By Lois K. Solomon
South Florida News-Sentinel
October 18, 2006
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-pcollection15oct18,0,7486495.story?coll=sfla-news-front
Every week, churchgoers drop their money into collection plates, trusting it will pay expenses and help the poor.
The money typically disappears into the hands of an usher, who bags and deposits it in a safe place before volunteers count it.
But who are the volunteers? Who does the counting? Who brings the treasure to the bank? Who makes sure what's deposited is the same as what's collected?
 |
|
Donations Ascension Catholic Church members and volunteer counters Marion Gillcrist, left, and Norma O'Hara count money collected during six Masses over the weekend. Photo by The Sun-Sentinel/Carline Jean |
After a former priest at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Delray Beach told police last month that he misappropriated thousands, possibly millions, from the weekly offertory, some are questioning what happens after they pass that plate through the pews.
"I always trusted the church would take care of my money," said Jackie Fiorenzi, a parishioner of Ascension Catholic Church in Boca Raton. "Now that this has happened, it makes you wonder."
The Rev. Charles Hawkins, Ascension's pastor, opened up his collection process to show his system is aboveboard and secure. He believes his financial accountability will be judged in the afterlife.
"When I die, I want them to say: 'Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter the kingdom of heaven,'" said Hawkins, 59, who has led Ascension for three years and served as the Diocese of Palm Beach's chancellor and vicar general, positions close to the bishop.
Whether they are Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Catholics or Baptists, few who attend religious services know who shepherds the plates from the vault to the counting table to the bank. It's a well-kept secret. Even the women who counted the money in a locked Ascension conference room last week haven't told their families what they do one morning each week after Mass.
Hawkins said he never told the women not to reveal their identities. But he said he doesn't want to encourage theft by releasing every detail about the counting process.
Churches want their collection plates to overflow with cash and checks so they can maintain their ministries. But priests also know they are dealing with a lot of cash that requires an intricate accounting system and lots of observers to avoid misuse.
At many churches, there is less cash in the collection plates than there was years ago because people make monthly or annual donations, many through electronic deposits.
Still, the collection plate is a tried and true method, said Michael Durall, author of Beyond the Collection Plate, a guide to church fundraising.
"It's not just about collecting money," Durall said. "Sharing is a deeply religious expression. There's a sense that through sharing, we find God."
At Ascension and most Christian churches, parishioners pass collection baskets, which are guided by three volunteer ushers. Chief usher Ed Sinski dumps the basket for the first offering, money for Ascension, in a beige canvas bag. Money for the second offering, for churches in New Orleans and Biloxi, Miss., hit by Hurricane Katrina, goes into a green bag.
Sinski tosses the bags into a steel deposit door at the front of the church. The door leads to a vault, where the money from the six weekend Masses is stored until it is counted during the week.
Two people escort the money, hidden in a garbage bag, to the counting room. Church receptionist Nancy Frost empties the bags onto a conference room table.
Frost notices two of 12 bags are missing. She makes some phone calls, and a church employee discovers the missing bags caught in the chute between the depository door and the vault.
Joan Corapi, a volunteer who has been counting the offertory at Ascension for three years, said she never knows what she will find on the table. Recently, she and the others found two dollar bills shaped into paper airplanes and another bill cut in half.
The counters separate the checks from the cash. Some people make deposits in pre-addressed envelopes so they can get credit for their taxes. Anyone who donates more than $250 gets a thank-you note from Hawkins. Hawkins said he stays away from the counting room so he cannot be accused of impropriety.
Corapi and the volunteers separate the bills by denomination and feed them into a counting machine. Corapi bands the money, adds it up on a tally sheet and places the stacks in specially marked bags for deposit at the bank.
Total collected on a recent weekend: $11,653, including $7,355 in checks, $2,383 in cash and $1,915 in automatic deposits.
The second offering collected $1,594 for Katrina churches.
Maintenance staff members take the money to the bank, and church bookkeeper Elaine Messina makes sure what's deposited is the same as what's collected.
Hawkins said he doesn't know how the process could be improved, since it follows the dictates of the Diocese of Palm Beach. Still, observers say there is room for more security.
Voice of the Faithful, a Boston-based Catholic laity group that monitors the church, is circulating a petition that seeks detailed publication of parish financial documents and finance councils consisting of lay members who are not "lackeys" of the church. The group is also exploring whether to recommend tamper-resistant collection bags that could not be opened between Mass and the counting room.
Spirited Lay Action Movement, a Catholic Church watchdog group that focuses on the Archdiocese of Miami, also is concerned about a lack of financial controls.
"I don't know how you do away with a collection plate," President John-Campbell Barmmer said. "You need to have it in writing that there needs to be 'X' amount of people present when money is counted. You need good accounting procedures, like you would have in any business, to reduce temptation."
Lois Solomon can be reached at lsolomon@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6536.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.