TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Hernando Today

Donations Still Flowing At Local Churches

ADVERTISEMENT

By TONY HOLT

Hernando Today

Published: March 14, 2009

SPRING HILL - It has been difficult for pastors and outreach organizers to get a grasp of how the economy is affecting donations.

Some churchgoers feel more charitable while others prefer frugality over goodwill.

Some pantries have received more food donations, but nowadays there are more families showing up to collect.

"The people of our parish have always and continue to understand the needs of the poor," said Cindy Chase, the parish manager at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church. "We just finished a wonderful (Lenten) mission here."

Chase did not know whether parishioners were donating more or less than usual, but her feeling was that there has been little difference.

Donations are mostly collected during weekly church services. Some of the money is spent on assisting those in need, whether it is food and clothing or payment of utility bills. Much of it also is used on the church itself - including maintenance and equipment.

A volunteer at Mariner United Methodist Church was driving along the parking lot by the front entrance Friday afternoon.

She was driving the church's bus that had been purchased the day before, she said. She was practicing how to drive it because she was picking up a group of ladies from a nearby assisted-living facility the following day.

The new bus was a sign that local parishioners were still feeling charitable.

"Over the past year, our contributions have pretty much been the same," said Pastor Tim Orrell of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Spring Hill. "We're not really sure what's going to happen this year."
Orrell said the church would continue to stock its food pantry, mail care packages to troops overseas, donate food to the local women's shelter and give away quilts to needy people overseas.

There are about 650 parishioners at Holy Cross.

"We're blessed to have very active and outward-focused congregation," he said. "Our people constantly give."

Parishioners at Nativity Lutheran Church in Weeki Wachee have been reading the local news, said Pastor Kristin Wee. They are aware of Hernando County's high number of foreclosures. That is why donations at local food pantries and participation in Habitat for Humanity and other community service groups have increased.

"In my experiences here, we're very, very aware of people who have lost their homes and are in dire straits," Wee said. "The general rule of thumb is that in difficult times, donations don't change all that much."

Nativity donates to 40 different charity groups, which focus on needy families from Brooksville to Haiti, Wee said.

One couple at Holy Cross recently donated 15 pounds of rice to a group of migrant workers in Dade City.
Orrell said he has noticed some people feeling "that scarcity syndrome" as a result of the recession, but not enough to make a significant difference.

"We're not a wealthy congregation by any sense of the imagination, but there is a sense of abundance among many of us," he said. "People are actually donating more instead of less."

Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT