Bribery and gambling. Nice. Pastor Newman has a future as a television evangelist.

Perhaps he can seek to have his fame and fortune enhanced by his addition to the list of churches being investigated by the Senate Finance Committee.
The Rabbit.

Why not offer folks a ride to Church?  Get a few Church vans going or a Church bus.  Not only would folks save on their personal fuel bills, they could get a tax deduction for donating to the Church’s bus fund.  I think it would be pleasant to ride together to Church.  Folks could talk or sing hymns all the way.  After Church, they could discuss the sermon and fellowship. 

Oh well...good luck with the gas card thing.

No different from “bribing” poor people with food or education, something the Church has done since its foundation.

Why don’t they sell indulgences instead?

The Catholic Church has for decades run BINGO halls and raffled off Cadillacs.  No difference here.

One of Dave Walker’s cartoons suggests a classier way.

A first-time churchgoer sits down and notes that the numbers on the hymn-board match those in her copy of the bulletin. “She could hardly believe she had won on her first visit to church.”

Jim [#6]: Bingo and raffles raise money for the church. I never heard of an RC parish hand out free bingo and raffle tickets for attending mass.

Good point #3. I hate gimmicks at church. Jesus didn’t have a raffle to get people to the sermon on the mount. Practical things that reach out to the community will bring in people willing to stay and listen rather than just showing up to win a contest.

Irenaeus,

the point, I believe, is does the ends justify the means?

Peace
Jim Elliott

I’ll have you know that it’s Harley’s, not Caddy’s raffled off in my parish.  The Knights of Columbus usually do it and I’m pretty sure the proceeds go to charitable activities, not to “the Church”. 

Actually, bingo is passe.  The last bingo hall I knew was at an Episcopal parish.  After the congregation became Catholic (as a community) they carried it on for awhile, but eventually dropped it.  The little sign on a post out front used to advertise bingo on Friday night now announces Adoration all day Friday.  It’s true that in some places (Louisiana, I think), parishes were so dependent on bingo they had to wean off it.

Jim [#10]: Agreed. I see nothing inherently wrong in bingo or raffles. They are, if legal, akin to other fund-raising techniques in which donors receive something of modest value in exchange for their contributions.

Lots of churches have Bazaars, raffles, and its not just the Romans who do bingo.  I even know of one church where the sermon suggested everybody to purchase 10 lottery tickets (and give $10 less that week) so that maybe the Lord might provide more funds for the Building fund.  I know that nobody hit the powerball but I do know some folks won a bit and that the net gain (income from the lottery proceeds from those who participated in lieu of their money in the offering plate) was a few hundred.  Well, remember, the first “replacement apostle” was chosen by gambling.

Words Matter,
my mom goes to the Thursday night BINGO at the Knights of Columbus Hall every week.  BINGO is still alive and well in the Catholic Church in South Florida. I can’t speak for your part of the world, but it thrives in Catholic parishes in the South.