radios and opinions
I was on the radio this morning!
I was listening to talk radio on my way to work, as I do every once in a while, and the topic of discussion interested me so I decided to call in. You can read the full story for background, but I'll summarize the basics for you.
Catholic schools give hefty discounts to parents who are members of the Catholic Church (I'm not sure if it matters if they're members of the parish affiliated with the school or any parish - in this case I think it's the specific parish). Until now, it seems, all you had to do to receive the discount was register as a member of the church that was it.
Beginning this school year, St. Jerome Parish School in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin will be linking church attendance to this discount. Parents that want the discount must have a 70% attendance rate to qualify. Fall below that in any quarter of the school year, and you lose it for the rest of the year.
Having attended Lutheran grade school and high school, this is not news to me. Lutherans have been doing this for years. Every year I had to get my pastor to sign off on a form that qualified me for the LCMS member discount. Each church did it differently, I'm sure, but mine was small enough that the pastor simply knew whether my family was attending regularly and active in the church.
The idea behind it is not coercive in nature, at least that's not the way I saw it. Church members are assumed to be giving to the church on a weekly basis. Since these people are already giving to the church, they are given a discount for their children's education within that church system. That's the whole idea behind the discount. If you're not a member of the church, you shouldn't receive that discount because you're not paying into the system in the first place.
When I called into the show, the first caller called it utter hypocrisy and criticized the local parish for doing this. The next caller defended it, saying that she went to Lutheran schools (WELS, I believe) and saw no problem with it. I was up next and reiterated what the previous caller had said, adding my logic to the discount (previous paragraph) to it. I wanted to add how my church ALWAYS explicitly asks visitors to the church NOT to place any money in the collection basket because the offering is only meant for regular attenders, but he had already moved on.
Anyway, I think I've been on the radio as a caller maybe once before. It's kinda fun!
So, in my spirit of stirring the pot, what do you think? Is it a good idea to require church attendance for the discount or is the church going too far in penalizing parents who are just trying to give their kids a good education?
EDIT: Because this is a private school, clearly they have the legal right to do this. I'm curious to know your opinion of the decision.
I was listening to talk radio on my way to work, as I do every once in a while, and the topic of discussion interested me so I decided to call in. You can read the full story for background, but I'll summarize the basics for you.
Catholic schools give hefty discounts to parents who are members of the Catholic Church (I'm not sure if it matters if they're members of the parish affiliated with the school or any parish - in this case I think it's the specific parish). Until now, it seems, all you had to do to receive the discount was register as a member of the church that was it.
Beginning this school year, St. Jerome Parish School in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin will be linking church attendance to this discount. Parents that want the discount must have a 70% attendance rate to qualify. Fall below that in any quarter of the school year, and you lose it for the rest of the year.
Having attended Lutheran grade school and high school, this is not news to me. Lutherans have been doing this for years. Every year I had to get my pastor to sign off on a form that qualified me for the LCMS member discount. Each church did it differently, I'm sure, but mine was small enough that the pastor simply knew whether my family was attending regularly and active in the church.
The idea behind it is not coercive in nature, at least that's not the way I saw it. Church members are assumed to be giving to the church on a weekly basis. Since these people are already giving to the church, they are given a discount for their children's education within that church system. That's the whole idea behind the discount. If you're not a member of the church, you shouldn't receive that discount because you're not paying into the system in the first place.
When I called into the show, the first caller called it utter hypocrisy and criticized the local parish for doing this. The next caller defended it, saying that she went to Lutheran schools (WELS, I believe) and saw no problem with it. I was up next and reiterated what the previous caller had said, adding my logic to the discount (previous paragraph) to it. I wanted to add how my church ALWAYS explicitly asks visitors to the church NOT to place any money in the collection basket because the offering is only meant for regular attenders, but he had already moved on.
Anyway, I think I've been on the radio as a caller maybe once before. It's kinda fun!
So, in my spirit of stirring the pot, what do you think? Is it a good idea to require church attendance for the discount or is the church going too far in penalizing parents who are just trying to give their kids a good education?
EDIT: Because this is a private school, clearly they have the legal right to do this. I'm curious to know your opinion of the decision.