wfn.org | Credit cards nudge out collection plates in U.S. congregations

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>]

Note #7439 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

27-September-2002
02365
  
Credit cards nudge out collection plates in U.S. congregations	

by Chris Herlinger
Ecumenical News International
  
NEW YORK - In increasing numbers, U.S. parishioners are telling their
churches: "Put that on my credit card."  

While electronic giving may never entirely replace the traditional collection
plate, charging offerings to a credit card or bank account is becoming an
increasingly popular way to donate to a local parish or congregation.  

"This is about reflective giving, rather than reflexive giving," said Andrew
Goldberger, the co-founder of ParishPay, a New York-based company that has
established an electronic credit-card payment system now being used by
churches in New York, Illinois and California.	

Rather than fumbling through pockets for bills or coins during a worship
service, the system allows parishioners to set aside a designated amount each
week or month which is automatically deducted from credit cards or bank
accounts.     

"It's a more thoughtful way of giving," Goldberger told ENI in an interview.
"It also makes it easier for people to give."  

Among the company's clients are Greek Orthodox parishes in New York and the
Catholic archdioceses of Chicago, IL, and San Jose, CA. The firm expects to
announce that it is signing on a number of Protestant groups shortly, as well
as several Jewish bodies, he said.  

The firm charges $1 for each donor and a 1 percent service fee for each
transaction: so, for example, a church will receive a $98 donation for every
$100 contributed.   

Goldberger noted that since the churches enrolled have seen an increase in
donations, they are not missing the $2 that is charged for the service. They
have also a more stable income, resulting in better cash flow during summers
and other periods when church attendance in the United States tends to
decline.  

Goldberger underscored that the system is not intended as a turning away from
worship attendance; in fact, by making more of a financial commitment,
members are likely to have more personal "investment" in their churches and
synagogues.   

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, whose national headquarters are
based in New York, has begun testing the ParishPay system in some of its 520
parishes throughout the country, including churches in Manhattan. Though it
is still too soon to say if giving is increasing, response to the system so
far has been uniformly positive, with church members and leaders finding it
efficient and easy, officials said.   

The archdiocese doesn't have theological worries about the system, said
Michael Kontogiorgis, the archdiocese's assistant chancellor   

"I don't see it as any symbolism being lost," Kontogiorgis told ENI. "People
100 years ago used gold coins for currency. Then came paper bills, credit
cards and now electronic payments. People donate what they have to access
to."  

However, Jack Wilkerson, the vice president of finance for the Southern
Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination, disagrees
with credit-card giving. 

While the Southern Baptists have not taken a formal position on the issue and
could not prevent individual churches from adopting a credit-card system
because of the autonomy they enjoy, Wilkerson said he and many others within
the denomination object.

They believe offerings within a structure of formal worship is integral to
the Christian tradition, calling it a biblical mandate "to bring tithes to
the storehouse."  

While saying he is "not opposed to technology," Wilkerson explained that the
system would be adapted by "mainline Protestant denominations trying to prop
up sagging [membership] numbers through a mechanical system of offering."  

"It's an example of 'out of sight,' out of mind," he said. 

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