I need some info from Catholics and Baptists for a short story I'm writing.

[DemoTex]

I'm familiar with the order of worship in the Presbyterian and Methodist churches, particularly where the offertory fits in the service (usually after the sermon in the Presbyterian church).

My story centers around a woman who augments her income by boosting from church collection plates. It is dark in the Harry Crews sense. But I need to know the following:

1. When does the collection plate pass in a Catholic church? Is the take mostly cash, or checks, or what? What is the largest denomination bill you have ever seen in the plate? Who counts it after the service?

2. When does the collection plate pass in a Baptist church? Is the take mostly cash, or checks, or what? What is the largest denomination bill you have ever seen in the plate? Who counts it after the service?

3. When does the collection plate pass in other churches? Is the take mostly cash, or checks, or what? What is the largest denomination bill you have ever seen in the plate? Who counts it after the service?

Thanks,
Mac

[GOPisEvil]

1. I can answer for my Catholic experience.

I was an usher for my parish. We were responsible for passing the plates out, ensuring they went down each row, and counting the money. I saw mostly cash in small denominations, some coins and a few checks. I think the largest bill I ever saw was a $20.

[DemoTex]

3. That's what I thought.

But before or after the sermon (homily)?

[Richardo]

7. After.

[RainDog]

2. going waaaaay back into my past

I forget exactly when it was in the service, but I'm pretty sure in the church I attended the collection plate went around early-ish with the greet the visitors and announcements part.

then they would sing a hymn while deacons stood at either end of an aisle... like they all do, I assume.

people used to put money into little envelopes with their names them. I think they'd tear off part and save for income tax deductions.

the largest bill I remember was a 20. 5s and 1s were more common.

[DemoTex]

4. Again, before or after the sermon? What church?

This is very important to establish.

[RainDog]

5. before. southern baptist church - in Nashville, the seat of the SBC

which, of course, makes my recollection official. :)

[RainDog]

6. oh, the reason it would be before

is because baptists have an "altar call" at the end of their services so that people may come to the front of the church to receive prayer or talk to the pastor or join the church.

they do this off the build-up of the sermon. the sermon ends, the pastor prays and the choir starts singing a song like Just As I Am. overandoverandoverandoverandoverand

when the pastor thinks he's gotten all the action he can from that, the service closes with a prayer.

[DemoTex]

9. Looks like I need to visit the 1st Baptist for some notes.

That is fascinating! Great info for my story, since Cath bounces from church to church .. doing at least three every Sunday.

[RainDog]

11. oh, and that's a white baptist church

the black baptist churches are MUCH more interesting and fun.

white baptist church is like having ben stein for your teacher. buehler? anyone?

[Shell Beau]

18. And also to come to the front to get saved.

I always hated that about the Baptist churches I went to. I grew up Episcopal (now Methodist), but I went to church with my friends a lot, and many were Baptist.

[DemoTex]

22. Every Sunday?

Really? I need to get around the churches more!

[Bucky]

8. The difference is that Baptists just roll about in the sacrifice's blood, but they don't drink it.

Whether people toss money or checks into the collection plate, in my ecumenical experience, has more to do with the economic stratus of the congregations. Poorer churches toss in pocket change, more affluent church goers are more likely to write checks.

[Shell Beau]

19. Are you talking Communion with the Baptist churches? Because

I have drank lots of grape juice in Baptist churces before. The blood of Christ.

[Bucky]

25. No no. I'm talking about the infant in the secret altar in the back room.

Sometimes Baptists use goats, but that just cause they don't have as many babies to spare as the Catholics.

[Shell Beau]

34. lol

[Ikonoklast]

10. And not to cast asparagus on any other posters in this thread, but...

The best way to boost out of the collection basket in a Catholic church is to be one of the ushers, or the counting crew.

Money's gone before it's ever missed.

[GOPisEvil]

12. How do you think I bought my first car?

Er...:yoiks:

[DemoTex]

14. The point!

[Ikonoklast]

16. God will provide.

But larceny is a close second.



