Well, the good news is that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America lost 91,000 members last year. The bad news is that $2.6 billion (that’s billion with a ‘B’) were donated to these congregations. Unbelievable revenues for a fairly small religious organization.
Consider this, if every American citizen in this country currently donating money to a religious institution (Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Scientologists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc.) instead gave their money to the U.S. government, we could wipe out the federal deficit in less than three years! Hey, just a thought, the money is being thrown away regardless, so why not at least change the recipients; from the clergy to the politicians – either way, both groups are made up of crooks. Just think of it this way, we’re obligated to pay Uncle Sam regardless, but not the churches. So, if we give ALL our money to Uncle Sam and cut out the churches altogether, at least we’re putting one corrupt entity (religious groups) out of business. This is a wise proposition, don’t you agree? TGO
Refer to brief story below. Source: Associated Press
CHICAGO – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America lost almost 91,000 members and 48 congregations last year, but saw a slight increase in per-congregant giving.
In 2009, the denomination dropped to 4.5 million members and about 10,300 congregations, according to a report released Tuesday by David Swartling, the ELCA secretary.
Total offerings in congregations dropped by nearly 3 percent, to about $2.6 billion, but average giving per baptized member increased by a similar percentage, to $492.
Less than one-third of baptized members attended weekly worship last year, a drop from 2008.
The ELCA, which is the largest Lutheran body in the United States, is dealing not only with the impact of the recession, but also with the fallout from the denomination’s vote last year to lift the celibacy requirement for gay clergy.
