(09-27-2021, 02:23 PM)tomh009 Wrote:From my personal experience it is typically local independent churches that do the most community work. I am religious but I'll be the first to admit I'm not a large fan of massive religious organizations such as the Catholic church which could and should do far more in their communities.(09-27-2021, 10:45 AM)Rainrider22 Wrote: It is a shame that you see it like this. Many churches have strong out reach programs simply to assist others.
Many do, but certainly all do not. The assets of the Catholic Church, for example, are incredibly vast compared to its purely charitable activities -- or its support for residential school survivors. And I won't even mention the (less mainstream) churches that have vastly enriched their founders.
So, it would have been good if this particular church had explictly planned and committed to build affordable housing. They did not, and we don't know what their motivations were for this decision. We likely won't find out, either, since their books are not public.
I cannot speak for anything more than my church personally, but they have done and incredible amount of work in the region, from building their buildings at the outset to double as community centers, to programs to tackle hunger and homelessness. Even helping local families who cant afford Christmas gifts for their children get something from their wishlist and so on. Our church doesnt even send an offering plate around, it relies solely on peoples voluntary donations through their website. Again obviously this is not all churches, in fact it's hardly enough of them, but I can assure you my church is a force for good with no strings attached. I believe any church that actually follows and believes the doctrine they supposedly subscribe to, would do community work no strings attached because at the end of the day that's what it's ultimately about, being a force for good in your community