The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Local churches dealing with economy
By Lindy Stevens, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: August 7, 2008
When times are tough, prayer can be a powerful tool. But when tough economic times fall on an entire community - or parish - and churchgoers start passing off the collection basket instead of filling it with spare cash, people such as Nancy Hughes have to get creative.
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A member of the Waterloo Village United Methodist Church, Hughes said that she and the church's thirty other parishioners have typically been the only source of funding for upkeep and outreach efforts in the past.
So when windows started to creak, the ceiling of their 200 year-old church started to sag and the money to fix everything just wasn't there, Hughes and the other patrons had to come up with a new way to raise money -- something they've never had to worry much about until lately.
"We just had an ice cream social and we had a big rummage sale for the first time this year that we hadn't had before," Hughes said. "But right now we're really starting to kind of hurt a little bit."
Though they managed to raise about $2,000 between the two fundraisers, that still leaves the church well short of the $17,000 they need for repairs. To help raise the rest, Hughes said they've also tried to drum up new members by going to nearby neighbors' front doors.
"We've heard from some other churches that people are just going every other Sunday because of gas prices," Hughes said of Waterloo residents who travel to Chelsea or Jackson to worship. "So we're trying to see if they would rather support a local church and still come every week."
Though it certainly isn't true that giving is on the decline in every local place of worship, and it might just be the case that Hughes' church is more strapped for cash than others, what most pastors and ministers will say, is that the recent economic downturn has certainly taught them how to stretch a buck.
Pastor Mark Porinsky says his church, Faith Lutheran Church, has been "very blessed financially."
"We did lose one Pfizer family last year, and another key family underwent a job change that took them to California the last three or four months of 2007, but now they're back," Porinsky said. "Other members report slow times with their businesses. But our church giving is better than last year, and so much higher than expected that last month the Church Council had me offer a prayer of thanksgiving during a worship service, for the Lord's financial blessings in these difficult economic times."
Porinsky said it's been his practice for most of the 30 years he's been here to preach one financial sermon per year. "And I haven't changed that these past few years," he said.
Joy Barrett, senior pastor at the United Methodist Church of Chelsea, says this rough economic stretch means asking questions such as, "Is this something we really need?" before any major or minor expenditure.
Barrett said the church has seen less money come in during recent months, but said they've made up for the loss by cutting back on utility expenses, evaluating the budget more carefully, and postponing non-essential projects.
As a result, Barrett said the church hasn't had to cut any programs or outreach efforts. She also mentioned that the tough economic times have even made some parishioners get more creative - donating their time and talents, rather than just pulling out their checkbooks every week.
Despite the success of the church as a whole, though, Barrett said some individual members have been faced with their own set of economic woes.
"We have several families who have moved away as a result of job losses or anticipated job losses," Barrett said. "And we have several members who have lost their employment and are looking for work."
But the employment pinch hasn't just hit members of Barrett's church, and as a result, outreach organizations such as Faith in Action of Chelsea have had to handle more requests for help - from both churchgoers and non-churchgoers alike.
And for Nancy Paul, an increase in need is something she's prepared for. The Faith in Action director said there has been a steady 10 to 20 percent increase in need every year since about 2003.
But even with a 31 percent increase in the number of people asking for food, and more than double the number of families coming in to shop for clothing, Paul said community generosity has allowed Faith in Action to both maintain and expand all of their programs.
Just this year for example, Paul said Faith in Action had record-breaking attendance at their annual community fundraiser.
"That kind of support makes our job a joy even in these hard times," Paul said.
Matt Hook, pastor at Dexter United Methodist Church, said 25 percent of their Ad Council worked at Pfizer or was a Pfizer spouse.
"It hit us in a big way emotionally," he said. "But the church was very supportive of all the families affected. We were in the middle of a three- year capital campaign when that hit. Our capital campaign was completed this past June. Pledges were $1.6 million, and we were a bit short, though we were able to complete all the projects we planned."
Hook said more people are looking for work, and the church's hunger hamper gets emptied most weeks.
"Nevertheless, our giving is actually up this year over last," he said. "People seem to be relying more on the church and our mission to make a difference in the world. Our mission's giving is up, and the number of projects people are attempting keeps us very busy trying to meet people's needs."
Jeff Crowder, pastor at Church of the Nazarene, says they are trying to be proactive by offering financial peace seminars that aim at helping people make good money decisions, starting with getting out of debt.
"We see it as a good time to partner with other groups to help those less fortunate" Crowder said.†"We are in a partnership with a group of Lutheran churches in Ann Arbor for Habitat for Humanity.† We have roofed new homes the last three years in a row, hoping to help a few more people own their own homes."
Crowder said several people from their congregation work with their Venture Crew that is sponsored by the United Methodist Church.
"They went to the Cass Corridor and did some renovation work so that people who had been homeless would have a room and a place to make their own meals," he said.
"Yes, we have seen some people affected by the housing crisis.† We have had several who are seeing their benefits reduced, such as increased costs or reduced coverages for health insurance. On a regular basis we keep a small food pantry stocked, and we are in regular communication with Faith in Action."
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