Our Church Order: The Budget System and Other Matters

In my last essay on the Church Order, I dealt with the last section of Article 11 that reads: "On the other hand the Consistory as representative of the congrega­tion, shall also be bound to provide for the proper support of the ministers." This, we saw, is a duty imposed by Scripture upon every member of the church. When should contributions be collected? According to the Catechism the offerings for the poor should constitute an integral part of the Sabbath service, but not so the offerings...