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As we are on this topic I read the below two articles...I think the Goa Church should also follow the same....Eddie Verdes/Jeddah/KSA Purse strings loosen as Church rebrands tithe ASHLEY D'MELLO http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/922817.cms MUMBAI: The Bible calls it the 'tithe'- the offering of a tenth of a person's income towards religious activities. But a modern version introduced by the Catholic Church in Mumbai- unprecedented among Indian Catholics - has not only raised the revenue stream but eyebrows as well, especially among richer parishioners. Abraham, in the old testament of the Bible, gave away a tenth of his properties to the priest Melchizedek. The Catholic Church is now asking for much less-one hundredth of a person's monthly income towards a community fund for education and medical treatment for the needy as well as church maintenance and other related activities. The present system of collecting church support which involves passing around a plate at Sunday mass among the city's approximately six lakh Catholics is largely anonymous. The new system, apart from bolstering the Church's finances, ensures that Church authorities know how much each individual contributes. The community-fund concept was first started by Fr Hugh Fonseca at the IC Church at Borivali in 1999, and was found to be a successful way of raising funds for education and medical treatment. It was later discussed at the Church Synod in 2001. Its scope was broadened and is now being introduced in all the 116 Catholic parishes in the city. Tithes, know as 'zakat' in Islam, are already being offered by some of the smaller Christian sects in the city. The Church is now putting a definite value on the offerings to ensure that the well-to-do pay more. +++++++++++++ 'It's voluntary, after all you can't cheat God' ASHLEY D'MELLO MUMBAI: Abraham Mathai, general secretary of the All India Christian Council, agreed that the tithe tradition, which was prevalent among several Christian groups, was purely voluntary. "Can you cheat God?" he asked. Fr Pravin Fernandes, spokesperson for the Archbishop of Mumbai, said there was no compulsion involved. However, a priest said rumbles had been heard in some churches, and "some of the wealthier people are reluctant to pay more". Catholic Bishop Agnelo Gracias said, "It was the church support system where people made a voluntary contribution. However, the negative aspect of this was that someone earning Rs 5,000 a month and someone earning Rs 50,000 gave the same contribution. Furthermore, since the amount collected was small, it only sufficed to maintain the parish. There was not much left for community growth and welfare." Bishop Gracias, who has studied the scheme, points out that at one of the suburban parishes in the city last year Rs 25 lakh was collected with only 46 per cent of the parishioners contributing to the community fund. Agnes Drego, a housewife and a parishioner of St Anthony's Church, Vakola, said that the fund was getting a good response. "There is no compulsion and so people feel like offering money. People resent it when compulsion is used for donations," she said. Fr Larry Pereira, the parish priest of Mount Carmel Church in Bandra, said the fund would be introduced in his parish in January. "We expect a good response. We have already spoken to the people about it," he said. "The community fund will be managed by a committee and the accounts will have to be audited annually. The earlier method of asking for funds and not having any accountability will stop," he said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-922814,curpg-2.cms ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gabriel de Figueiredo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > People now earn in terms of a large value of currency > (be it pounds, dollars, rupees, euros or dinars), yet > I see people putting coins in the collection plate, be > it in Goa, Australia, UK or anywhere else. We are > supposed to be giving a tithe - a tenth of our > earnings to charity (be it Church or otherwise). This > means at least Rs 100 a week (for a person earning Rs > 4,000 a month). Does anyone put even Rs 10 in the > collection plate? As one priest commented sometime > ago in one parish I visited, "Don't make the > collection plate too heavy with coins - notes will do > nicely!". >