Pledge cards

[Magdalena59]

I am not sure if this is the right place to ask this. I looked around and didn’t know where else.

I am a Catholic revert and when in the protestant churches every year we were highly encouraged to fill out pledge cards and pledge a yearly amount we would pledge to give via a certain amount per week.

I want to give and believe in giving and that our parish should be the first and most important place to give but I didn’t think the Catholic church had a required amount you had to give and asked for a specific amount weekly but this weekend I felt like I was back in a protestant church when before Mass was over we were asked to fill out pledge cards and the cards had a minimal amount to pledge. The cards were handed out and collected again during Mass.

Should I be bothered by this. Is this typical? We always give the same amount weekly and give more other times. I have a little bit of an issue with pledges because if something would happen and I had made a pledge, I would be breaking my pledge.

Thoughts?

 

[1ke]

Should I be bothered by this.

Why would you be bothered by this?

Is this typical?

Parishes operate differently. Some do this, some do not. The diocesan annual appeal is usually in a pledge card format. Sometimes parishes do capital campaigns with pledge cards. Some do regular operating budget with pledge cards. How can one budget if one does not know how much someone plans to give?

We always give the same amount weekly and give more other times. I have a little bit of an issue with pledges because if something would happen and I had made a pledge, I would be breaking my pledge.

You can always change your pledge if something happens that changes your circumstances.

Thoughts?

You seem to be having a very strong reaction to something that seems pretty common place and not at all meant to force anyone to give a certain amount. Pledge whatever you can, and if something changes then talk to your pastor. And you can certainly always give more. The pledge isn’t a vow. It’s a way for the parish to plan their budget.

 

[DarkLight]

I am guessing the “highly encouraged” meant something along the lines of “yelled about from the pulpit with with implications that you were a terrible Christian and hated God if you didn’t fill on out”? Followed by a structure that treated a pledge card as the equivalent of a sacred vow?

The system itself isn’t bad. You don’t have to fill one out, and if you do and can’t make it one week it’s not a big deal. As 1ke said, it’s mostly a way for the church to budget - and to remind people to budget in giving if the have the means. There are protestant churches who definitely abuse it though, and I expect there are some Catholic ones too.

It’s not the fault of the card system itself, but if you’re not comfortable you don’t need to fill one out. God’s not going to be mad at you.

 

[dconklin]

Our parish does not seek a “commitment” for general/weekly giving because we can typically estimate what we will get on a weekly basis. We have, in the past, had debt reduction and then capital campaigns that we asked people to commit to. We also have a Diocesan Support Appeal. No one is required to commit, let alone give.

 

[otjm]

Pledge cards can serve two purposes; 1) it helps in budgeting; and 2) it can help people to foucus on giving (not tithing, which the Church does not require, but rather, on a thoughtful contribution, all things considered).

According to CARA, in 2010, average household (not individual) giving was an average of $9.56 per week.

Average.

And you and I can both guess what the average household expenditures at Starbucks is per week. Catholics are and have been notorious for being among the lowest average givers. A card may help some of them to focus just a little bit on giving, rather than letting it be a random issue if they happen to have $$ in their wallet that Sunday.

 

[DaveBj]

I am guessing the “highly encouraged” meant something along the lines of “yelled about from the pulpit with with implications that you were a terrible Christian and hated God if you didn’t fill on out”? Followed by a structure that treated a pledge card as the equivalent of a sacred vow?

The system itself isn’t bad. You don’t have to fill one out, and if you do and can’t make it one week it’s not a big deal. As 1ke said, it’s mostly a way for the church to budget - and to remind people to budget in giving if the have the means. There are protestant churches who definitely abuse it though, and I expect there are some Catholic ones too.

It’s not the fault of the card system itself, but if you’re not comfortable you don’t need to fill one out. God’s not going to be mad at you.

^^^This. I don’t do pledge cards, period, or more accurately, I would not do them, if our parish used them, which they don’t. I give a set amount, which I feel is what God has told me to do, and if He wants me to do more, He knows where I live; He can tell me. How much is nobody’s business but mine, God’s, whoever opens the offering envelops, and the IRS’s, but it’s more than the average referenced above.

If pledge cards bother you, don’t fill them out. Go before the Lord in prayer; He will tell you how much to give. Don’t be surprised if it’s a little more than you’re comfortable with

 

[TxGodfollower]

Mostly pledge cards are for budgeting and encouraging people to give. You don’t have to write your name on it; I think the only reason they ask for names on the cards so they can help remind you of that commitment.

 

[DarkLight]

^^^This. I don’t do pledge cards, period, or more accurately, I would not do them, if our parish used them, which they don’t. I give a set amount, which I feel is what God has told me to do, and if He wants me to do more, He knows where I live; He can tell me. How much is nobody’s business but mine, God’s, whoever opens the offering envelops, and the IRS’s, but it’s more than the average referenced above.

If pledge cards bother you, don’t fill them out. Go before the Lord in prayer; He will tell you how much to give. Don’t be surprised if it’s a little more than you’re comfortable with

They can be really frustrating and guilt-producing if you come out of a certain sort of protestant church. Everyone was expected to give at least a minimum amount, 10% at least, no matter how little you made. And once you wrote your number down you’d better never fail to live up to it nor decrease it next year, otherwise you were robbing God.

Coming out of that sort of environment it’s much easier to not fill out the card than to fill it out and feel guilty if you don’t have the money to spare.

 

[MrsLilreader]

It’s not the fault of the card system itself, but if you’re not comfortable you don’t need to fill one out. God’s not going to be mad at you.

Thank you for saying this, I still bear scars on my soul at the hands of Protestant churches I attended and was member of in the past. God has a way of bringing things full circle, but I’m always afraid I’m making God angry. I don’t know if other converts deal with that, but he was painted to be vengeful, and Jesus was cuddly and approachable. It’s hard to remember sometimes when it’s so deeply engrained, but anyway, I appreciate you saying this.

 

[DarkLight]

Thank you for saying this, I still bear scars on my soul at the hands of Protestant churches I attended and was member of in the past. God has a way of bringing things full circle, but I’m always afraid I’m making God angry. I don’t know if other converts deal with that, but he was painted to be vengeful, and Jesus was cuddly and approachable. It’s hard to remember sometimes when it’s so deeply engrained, but anyway, I appreciate you saying this.

You’re not the only convert around these boards. I grew up in a church very similar to what you describe. It’s really hard to get to where you don’t feel like God’s standing over you waiting for you to mess up. Confession helps, especially if you remember that it deals with all our sins, even if we forget or don’t realize one.

 

[Sunbreak]

I wouldn’t fill out the pledge cards if I didn’t want to - not even if everyone around me did it and they were going through it step by step in the pews.
My archdiocese seems to strong arm people into pledging for the annual archdiocesan campaign - yes I consider receiving several follow up calls and letters strong arming. Interestingly enough, the last time someone called and I told them I was not going to pledge, the person (who probably was a temp hired for the campaign) decided on their own to put down a pledge for me. That’s kind of sleazy in my book. I received a letter in the mail thanking me for a pledge I had never made. So, I had to call the archdiocese and tell them no I did not make the pledge which they told me was made by phone.