes from members. Also my COGIC and some Southern Baptists. It all depends on the Church and the Pastor.

 

[twf]

Yes Catholics get up in arms when the “t” word is mentioned. Even here on CAF you’ll get a flurry of posts that say “tithing isn’t Catholic!”
Actually, it is. Current canon law does not require it, but at various points in history tithing was mandatory - the Church has that power (the power to bind and to loose). Current Church law still requires us to give according to our means. I’ve often heard is suggested that, if you can, give 5% to the local parish and 5% to other charities.

 

[prayerrider]

They also told me they are cheaper than some other parishes in the area and they can put me on a payment plan…gosh, I feel like I am dealing with a car dealership! LOL

Make sure you get the floor mats!

 

[Joe_5859]

Unless they are feeding a meal every week or running a bus to and from class, this cost is completely off the chart

Indeed! Or perhaps if they were leasing classroom space from some other entity for the CCD program. Otherwise, I can only think the fees are going to pay the DRE’s salary.

We charge $50 per kid and I feel like that is high. But that was the fee when I got here and the fee has been the same for the past 20 years at least. And we do give the catechists a modest stipend (something like $150 for the year). I cannot imagine charging hundreds of dollars.

I would certainly look for an explanation as to why the cost is so high. And I wouldn’t be afraid to ask for financial help. At my parish, if anyone asks for a scholarship, it is pretty much given, no questions asked.

 

[Horton]

This is what your Mormon friends will tell you, but it is more of a “pay up”. They have an expectation that all Mormons pay 10% of their income to the church.

Sure they will help you find a job, because with a job you can pay your 10%.

 

[lilypadrees]

Ahhh. Thank you for explaining.

 

[Gingersnaps4]

Wow that is pricy! This is horrible, as it puts faith formation out of reach of so many young souls! I would definitely try to get to the bottom of it. I cannot begin to imagine what kind of materials you would be using to justify such a cost. At my parish faith formation is free and the kids even get an age appropriate bible. Catechists are adult volunteers, but the Director of RE is paid. I’m a catechist and fully half of my student’s parents are immigrants that can hardly speak English. Our program would be so empty if we had fees like that. Maybe you could suggest a parish or even diocesan fundraiser to help fund the programs in your area. It’s frankly ridiculous to expect everyone to be able to pay that much!

 

[Phemie]

Are you in my parish??

Oh, I guess not, we didn’t have any positions to even consider eliminating.

 

[angel12]

They arent happy with me for questioning it either.

If you talk to the priest, he needs to know this. Mine would vibe very unhappy with them.

 

[babochka]

Are you in my parish??

Oh, I guess not, we didn’t have any positions to even consider eliminating.

That’s like my parish. We’ve never had an employee other than the priest in the history of our existence and on a couple of occasions our priests have donated their salaries back.

 

[blackforest]

Until recently, (we moved), I was attending the second largest parish in our state, complete with plenty of paid staff positions. As I stated earlier, our R.E. program was completely free to parishioners, as was the case for all area parishes. I’m not sure where the funding was coming from, but it must have been from the Diocese.

 

[Phemie]

Phemie:

Are you in my parish??

Oh, I guess not, we didn’t have any positions to even consider eliminating.

That’s like my parish. We’ve never had an employee other than the priest in the history of our existence and on a couple of occasions our priests have donated their salaries back.

I was the paid, part-time secretary for 13 years. I resigned in 2011 to take a job with a performing arts venue, after giving them 6 months notice so they could find a replacement. They never even bothered to look for one and I eventually understood why. About a year after I quit, the religious order that had been serving our diocese for decades (and whose priests at that point were being paid a $1000/mo stipend + room & board) decided to leave the diocese. Obviously that decision had been in the works for a while. The salary for a priest doubled and what money had been available for a secretary evaporated.

Obviously the parishioners didn’t know that was in the works so, when I left, a retired teacher volunteered to do stuff until they found someone else. Big mistake! Now they treat her as if she’s a full-time paid staff with nary a thank you and she is becoming more and more resentful.