Florida church sends $1,000 collection notice to single mother because she didn’t tithe

Time to find a new church.

a reply to: Spider879

A couple months ago, my mother passed away. When we inquired at our local methodist church, which she had attended, about doing a funeral service, they said that because it was only a relatively small group of family members, and it was a large church, they would not be able to do the service because of the cost of running the AC to cool the church down, which would be several hundred dollars according to them (I would have donated money to cover the cost but was put off by their apathy and attitude). We ended up going to a lutheran church which gladly did the service and made us feel very welcome. The Methodist church had in previous months ranted about tithing. My mother was a cancer patient on a fixed income and didn't have money to tithe but did attend the church. I think this is one of the major reasons people are abandoning churches now, because some of them are only about money and donations. But to be fair, there are still some good churches out there. Thank God the Lutheran church was kind and did the funeral or I don't know what we would have done.

I think you either love or hate George Carlin, but I think he's spot on about religion:

originally posted by: carewemust
In my younger naïve days, I used to attend a church near Chicago like the one discussed in this thread. The church had less than 200 members, but the pastor rode in a chauffer driven Mercedes. The chauffer was his son.

To receive "maximum blessings and manna", attend all 3 weekly worship services and give till it hurts at each service. The more you give, the more you'll receive, because you can't "out give" the all-mighty God.

The Pastor stated that the church finances were open and available for any "member in good standing" to inspect. When I asked to see the ledgers, the secretary set up an appointment for the church's assistant Pastor to meet with me. He tried to talk me out of it. When I insisted, the head Pastor summoned me to his office. Tried to talk me out of it. Didn't work. He reluctantly allowed his secretary to go into the safe and pull out "the book". (This was in 1994...no Quicken, etc..)

What I saw astounded me. As of Sept 1994, this modest size church had taken in $1.2 million. Salaries to his family totaled $834,000. The rest went to maintenance and mortgage payments on not only the church, but his home as well. Twice I flew on business trips..and who was seated up in first class? The Pastor and his Wife. They were nice and nowhere near shy about how God was blessing them. Before the year was up, I left that church and changed to another one that some friends attended.

Three years later, that church, led by it's charismatic pastor, exploded from being humble and small, to a 27 million dollar campus. Our pastor suddenly became too "important" for trivial things like marrying couples, delivering Eulogies, etc.. Eventually he wasn't even there half of the Sundays. He was guest speaking at other mega churches in various parts of the USA and the world.

As of 2015, I'm now in my mid-50's and done with religions. My motto is, if God created you, he loves you. And like any parent, he'll love you regardless of your imperfections. Since the creator of the universe loves you, there's no need to seek the approval of other equals...other humans. Besides, since Father God knew of everything you're going to do in this life, and brought you here anyway, you'll fulfilling your destiny every day. Just treat his other children (your brothers and sisters) with kindness and you'll be rewarded here, and beyond.
-cwm

See thats why most people dont go to a organized church. Because they have all become about money and living off donations tax free. If i remember correctly we are to pray in private correct? and also church is anytime you are studying the bible itself.

a reply to: Spider879

Not the entire Black population of which I am a part of btw

Man, shut the front door!

You are part of the black population, huh?

Is that why your referred to the black population throughout your post as "they". I'm laughing right now because when I typed my previous comment I had this thought:

He'll probably try to say he is black now since there is nothing else he can do to push back the goal post on this one.

If people are going to dish out those extra $$$ on a Sunday, then yes put it to better use, Pols are equally crooked what I am hoping for is a grassroots approach that build from the bottom up, pool our resources to better understand the real problems and workout solutions in our communities, stop wasting hard earned cash on pie in the sky real estate which is worst than Florida swamp land for sale, at least you have a slight chance of getting some of your money back.

You sound like an economist. I would LOVE to do business with you....

a reply to: TheConstruKctionofLight

Never had anyone making me pay anything. Just help. If you attend a "strange" church where the people behave like your city counsel, RUN, its probably satanic.

originally posted by: Involutionist
a reply to: Spider879

Not the entire Black population of which I am a part of btw

Man, shut the front door!

You are part of the black population, huh?

Is that why your referred to the black population throughout your post as "they". I'm laughing right now because when I typed my previous comment I had this thought:

He'll probably try to say he is black now since there is nothing else he can do to push back the goal post on this one.

