Message on projection screens during collection

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TheRealJuliane

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This is the 2nd week we have seen this message projected on the screens behind the altar during the collection:

“Give to God according to your income, or God might permit your income to match your giving.”

Does that read rather like a threat to you?
 
TheRealJuliane said:
This is the 2nd week we have seen this message projected on the screens behind the altar during the collection:

“Give to God according to your income, or God might permit your income to match your giving.”

Does that read rather like a threat to you?
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I dont like that message at all. It is trying to imtimidate people. People give what they can give. Its as simple as that.
 
TheRealJuliane said:
This is the 2nd week we have seen this message projected on the screens behind the altar during the collection:

“Give to God according to your income, or God might permit your income to match your giving.”

Does that read rather like a threat to you?
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That’s terrible! :eek: That would not sit well with me at all.
 
I just hope that it means that people that give should get a pay raise.🙂
 
It sounds inappropriate for the Mass though it would be perfect for the sign beside the the street in front of the church.
 
It felt like a shakedown to me. We already get a heavily worded “blessing of the offering” by the altar server before the collection, and now this message in white wording on a black background is projected on 2 screens at the front, impossible to miss it.

This is the vigil Mass, with mostly older parishioners, perhaps some of the previous larger donators but many of whom are now retired and on a fixed income.

I found it incredibly insulting and I will probably give less, so I guess God is going to punish me for that. :mad:
 
That does not sound like a good message. Sounds like intimidation tactics to me… Like a bully almost. Why are they using projectors during the Mass…that surely does not belong either.
 
TheRealJuliane said:
…I found it incredibly insulting and I will probably give less, so I guess God is going to punish me for that. :mad:
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He does not like people that react in anger. if you feel that you are targeted then you should reevaluate your donations either you are not giving enough or you are giving enough but you still feel guilty. In the first case you can easily increase your donation and in the second case you have to set your sense of duty/pride away and realize that God is in the driver seat and He expects you to try to do your best and not to succeed.

You could also mention to the pastor that people that strive for the best might be hurt by the statement because it can be taken with a lot of different meanings.
 
Boy, this really sets me off. It is rude and intimidating and sets the wrong tone. It is nice though that your pastor is now speaking for God!

If it was my parish, I would talk to my pastor or Parish Council and ask that it be removed or reworded - something like “God bless each of you for your gift of charity to support our parish and your needy brothers and sistes in Christ”.

If it was not taken down, my weekly donations to the parish would go to Catholic Charities or to the Diocese directly instead.
 
Cristiano said:
He does not like people that react in anger. if you feel that you are targeted then you should reevaluate your donations either you are not giving enough or you are giving enough but you still feel guilty. In the first case you can easily increase your donation and in the second case you have to set your sense of duty/pride away and realize that God is in the driver seat and He expects you to try to do your best and not to succeed.

You could also mention to the pastor that people that strive for the best might be hurt by the statement because it can be taken with a lot of different meanings.
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Jesus turned over the tables of the money-changers. There is a place for righteous anger. Even in church.

The pastor knows very well what he is trying to say. He is an amateur etymologist and would never allow anything to be put up there that he did not approve.
 
That is not an appropriate message at all. We should give of our time, talent and treasure according to what we have and within our comfort level. Yes, people should give in the weekly collections, but not all do.
 
triumphguy said:
Projection screen?:eek:
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The projection equipment was donated several years ago by a parishioner. That is where the lyrics to hymns and our responses (Our Father, Creed, etc.) are put up. Our new pews have no hymn book holders on the back of the pew. All of our old Gather books were given to a local retreat center.

The screens are to the left and right side of the altar, between 2 columns where the EMs walk up the steps to the altar. They are not as large as at a football game. Maybe 4’ x 4’?

It does create problems when the inevitable technical glitch happens - such as when the projectionist doesn’t put up the hymn lyrics quickly enough as we transition from verse to verse, or the lyrics just don’t load at all. And if you don’t know the melody, you can’t follow along in the hymnal, you just have to wing it.

At one point, I was really concerned that Father would start doing PowerPoint presentations instead of homilies. He has used the screens to show his outline a few times, but not recently.
 
Aside from the incredible chutzpah, a message like that calls for an immediate review of the procedures for how cash is handled - and make sure the safeguards are real…Sorry, real life concern.

As someone above said “projection screens”!!!
 
johnnykins said:
Aside from the incredible chutzpah, a message like that calls for an immediate review of the procedures for how cash is handled - and make sure the safeguards are real…Sorry, real life concern.

As someone above said “projection screens”!!!
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At the very least someone in the diocese should be informed. The auditors are very picky about exactly what can and cannot be said in terms of financial matters.

I think, however, that this is someone’s really bad idea of making a joke.
 
I think that the act of using projectors during divine service is a thousand times worse than the actual message which they displayed, which was actually somewhat amusing.
 
Corki said:
At the very least someone in the diocese should be informed. The auditors are very picky about exactly what can and cannot be said in terms of financial matters.

I think, however, that this is someone’s really bad idea of making a joke.
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Is there an office you would suggest? I have had very little contact with the Diocese over the years and would not know whom to call about this.

There is a note of desperation to this tactic, perhaps because we are nowhere near meeting our DSF goal, and contributions have been steadily declining over the last 7 or so years. Many parishioners have left for various reasons, and the demographic that has replaced them does not have the means to contribute as much to the church.

The Parish Council is well aware of all these factors but can do little about them.
 
TheRealJuliane said:
Is there an office you would suggest? I have had very little contact with the Diocese over the years and would not know whom to call about this.

There is a note of desperation to this tactic, perhaps because we are nowhere near meeting our DSF goal, and contributions have been steadily declining over the last 7 or so years. Many parishioners have left for various reasons, and the demographic that has replaced them does not have the means to contribute as much to the church.

The Parish Council is well aware of all these factors but can do little about them.
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I’ll send you a pm.
 
TheRealJuliane said:
Jesus turned over the tables of the money-changers. There is a place for righteous anger. Even in church.

The pastor knows very well what he is trying to say. He is an amateur etymologist and would never allow anything to be put up there that he did not approve.
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I am not saying that the pastor did not know what he was doing. I simply said that if you bring it up with him he might look at the scenario one more time and hopefully change his style. Sometime bringing up things in a charitable manner is giving the little nudge that people need in order to change. If you do that the priest can rationalize the whole thing and say to himself that he his changing what he is doing not because he is wrong (maybe nobody understood him) but because some people might be offended.
 
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