This weekend we engage in our annual discussion about tithing, and since I rarely give myself much time to write these pastor’s notes, and since it is presently on my mind, a few half-baked thoughts:
- This concept goes by many names. “Tithing,” “Stewardship,” “Sacrificial giving,” “Oh no, not this again,” “Do we always need to be talking about money?”, etc. I prefer the term “tithing” because “sacrificial giving” seems too dour, and “stewardship” is so general and euphemistic that it has lost its meaning. But “tithing” is a term and concept that comes to us directly from the Bible (cf. Gen. 14:18-20, Lev. 27:28-32), and I’m not one to try to improve on the Bible.
- We get a lot of e-mails from the archdiocese about tithing, both for this autumn program and for the Annual Catholic Appeal. The archdiocese is certainly well-meaning, trying to give us the resources we need to succeed, but the plans almost invariable involve multiple witness speakers, multiple letters from the pastor, and seemingly an entire month where this is our solitary focus. Instead, I much prefer to talk about each thing once, and be done with it. And it seems our parishioners agree with me, as we have met our Annual Catholic Appeal goal these last two years with hardly any reminders. So that will be our little arrangement, okay? I keep it to one weekend each, you don’t procrastinate on your pledge cards, and the archdiocese does not have to be the wiser about any of it. 😉
- Inflation is a cruel mistress.
- I really need to bring back those boxes of kids’ tithing envelopes. But, as with all things, I struggle to make time for new initiatives. Nevertheless, I’m pretty sure we found a whole box of boxes of them in the basement of the office building. If you want some for your kids, I’m happy to give you a spooky tour of our office basement.
- I know the core message I want everyone to remember about
stewardshiptithing (i.e. that it is spiritual good for us, even apart from the good that it does for the Church and other organizations), but I also easily get bored of myself and assume that if I said something one time, two years ago, that it is permanently stuck in everyone’s minds. Thankfully, I have smart people around me to remind me that our humanity is influenced over time and that maybe we might have to hit the same theme more than once for it to become a culture. Sadly, they’re right. I suppose if my grandmother can cook ground beef in 20 different ways, I can find a way to hit this from more than one angle. 🤞
Fr. Moore 