Givers tend to clergy needs

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Adveritser Religon Writer

Dan Chun, pastor of First Presbyterian in Honolulu, had been bracing for a tough Christmas, but when the plate was passed and final tallies returned, his church managed to meet its goal of covering its deficit.

"We pulled it out," reported Chun, whose Christmas figures weren't available until mid-January.

Just as Chun's church had faced a $108,000 deficit, other pastors and church administrators had worried before the Christmas season that Hawai'i's tough economic climate would take its toll on church giving.

"It's like retail," Chun said. "Most of the giving comes in December."

As reported in The Advertiser in December, Chun and other ministers had said before the holidays that they were counting on God to take care of their needs.

Surely enough, when the figurative loaves and fishes were counted in January, clergy and laypeople around O'ahu had enough in hand.

The Rev. Dennis Koshko, pastor of St. Anthony's, reported that donations at his Catholic church in Kailua took just a small dip.

"But it's not bad at all," said Koshko, who found that the Christmas collection was just $400-$500 below the previous year's tally.

He noted that parishoners also put their energies into other special projects adopted by the congregation during the Christmas season.

Rick Lazor, senior pastor of Nu'uanu Baptist, who returned to work Tuesday from a convention on the Mainland, was pleasantly surprised to see the tally for his congregation's annual Christmas offering for world missions.

"I was hoping I'd reach our goal," he said, "and we're 25 percent over."

The church expected to be a little behind in its general fund, but the reserves covered the bills.

"As far as paying for missions, and paying salaries, we didn't skip a beat," Lazor said.