:hide:

[DemoTex]

13. Bingo! That's what I thought.

This is going to be a tight, dark story when I finish!

[LeftyMom]

15. Our parish had baskets on long poles,

rather than plates to be passed. I don't know if that's normal or not.

[hedgehog]

17. I think that's what was the norm in years past. Now it's mostly the baskets

handed person to person.

There was always the worry about the kids passing the basket, missing the grab and dumping everything.

At our parish in a Buffalo suburb, the priest had his Fort Erie vestments. he bought them with the canadian coins that turned up after a big race week-end across the way in Fort Erie.

As noted above, the classic problem in Catholic parishes is that whoever does the counting does a little skimming. Sometimes it's a book keeper or usher, more often when it happens it's the pastor. More and more dioceses are requiring a better accounting of donations, but it's still a problem no one in the hierarchy likes to discuss. I have noticed that priests who can't keep their hands off the kids go to re-hab while priests that can't keep their hands off the money go to jail.

[DemoTex]

20. More control? Interesting.

Great scene for Cath.

[LeftyMom]

23. I think it had to do with a big building and a not-that-crowded parish.

Lots of space between families, so passing the basket would involve a lot of getting up, walking ten feet and leaning over two pews.

[hunter]

26. I think it's gotta be the baskets on poles in our parish or some people would help themselves.

It's a little harder to get your hands in the basket when the usher has always got to have his eyes on it not to smack anybody.

The youth Mass cracks me up 'cause you've got all these testosterone addled boys waving the poles and baskets around like potential weapons with no subtlety at all. (And no thanks at all to those rotten Priests who made that sound dirty.)

[hedgehog]

21. More detail about Catholic Churches:

First the homily, then the Creeed, then Prayers of the Faithful - for example, for the people of Haiti, for troops overseas, for sick of parish, for dead of parish including so-and so who died Thursday, funeral Mass 10AM Monday, etc.

Then -

there is an Offertory hymn, the baskets are passed and the priest is saying prayers up on the altar. The baskets are passed to the back and dumped into one or two big baskets. A couple people bring up the hosts and the wine followed by the usher(s) who leave the basket(s) on the altar steps.

[DemoTex]

24. Great info!

Bless you my hedgehog!

[mopinko]

27. envelopes

baskets on long poles was the norm from way back, and the money was usually in envelopes. so, you had no idea what you would get and it had a name on it, to boot. so, in the catholic church, les' just say we saw that comin'.

[DemoTex]

28. So it was hard to draw lite?

I mean, for a professional. Cath hits all the churchs.

[mopinko]

29. is it worth getting cracked for $1?

i admit it has been a while since i was in the pew, but a lot of those envelopes have some pennies in them. not worth it, imho.

[grasswire]

30. there was a big church in Calif where people could take money out too...

...as the plate came by, if they needed it. Seriously. I've forgotten the name of the church. I think the pastor's name was Bob Smith. My Baptist FIL was horrified at the notion that someone undeserving might help himself to money there.

[UrbScotty]

31. Catholic here

It passes after the some payers are read - prayers for the sick, for the church community, etc. Usually it's in the middle of Mass.

There's usually more cash, but there are some checks. A lot of it is in an envelope, though - many churches give parishoners envelopes at the beginning of a year, to be used for the offertory.

I've seen a couple $20s.

Usually a church secretary or two counts it on Monday or Tuesday.

[Aristus]

32. When you sell your story, Mac, tell me what publication it will be printed in, and I'll pick it up.

Unless it's in Playboy.

My wife would never believe that I bought it for the short fiction... :P

:hi:

[SoCalDemGrrl]

33. Catholic here weighing in - regarding the weekly donations ....

the families have a pre-assigned envelope that the offering is placed into. The offering basket is passed around after the sermon.

If you have children attending the Parish school, then there is an expected weekly donation that offsets
the low tuition. We had two children at the parish school and wrote weekly checks. I always saw some cash in the baskets, but the majority were the weekly envelopes.