If people are going to dish out those extra $$$ on a Sunday, then yes put it to better use, Pols are equally crooked what I am hoping for is a grassroots approach that build from the bottom up, pool our resources to better understand the real problems and workout solutions in our communities, stop wasting hard earned cash on pie in the sky real estate which is worst than Florida swamp land for sale, at least you have a slight chance of getting some of your money back.

You sound like an economist. I would LOVE to do business with you....

Lookie here I do not need to prove Blackness, folks around here who read my post knows I am, if you take a look at my profile and checkout my previous threads you will come to no other conclusion, I am not an economist but I have made and lost small fortunes never repeating the same mistakes and remade it, I have created and sold businesses I listened to folks who walk the walk I learnt from their successes and failures, I am an ordinary dude, I like to talk straight and say what I think my criticism can be harsh and uncompromising but if I believe I am in error I'll walk it back and eat humble pie , I am a Lib and a capitalist I do not see any contradiction in that, I am ex military but hate the military industrial complex, I am an agnostic only because I don't have all the answers to make me a full blown atheist, I love history and consider my self an amature historian I read a lot, I love science and science fiction , I am a proud Black man with deep Jamaican roots but I consider all mankind and womankind as fam I am a cultural tourist willing to try most things once, I choose my friends based on trust and thus my world looked like a Benetton ad since I was a kid, I refer to Black folks as they, us and our sometimes within the same sentence... I am Me.

originally posted by: Spider879

Florida church sent a delinquency notice to a new member reminding her that worshipers were expected to pay $1,000 in required fees or face possible removal.

Candace Petterson said she started attending the Greater Mount Moriah Primitive Baptist Church about six months ago after moving to a new home in the Tampa area, but she received a troubling letter last week from the church, reported WFTS-TV.

The single mother said she received what amounted to a delinquency notice from her new church asking her to contribute $50 a month, along with other assorted fees, to remain a member in good standing and vote on church matters.

The predominantly black church, which has operated for more than a century, asked her to pay a yearly $250 anniversary fee and another $150 for Mount Moriah Day – amounting to $1,000, some of which would be set aside to pay off church debt.

“What church charges you to help pay off what they’re going through?” Petterson said. “I’m not there for that.”

The letter, from assistant administrator Ladreda Spencer and Pastor B.R. Fulton Jr., also reminded Petterson that children – including her 11-year-old daughter – were expected to pay $5 a month to the church in addition to two annual $15 fees.

The letter notified Petterson, who said she had been unaware of the required contributions, that members fell into delinquency if they failed to make payments for three months or more, reported the Christian Post.

“In order to not be removed from the church roll, your attention to this matter [is] greatly appreciated,” the letter warned, but offered to grant her a 90-day “hardship” exemption.
www.rawstory.com...

Mods sorry in advance, if this thread is in the wrong forum.
What is wrong with religious leaders and institutions especially African American religious leaders, if I had the power and thank Gaawd I don't I would phase out religious institutions or tax them heavily they have served their purpose, they gave us great art and music they were there in times of need and served as a meeting place for information and comfort that said, it's high time to phase out the rot is in and cannot be undone.

Yeah, I know hating Christians is in vogue right now but neither Christians nor their religious leaders are all the same. I attend Sunday service on the beach and it's free of charge and welcome to all. It makes me feel good and I enjoy the (gasp) fellowship. Obviously I'm not alone in this, so why would you want to dictate your values to a vast number of others. If the rawstory article is accurate then the "church" in question is way out of line and will soon lose their charter as well as their membership. In closing; Love is good, hate is bad.

originally posted by: JohnthePhilistine

originally posted by: Spider879

Florida church sent a delinquency notice to a new member reminding her that worshipers were expected to pay $1,000 in required fees or face possible removal.

Candace Petterson said she started attending the Greater Mount Moriah Primitive Baptist Church about six months ago after moving to a new home in the Tampa area, but she received a troubling letter last week from the church, reported WFTS-TV.

The single mother said she received what amounted to a delinquency notice from her new church asking her to contribute $50 a month, along with other assorted fees, to remain a member in good standing and vote on church matters.

The predominantly black church, which has operated for more than a century, asked her to pay a yearly $250 anniversary fee and another $150 for Mount Moriah Day – amounting to $1,000, some of which would be set aside to pay off church debt.

“What church charges you to help pay off what they’re going through?” Petterson said. “I’m not there for that.”

