The Covid-19 pandemic seems to have left few sectors unharmed, and Christian churches are no exception. The decrease in attendance of congregants led to a decrease in income in the form of donations for many churches, according to Prof Christo Lombaard, the head of department of Practical Theology and Mission Studies at the University of Pretoria (UP). MatieMedia spoke to religious academics and church leaders about the financial effect of Covid-19 on churches, as well as the repercussions thereof.
Church attendance was prohibited under lockdown levels four and five, and numbers were limited under level three. The decrease in attendance of congregants led to a decrease in income in the form of donations for many churches, while others remained “remarkably stable”. GRAPHIC: Kirsty Bucholz
The sound of church bells rang as a call to prayer. They summoned parishioners who listened idly from their homes, unable to attend. This was the case during hard lockdown.
In South Africa, church attendance was prohibited under lockdown levels four and five. Under level three, faith-based or religious gatherings were permitted, but limited to 50 persons or less for indoor venues and 100 persons or less for outdoor venues, according to the South African government website.
Churches and religious organisations either function as non-governmental organisations (NGO) or non-profit organisations (NPO), according to the South African Christian Directory (SACD). NGOs and NPOs “play a significant role in society as they take a shared responsibility with government for the social and development needs of the country”, according to the SARS website.
The effect on charity
“As a church we generally rely on the generosity of the members through their donations, Sunday collections, and other forms of monthly contributions,” says Father Phuti Makgabo, from the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) communication office. Makgabo spoke to MatieMedia about the general decrease in donations in Catholic churches due to Covid-19 induced financial strain among congregants.
According to Makgabo, a few Catholic churches have managed, while many have found themselves in the red.
The SACBC supports quite a number of initiatives and charities from their fund called Bishops’ Lenten Appeal, says Makgabo. The fund is collected annually during the first two weeks of lent. Lent takes place in March and April during the 40 days leading up to Easter.
In 2019 the collection was almost R10 million, but in 2020 it was less than half of that, with a total amount of R3 903 235. This year, in 2021 the church saw an improvement from 2020, with the collection just below R5 million.
There has always been a tradition of collecting food parcels for the poor in many of the SACBC parishes (community churches), explains Makgabo. “With the lockdown, that too was severely affected. So much so that in many parishes it ceased to exist.”
According to Makgabo, many parishes managed to help “a lot” during the first hard lockdown but then gradually ran out of reserves. “Since congregants could not go to church, so too food parcels were not going to church,” he adds.
“The opportunity to exercise the tradition of putting something into the collection plate simply wasn’t there. Few people have converted their physical giving patterns into e-donations,” says Prof Christo Lombaard, the head of department of Practical Theology and Mission Studies at the University of Pretoria. Pictured above is Kruiskerk in Stellenbosch. PHOTO: Kirsty Bucholz
We are Durban Social Upliftment is an organisation that aids charities in the eThekwini area. They work with a few churches who get involved with their projects, says Linda Morrison, managing director of the organisation.
“Some of our programmes that rely on the church goods-in-kind donations have decreased their impact, an example of this is a food hamper drive [that] we do annually. In 2019 we did 1500 hampers, [whereas] in 2020 we only did 450 (and churches only contributed 75 to that),” explains Morrison.
Prof Christo Lombaard, the head of department of Practical Theology and Mission Studies at the University of Pretoria (UP), is involved with the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) officially, but informally has a wide ecumenical reach. Within the DRC, existing outreach and charity programmes, as well as once-off activities have increased, says Lombaard. This occurred despite less funding or resources being available.
“Which means savings have been depleted, whether these funds had been earmarked for problems, for crises or for other requirements,” Lombaard explains. Some churches find themselves in debt now.
According to Lombaard, during hard lockdowns some churches went against government directives in order to serve the community. For example, they continued to distribute food packets, “because here the people are: hungry and in need”.
Pieter le Roux, treasurer of the DRC of Stellenbosch West, says that the church has a goal to do more in their broader community. “As a result, we were very fortunate to be able to increase our outreach and charity programmes in the broader community during 2020 and 2021,” he adds.
Finances
Like any other entity, churches have to pay for amenities such as services, water, electricity, insurance, security and staff, says Makgabo. “With the lockdown it meant that some people lost their jobs [and] therefore could not contribute to the church’s purse,” he says.
Donations decreased “tremendously” across the board in Catholic churches, which negatively affected their outreach programmes, explains Makgabo. “In most cases people still contribute cash, meaning if they are not going to church, there’s no money going in,” he adds.
The DRC of Stellenbosch West re-budgeted three times during 2020, and monitored their expenses closely, Le Roux explains. “This is something that we normally do […] but like everyone we needed to tighten our belt even more,” he adds.
The Covid-19 pandemic has increased the demand for ministerial duties, such as conducting funerals and pastoral counselling, for many church leaders, says Prof Christo Lombaard, the head of department of Practical Theology and Mission Studies at UP. GRAPHIC: Kirsty Bucholz
The church attempted to act proactively when the hard lockdown was announced, by anticipating a decline in donations and pressure on their cash flows and finances, according to Le Roux.
During 2020, with their fiscal year ending on 28 February 2021, the church achieved their original budgeted income figure. For 2021, “it is still too early to tell, but we seem to be on track in reaching our goals at this stage”, says Le Roux.
Lombaard explains that he noticed a “strong trend” that as no people, and later only limited numbers of people could attend Sunday services, their contributions dropped accordingly.
“The opportunity to exercise the tradition of putting something into the collection plate simply wasn’t there,” he says. “Few people have converted their physical giving patterns into e-donations.”
In contrast to the other churches mentioned, Dr Dieter de Bruin, a minister at NG Faerie Glen in Pretoria says that their funds remained “remarkably stable”. “People still managed to donate and make offerings,” says De Bruin.
NG Faerie Glen and some of their sister congregations’ contributions to the community also increased, said De Bruin.
NG Faerie Glen is a congregation of mostly older people, according to De Bruin. As a church, their biggest problem was the loss of the sense of community and connection because of lockdown restrictions on attending church.