Put the envelope in with a dollar if that's all you can afford, it's OK. If you can't afford a dollar, what the pastor used to say when we were children was to put the envelope in anyway, so he'd know that we were members of the parish.

My church envelopes have a little box to check off the amount you're putting in. They start at $3 (and also include an other).

The church I went to before this one did once send a letter telling me how much my minimum contribution should be. I thought it was incredibly obnoxious, especially since it came after I moved out of the parish boundaries and no longer attended and they had to hunt down my new address.

If you want your money to go directly to your parish and not to the diocese, you might choose to give on Christmas and Easter when the collection stays at the parish.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a family of 4 and many weeks $5 is all I can do. They have never ever said a word and welcomed us into the parish school with open arms. Our pastor talks often about time, talent and treasure and how some give in one way while others in another. I do my best with time and talent and feel very happy in my parish.

I had to laugh at the "time, talent and treasure" comment. Is there more than one pastor in the area that talks in these terms or are you also a parishioner at BS?

It is standard language in many Christian denominations to describe how to give.

Anonymous wrote:If god exists, he doesn't care how much you give to the church.... he is not catholic and the money is not going to him anyways....nor he needs it. The money goes to men here in earth and go doesn't put ANY value in such a material and unimportant thing in the spiritual life. God cares about how you conduct yourself in life, honoring him and his love for you.

That is what I think god would think if he existed.

"Catholic" means "universal," so if God exists, by definition, He is God of everyone and everything, hence, "universal."

And humans are material and spiritual beings, so how we treat the material universe that God gave us is quite important to Him.

If god exists, he doesn't care how much you give to the church.... he is not catholic and the money is not going to him anyways....nor he needs it. The money goes to men here in earth and go doesn't put ANY value in such a material and unimportant thing in the spiritual life. God cares about how you conduct yourself in life, honoring him and his love for you.

That is what I think god would think if he existed.