Another Rant

I know I spend waaaaay too much time thinking (okay, obsessing) on this, but another newsletter arrived today, and yet again, I am ASS. TOWN. DED. by the unadulterated assumption that I can't remember what's been said before...and that I can't put 1 good idea, and 1 bad decision together and come up with an answer.

This month's diatribe is not full of "every sneeze and dinner", thank God (prayer DO get answered!) but, it also mentions TWO amusement park trips AND the necessity to cut out all outreach because of a lack of funds.

Now, I realize I no longer belong to this parish. And I am fully aware that, since the former is true, there may be some nuance to the situation that I'm missing, but, it seems absolutely assinine to BRAG about one thing while lamenting the other. They're also a church who for YEARS (decades, really) could afford to send ALL the parish children who wanted to go to camp (with parents paying ONLY the registration fee--which is, this year, only $25), but this year, they can't afford to help anybody go.

That's like bragging you paid $500 for Penguin tickets, but crying the blues because your electric is shut off.

I don't think it takes a Nobel Prize winning thought process to figure out that if, as a church, you can't afford even the smallest on-going outreach (especially a local program you started!) you don't go out and rent buses and pay admissions for even small groups to go on rides and eat nachos and hot dogs. I can't fathom being able to justify RENTAL of carnival games--for an event that while it may raise community awareness of your church, it does not bring in any money--but it can't afford it's diocesan assessments (and is actually putting it's excuses in writing.)

Ass. Town. Ding.

At some point, somebody has to remember that in the past (around the time I left, btw), when the situation arose that there wasn't enough money to pay for the basics, it was time to evaluate WHY.

WHY is the parish priest promoting (and being allowed to promote) events that suck the treasure dry? WHY is this man running at the mouth about how desperately they need money, even to pay his salary, but money can be found for bus trips? WHY aren't these people more concerned over WHY it's congregation is NOT giving (and trying to alternately embarrass or extort money from them)? I assume they want to increase the fold so that these newbies will give them something for Fr. Attention Whore to put into his billfold.

Why am I so obsessed? Because this is a church with wonderful people. This is the church that, in spite of the crap, I still love. It hurts me to see something as beautiful, as spiritual, as this turned into a begging, whinging, money-grubbing prostitute.

It hurts to know that with each passing month, the fond memories I still have are overshadowed by Fr. Attention Whore.

It also makes me angry because he gives every one of the fellow churches a bad name--guilt by association, I'd call it.

It turns my stomach--and because we're all such polite Christians, I have to be mature enough to allow them to embarrass themselves for Fr. Attention Whore's sake if they want to.