Frustration and Dissapointment.
So I belong to the Unitarian Universalist Church here in Hopkinsville. It's a group of people I mesh well with for the most part, and going on Sundays is an enjoyable experience for me.
But.
There's always a "but" right? See, the church is small, and the membership is dwindling. I didn't understand why, until recently. See, because the membership is so small the church is having a hard time meeting it's expenses. Which, I agree, is a problem. However, one or two very loud voices in the minority have made this issue the main focus of the church lately, and I find that it is beginning to diminish the experience of going. Even in the CATHOLIC churches I have attended in the past I was never made to feel guilty if I couldn't contribute my thithe. I contributed in other ways, any way that I could, and I felt that was enough. Lately, simply because of literrally ONE PERSON in this church, I have felt... inadequate. I find myself feeling embarrassed or ashamed to be there on weeks when I don't have the money to contribute to the collection plate.
This same voice is one that is speaking out AGAINST having community outreach programs in the chuch. They do not want to let non church related small weekly, biweekly, or once monthly groups use the chuch building for their activities without being able to pay a fee. I've NEVER heard of a church charge these types of groups. NEVER. And it's a darn shame, because it's the ONE REAL WAY they could increase their membership. Instead it's going to get spread around town that the UU is a greedy bunch of you-know-whats. And it's a shame because apart from these one or two people, that's not what this group is like at all.
**sighs**
But.
There's always a "but" right? See, the church is small, and the membership is dwindling. I didn't understand why, until recently. See, because the membership is so small the church is having a hard time meeting it's expenses. Which, I agree, is a problem. However, one or two very loud voices in the minority have made this issue the main focus of the church lately, and I find that it is beginning to diminish the experience of going. Even in the CATHOLIC churches I have attended in the past I was never made to feel guilty if I couldn't contribute my thithe. I contributed in other ways, any way that I could, and I felt that was enough. Lately, simply because of literrally ONE PERSON in this church, I have felt... inadequate. I find myself feeling embarrassed or ashamed to be there on weeks when I don't have the money to contribute to the collection plate.
This same voice is one that is speaking out AGAINST having community outreach programs in the chuch. They do not want to let non church related small weekly, biweekly, or once monthly groups use the chuch building for their activities without being able to pay a fee. I've NEVER heard of a church charge these types of groups. NEVER. And it's a darn shame, because it's the ONE REAL WAY they could increase their membership. Instead it's going to get spread around town that the UU is a greedy bunch of you-know-whats. And it's a shame because apart from these one or two people, that's not what this group is like at all.
**sighs**