Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what you mean. Do you just give ad hoc instead of pledging?

I give what I give, when I give. Money has nothing to do with following Christ.

Proverbs 3:9-10

Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

Luke 21:1-4

Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what you mean. Do you just give ad hoc instead of pledging?

I give what I give, when I give. Money has nothing to do with following Christ.

Actually, the Bible is filled with lessons about giving, including gifts of money.

But in reality, pledges and gifts keep the lights on and pay the pastor. Can't have miracles of loaves and fishes every week.

We do because we want in-parish tuition - the measurement is by envelopes per year, 36 to be exact to qualify.

Anonymous wrote:We haven't used envelopes for quite a few years. Instead, we've enrolled in a direct debit system. In the Lutheran church I'm pretty sure it's called "Simply Giving." We don't worry about finding and remembering the envelope every week and we can still make a contribution to church when we're on vacation.

We do the same thing at our Catholic church. We participate in the auto-debit system, Faith Direct, which simplifies everything for us, plus we get an end of the year tax statement. In addition we give our children cash each week to put in the collection basket.

I use the pew envelopes but I have never received envelopes from present church.

Just throw some cash into the offering plate. What's the problem?

We haven't used envelopes for quite a few years. Instead, we've enrolled in a direct debit system. In the Lutheran church I'm pretty sure it's called "Simply Giving." We don't worry about finding and remembering the envelope every week and we can still make a contribution to church when we're on vacation.

Anonymous wrote:So you just give cash? If you're a member, you make a pledge at the beginning of the year. The church uses the total pledge amount to make a budget. Envelopes are how they track the actuals against the pledge amounts. They send quarterly statements to members and end of year statements for tax purposes.
Of course you can skip pledging and randomly give, but you're doing a disservice to the church because they can't count on that money in the annual budget.

OP here. This is a Catholic church. We make no such pledge that I know of. The church should take Christ's original intent in mind when making their budget and cut the fat, IMO.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what you mean. Do you just give ad hoc instead of pledging?

I give what I give, when I give. Money has nothing to do with following Christ.

Who said it did?

So you just give cash? If you're a member, you make a pledge at the beginning of the year. The church uses the total pledge amount to make a budget. Envelopes are how they track the actuals against the pledge amounts. They send quarterly statements to members and end of year statements for tax purposes.
Of course you can skip pledging and randomly give, but you're doing a disservice to the church because they can't count on that money in the annual budget.

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what you mean. Do you just give ad hoc instead of pledging?

I give what I give, when I give. Money has nothing to do with following Christ.

Our congregation doesn't use offering envelopes. Members pledge and there is an offering each week as well.

Well, the purpose isn't solely to let them know how much you are giving. It also serves to provide a record of charitable donations through the year for tax return purposes.

I don't use them but that's only because I'm forgetful.

Not sure what you mean. Do you just give ad hoc instead of pledging?

* If you don't go to church, are atheist, or just want to post inflammatory things about religion, do us all a favor and just skip this thread. Thanks!

Anyway, we don't use the envelopes because it is not the business of the church to know how much is being given by whom, in my opinion. Anyone else?