IN THEORY:Church giving and global relief

There is the American Red Cross, for example, and the United Way. I have mentioned before in this space the group Oxfam America, which feeds the hungry and tries to show those in need how to help themselves. The Salvation Army, the Union Rescue Mission, the Los Angeles Mission — all these are groups that seek to feed the hungry and shelter the homeless. All these groups also ask for money, so those of us who attempt to tithe (that's 10% of one's income) may give to some of these groups as well as to our houses of worship.

So if church giving is down, that fact may not be a bad thing. There are scads of good causes out there, and each of us, religious or not, must decide how we want our charity spent.

Jesus said one time, "Whoever is not for us is against us." But he also said, "Whoever is not against us is for us."

So the point is to minister to the needy — and as long as the needy are being ministered to, who cares where the money comes from? That doesn't let the religious community off the hook, but the fact that there are worthy causes outside of the religious community should be a consideration.

THE REV. C.L.

"SKIP" LINDEMAN

Congregational Church

of the Lighted Window

United Church of Christ

La Cañada Flintridge

Churches do not exist primarily to educate foreign children or to combat health problems worldwide, which seems to be an assumption of the study and perhaps the perception of many.

There are programs that do those particular things, but churches rarely have the facilities to engage such concerns, even if they wished.

Churches exist primarily to bring neighborhood people into positive spiritual relationship with God, and then help them develop that new life by providing spiritual learning and support. The result translates into people addressing such perceived social issues, on account of their relationship to Christ and subsequent concern for others. We have historically led in humanitarian outreach because congregants were moved by their local church to apply their faith and produce such good works together.

Churches do generally designate set percentages of their giving to benevolence missions through denominations, so that congregations collectively might create impact beyond their own capabilities. Unfortunately, financial giving fluctuates according to attendance, much like retailers whose customer patronage vacillates.