The letter, from assistant administrator Ladreda Spencer and Pastor B.R. Fulton Jr., also reminded Petterson that children – including her 11-year-old daughter – were expected to pay $5 a month to the church in addition to two annual $15 fees.

The letter notified Petterson, who said she had been unaware of the required contributions, that members fell into delinquency if they failed to make payments for three months or more, reported the Christian Post.

“In order to not be removed from the church roll, your attention to this matter [is] greatly appreciated,” the letter warned, but offered to grant her a 90-day “hardship” exemption.
www.rawstory.com...

Mods sorry in advance, if this thread is in the wrong forum.
What is wrong with religious leaders and institutions especially African American religious leaders, if I had the power and thank Gaawd I don't I would phase out religious institutions or tax them heavily they have served their purpose, they gave us great art and music they were there in times of need and served as a meeting place for information and comfort that said, it's high time to phase out the rot is in and cannot be undone.

Yeah, I know hating Christians is in vogue right now but neither Christians nor their religious leaders are all the same. I attend Sunday service on the beach and it's free of charge and welcome to all. It makes me feel good and I enjoy the (gasp) fellowship. Obviously I'm not alone in this, so why would you want to dictate your values to a vast number of others. If the rawstory article is accurate then the "church" in question is way out of line and will soon lose their charter as well as their membership. In closing; Love is good, hate is bad.

I do not hate Christians or any other religious group, but I do think it's time to grow out of it we no longer worship Amun Ra, Zeus,Odin, Mithra,Isis, Athena Kulikan , etc and the world hasn't imploded and again the Church did a lot of useful things back in the day, but now the Rot has set in and it ain't gonna get better , and you know why because those guys really don't believe what they preach.

Someone should take a page from the Bible and go there to throw these money changers out into the street, like Jesus did.

This is ironic I was listening to Opiate by Tool on my way home today. Pretty much sums up my feelings.

youtu.be...

a reply to: Spider879

Lookie here I do not need to prove Blackness, folks around here who read my post knows I am,

My apologies, I was wrong. I get so wound up about bigotry and racism, that sometimes I cannot see clearly (no excuse). I experienced something very tragic when younger due to racism.

I am not an economist but I have made and lost small fortunes never repeating the same mistakes and remade it, I have created and sold businesses I listened to folks who walk the walk I learnt from their successes and failures, I am an ordinary dude, I like to talk straight and say what I think my criticism can be harsh and uncompromising but if I believe I am in error I'll walk it back and eat humble pie , I am a Lib and a capitalist I do not see any contradiction in that, I am ex military but hate the military industrial complex, I am an agnostic only because I don't have all the answers to make me a full blown atheist, I love history and consider my self an amature historian I read a lot, I love science and science fiction , I am a proud Black man with deep Jamaican roots but I consider all mankind and womankind as fam I am a cultural tourist willing to try most things once, I choose my friends based on trust and thus my world looked like a Benetton ad since I was a kid, I refer to Black folks as they, us and our sometimes within the same sentence... I am Me.

Yeah man, sorry about all that. You seem like a good soul after all. Bless.

I AM...you.

originally posted by: Klassified
a reply to: Benevolent Heretic
This is that gray area BH. Tithing was part of the law, which Christians technically are not beholden to. The new testament does not teach tithing. It teaches giving. Yet the leadership wants that tithe money, so they blur the lines, and pervert things to get it.

Not true.

Ananias and Sapphira......... Acts 5:1-11

Ananias and Sapphira

5 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.

3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”

5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”

“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”

9 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

originally posted by: Involutionist
a reply to: Spider879

Lookie here I do not need to prove Blackness, folks around here who read my post knows I am,

My apologies, I was wrong. I get so wound up about bigotry and racism, that sometimes I cannot see clearly (no excuse). I experienced something very tragic when younger due to racism.

I am not an economist but I have made and lost small fortunes never repeating the same mistakes and remade it, I have created and sold businesses I listened to folks who walk the walk I learnt from their successes and failures, I am an ordinary dude, I like to talk straight and say what I think my criticism can be harsh and uncompromising but if I believe I am in error I'll walk it back and eat humble pie , I am a Lib and a capitalist I do not see any contradiction in that, I am ex military but hate the military industrial complex, I am an agnostic only because I don't have all the answers to make me a full blown atheist, I love history and consider my self an amature historian I read a lot, I love science and science fiction , I am a proud Black man with deep Jamaican roots but I consider all mankind and womankind as fam I am a cultural tourist willing to try most things once, I choose my friends based on trust and thus my world looked like a Benetton ad since I was a kid, I refer to Black folks as they, us and our sometimes within the same sentence... I am Me.

