Tithe of the Tithe

When Father Andrew first came to St. Thomas More, one of the first things he did was to start a charity account from the offertory – the tithe of the tithe. “We ask people to make a tithe from their personal income,” he said, “and so must the parish” We need to walk the talk, as the following Scripture message says,

“Give the Levites these instructions: When you receive from the Israelites the tithes I have assigned to you from them as your heritage, you are to make a contribution from them to the Lord, a tithe of the tithes; and your contribution will be credited to you as if it were grain from the threshing floor or new wine from the press. Thus you too shall make a contribution from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites, handing over to Aaron the priest the part to be contributed to the Lord. From all the gifts that you receive and from the best parts, you are to consecrate to the Lord your own full contribution.”
-- Numbers 18:26-29
Thus, in Stewardship spirituality, we teach giving a tithe back to God. Tithing means giving God the first and the best. In tithing we recognize that:

* God is the owner, and we are the managers of His treasure
* We give back 10% -- a tithe -- the first and the best of what we have including our time, talent and treasure
* A tithe is not leftover or table droppings
* It is the best portion, the first portion.
* It is a sign of our love to give the first and the best to God.

Some parishes give 10 percent of their collection from a particular week to charity. For example, when a missionary comes to a parish for a mission appeal, the parish would give them 10 percent of the collection for that week. Doing it this way poses some problems, because not all charities have the same exact needs.

At St. Thomas More 10 percent of the weekly collection is deposited immediately to an STM Charity Account and distributed accordingly. As Father Andrew often says, “This is God’s money, not the parish’s.” It is given to charity in the Name of God. It is a restricted fund that can only be used for charitable causes outside of St. Thomas More. It cannot benefit St. Thomas More or its staff.

How is the Charity Account allocated? Please see my next blog.