B
Bluegoat
Guest
I think that the conclusion that little shops can be ok is correct, but there are still issues to very carefully consider. Some are less obvious than others.
The idea that the temple sellers were working just for profit seems simple, but maybe isn’t. These were the people that were raising the animals people needed for sacrifice, so presumably they were entitled to get the money that they spent on doing that plus the time - they deserved to be fairly recompensed. What many people don’t realize is that unlike today, getting as much profit as possible from any business - what the market will bear - was considered immoral. People were to pay a fair price - the cost of the materials, time and skill, for things they purchased. (You can imagine if everyone did this that our society would look very different.) So if the money-lenders in the temple were asking more than that, it was a problem, even more so because it was items for religious use.
So perhaps we need to be thinking on a wider scale than just profit in church shops, but the whole structure of our economy.
Also, we have to consider whether a parish’s attitude to fund-raising is over all healthy, and how it looks to others. I have seen parishes where it seemed their main purpose was wrapped up in fund-raising, and it was not good for the spirituality of the parish. I’ve also been in a parish that was very careful about any fund-raising activities and did almost none, and there were real advantages to that. It really maintained a particular focus in the congregation.
As far as how it looks to others, that is also something to think about. In my diocese the Anglican churches are no longer allowed to run fund-raisers that involve gambling. No Bingo which came in at one point for a lot of public criticism, but also no raffles and such. The latter is probably a bit over the top, but not earning money from gambling speaks to the same principle that not earning money from unfair profit does. The reasons usury and gambling used to be considered bad are actually the same, and we would probably do well to remember it.
Anyway, IME most little church shops are mainly to provide a service to the congregation, making items they want available. The profits are small if anything and go back to the Church.
The idea that the temple sellers were working just for profit seems simple, but maybe isn’t. These were the people that were raising the animals people needed for sacrifice, so presumably they were entitled to get the money that they spent on doing that plus the time - they deserved to be fairly recompensed. What many people don’t realize is that unlike today, getting as much profit as possible from any business - what the market will bear - was considered immoral. People were to pay a fair price - the cost of the materials, time and skill, for things they purchased. (You can imagine if everyone did this that our society would look very different.) So if the money-lenders in the temple were asking more than that, it was a problem, even more so because it was items for religious use.
So perhaps we need to be thinking on a wider scale than just profit in church shops, but the whole structure of our economy.
Also, we have to consider whether a parish’s attitude to fund-raising is over all healthy, and how it looks to others. I have seen parishes where it seemed their main purpose was wrapped up in fund-raising, and it was not good for the spirituality of the parish. I’ve also been in a parish that was very careful about any fund-raising activities and did almost none, and there were real advantages to that. It really maintained a particular focus in the congregation.
As far as how it looks to others, that is also something to think about. In my diocese the Anglican churches are no longer allowed to run fund-raisers that involve gambling. No Bingo which came in at one point for a lot of public criticism, but also no raffles and such. The latter is probably a bit over the top, but not earning money from gambling speaks to the same principle that not earning money from unfair profit does. The reasons usury and gambling used to be considered bad are actually the same, and we would probably do well to remember it.
Anyway, IME most little church shops are mainly to provide a service to the congregation, making items they want available. The profits are small if anything and go back to the Church.