Yeah man, sorry about all that. You seem like a good soul after all. Bless.

I AM...you.

No problem man nuff respect for the above..

originally posted by: Power_Semi
I think you either love or hate George Carlin, but I think he's spot on about religion:

Beat me to it!

originally posted by: AlexJowls

originally posted by: Power_Semi
I think you either love or hate George Carlin, but I think he's spot on about religion:

Beat me to it!

LoL - My wife hates him, thinks he's a grumpy old man (like me she says!) but I love him and think he's bang on the money most of the time.

a reply to: StoutBroux

I went to read Acts Chapter 4 which sets the stage for what happens in the part of the scripture you quoted. Since I have only KJV version, I found it a bit hard to understand what was going on, but apparently this gift of the proceeds of the land was part of a pledge by an assembled multitude to give all proceeds from sale of their private properties to the Apostles to be redistributed to all participants according to their need. It sounded almost like a pledge to communism. If the communist governments hadn't been against all religion they could have made use of this passage to scare the masses back in the day.

The pledge was made to the Holy Spirit who had been among those gathered, not the Apostles, per se. The punishment of death was for lying to the Holy Spirit, not the Apostles. At least that's how I read it. How this applies to modern spirituality, I can't really say. I guess if you promise to do something for fellow Christians and to God, you'd better follow through? I don't know! It's an appalling story, however I try to make sense of it. I abhor the taking of life except in self defense or defense of an innocent against an aggressor.

People are horribly flawed and weak. If I understand it correctly, this couple was newly converted. I think a good talking to would have sufficed. I don't pretend to understand this story, not even as a devout Christian. Something doesn't sit right with me.

I am not a participant in any churches because my mother was a victim of similar extortion about tithing back when we didn't have much. We saw the pastors living so much better than the congregations and having collections of fancy cars while we struggled to keep old ones running. Then there was the sexual harassment we both endured when we were younger and prettier. I'm done with churches and don't trust my child to them.

But I'm not done with God or Jesus. The God I know in my daily life is a friend. I don't claim to even understand the side of God I see in the Bible or know how to reconcile some of the harsh stories I read in the Bible to the loving Savior I know and see acting in my life.

Which is why I'm on a conspiracy forum. I think the truth is out there. I think the average member of a congregation is fed only partial truths and that God is not nearly so small as so many of us make him out to be. I will continue to seek God in my own way. I've not been disappointed yet. He guides me well.

I love George Carlin and think he was a comic genius and his take on religion was spot-on. I just wish his seeking had led him to the same path I'm on, if he truly wanted to believe in God while on this earth. Well, maybe not, the path I am on isn't exactly easy. I am often meandering. George seemed content enough, so I won't be presumptuous and second guess his choices after all. Joe bless him! Lol.

Be good to one another. Take care of the poor and the needy. You can't go wrong with that. The rest is...what it is.

originally posted by: NavyDoc
The first time I heard of anything similar was there was a Synagogue in Montgomery Country Maryland (one of the richest counties in the US) when I lived there that had a buy in fee (12 thousand? IIRC?) and monthly dues like a country club.

The megachurch down the road where I live now, Baptist, wants to see pay stubs so they know exactly what to charge you for your 10%.

I sleep in on Sundays.

I live in this county in the rural part of it. The area, because of all the land available, is starting to become infested with mega churches. They can be arrogant about ignoring or fighting the county and residents about the impacts of their land use on the environment and traffic. So much for stewardship of nature!

Off topic but I've been mystified for awhile now, why is there a squiggle ~ instead of blank stars where normally I could star your post?

a reply to: Spider879

That's beyond ridiculous! I hope she told them where to stick their church, and I say that as a Southern Baptist. If the church has financial issues, then they have financial issues. They can discuss those with members, and ask for donations, but they have no business telling people they have to pay x amount, or they can't be members! I never heard of such a thing! A single mom, with probably a very limited income, and they expect regular fees for attendance? Ar they a church or a social club??

Too many churches these days are more about what money they can squeeze out of people than they are about sharing the Gospel, or, hey, helping people in need! Offerings are supposed to be voluntary, given from the heart, as a person feels lead to give, not demanded and counted and rated.

Hope she finds a real church to attend.