Corridor churches holding on, despite recession

Two years ago, the Rev. Sam Massey was cautiously optimistic about how First Presbyterian Church in Iowa City would weather the recession.

Now he says with pride that his congregation continued to financially support its church despite economic woes.

“The giving has really kept up,” said Massey, 53, pastor of the church at 2701 Rochester Ave. “I don't know how others have fared, but in my two years here, I've never lost faith in this congregation.”

Many churches rely heavily, if not survive, on the collections and tithing of their congregations. The money is used to support ministers, maintain churches and fund programming. Despite the recession, some Corridor pastors say they have actually seen little change in congregational giving, a welcome contradiction to national statistics.

According to the State of the Plate survey by Christianity Today, of the 1,017 churches surveyed, 38 percent reported an annual decline in giving, up from 29 percent a year ago.

Massey recognizes the disparity between the Midwest and the rest of the country and again looks to the next year with caution.

“The recession in Iowa is probably going to be slower in recovery than in other parts of the country, and experts are urging that we be fairly careful with our budgets,” he said.

The State of the Plate survey also found just 36 percent of churches reporting an increase in giving, compared with 47 percent a year earlier. Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids is one of them.

“We've actually increased in our congregation by a small percentage, and we're holding our own,” said the Rev. Randy Kasch, pastor of the 225-member church at 153 Cherry Hill Rd. NW. “There are families who have experienced layoffs and had to make cuts, but our congregation knows that, and others have made up the difference.”

During the fall campaign in which members pledge how much they plan to give the church in the coming year, Kasch said half of the 150 returned pledges reflected increases from the previous year.

---- “That's good news,” said Kasch, 58.

“Some people say that, historically, when a country has gone into a recession, offerings have gone up and people make that sacrifice,” he said. “It's not quite that way in our current situation, but there are those who are making up for what others can't do.”

At Zion Lutheran Church in Iowa City, congregation members took on last year a $2.6 million capital campaign for renovations - in addition to regular contributions.

“We're in a pretty good place,” said the Rev. Mark Pries, pastor of the church at 310 N. Johnson St. “We achieved our goal for the campaign. Plus, we're able to maintain the ministry.”

Churches aren't wealthy institutions, and there will still be shortages, said the Rev. John McKinstry, 59, pastor of First Christian Church, 900 Lincolnshire Pl. in Coralville. He's also the president of the interfaith Consultation of Religious Communities in Johnson County.

Still, in Eastern Iowa, he sees church members not only keeping their churches afloat but reaching out to people in need.

“At least for many of the churches and synagogue and mosque here, there's been an uptick in giving that feeds human needs directly,” McKinstry said.

Muslims and Jews are not asked to tithe like Christians. Instead, Jewish families pay a set annual membership fee that goes toward building maintenance and salaries, and Muslims, while they do donate to the mosque, are asked to give 2.5 percent of their earnings to charitable causes in general.