Churches are bracing for a financial hit, as coronavirus shutdowns disrupt their operations.
As nonprofit organizations, many churches rely on the donations of their members (often collected during services) to finance their existence. In the Catholic Church, this is generally a time of the year when dioceses ask their members to donate to annual bishops’ Lenten appeals, which fund diocesan operations. In recent years, many appeals have already seen downturns in giving because of sexual abuse scandals within the church. This year, however, for many dioceses, the onset of coronavirus-related shutdowns is upending usual giving patterns.
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington on Thursday announced that it is facing “enormous challenges as material and financial resources decline sharply while our regular donors grapple with the effects of this public health crisis” and issued an “urgent” plea for donations. A spokesperson for the diocese told the Washington Examiner that it is focusing on finding ways to provide “spiritual and pastoral support” to needy people during the crisis.
Elsewhere, individual Catholic parishes are struggling without the collection plate safety net. Joseph Lajoie, pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Denver, said that the prospect of several weeks and potentially months without a collection at Sunday Masses is a “potentially crippling, if not mortal, blow” for his parish.
Closing down is a tough financial decision, but worth it for the safety of faith communities, said Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde.
“The consequences are enormous financially,” she told the Washington Post after deciding to close churches in Washington, D.C., and Maryland. “We can’t put money first. If the church put money first, shame on us. We have to do what’s right. We’re part of the social fabric. We need to be part of the communal response to stem the tide of this virus.”
On the whole, churches should expect “shortfalls” in giving as shutdowns lengthen, said Garet Robinson, an evangelical pastor in Texas who is also a nonprofit advocate.
“It’s a global contagion — and not just the actual viral part, but the ripple effect in the economy,” Robinson told the Houston Chronicle.
As nearly every church in the United States begins moving its operations online, those who already hold services and receive their donations online have a head start on churches that rely on in-person interactions and collection plates, according to USA Today.
“We’re fortunate that a lot of our giving is online because it allows us this flexibility,” said Kaloma Smith, pastor of University African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in California, after the church closed its building last week.
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod on Friday organized an online giving program designed to aid missionaries, church workers, and congregations who are losing money because of operation closures. Synod President Matthew Harrison told church members in an email that “now is the time for us to hold up the arms of our brothers and sisters as they proclaim Christ.”
“We will see vulnerable pastors, teachers, and church workers with a great need for the church’s collective financial help,” Harrison said. “Many of our congregations are small and live week-to-week financially from plate offerings that leave little or no margin for short-term declines in giving.”
Some religious leaders, however, have come under fire for the ways in which they have asked for money during the crisis. Paula White, who serves as President Trump’s spiritual adviser, elicited criticism on Wednesday for a video in which she cited Psalm 91, and asked viewers to donate $91 or “maybe $9 or whatever God tells you to do.”
“Every single day, we are a hospital to the sick, not necessarily the physically sick,” White said. “But we are a hospital for those who are soul sick, those who are spiritually sick.”
Similarly, televangelist Kenneth Copeland on Thursday generated criticism for telling viewers not to stop tithing to their church during coronavirus shutdowns, even if they lose their jobs.
“You get your tithe in that church if you have to go take it down there and drop it off or stick it under the door or something,” he said. “You get that tithe in that church, you get that offering in that church, and then you go home and do what you’re supposed to do.”
