Cancel bingo, go to Hell

Actually it wasn't even that. All the pastor wanted was for an outside bingo group to contribute something (video). For twenty years the parish has been eating all the costs, providing the space for free. Now the pastor wants the group to help pay for the A/C and cover wear and tear on the equipment. But a woman they interviewed is convinced he's going to Hell for it.

(Disclaimer: I am friends with said pastor but I'd think this was ridiculous regardless of who it was.)

I'd like to ask the woman what commandment he's breaking. Thou shalt entertain thine elders and offer them big prizes? True, there is more to Christian morality than the commandments, but the point remains: Where does it say that it is wrong to ask for some reimbursement when using church property when the church can no longer give free rent to any group who wants it?

The leader of the bingo group — which, curiously, is never named, despite the fact that bingo is tightly regulated in Massachusetts and you can't just get some ad-hoc group together to do it — claims that they operate at a loss. This makes things even more interesting. How can you continue to do bingo if all you're doing is losing money? Either you have a big savings (and I'm not sure that's allowed), or someone is bankrolling you (which also seems doubtful). I suspect what she meant was that 1) we are struggling to break even; or 2) if we paid these fees, we'd be at a loss. The article said she's "stepping down" and bingo is ending. That almost sounds like she's part of a larger organization.

I haven't talked to the pastor so I don't know his reasons. The obvious reason would be to provide revenue or reduce expenses for a tight budget. That's easy enough to believe. It might also be that he's not thrilled with the concept of bingo and is trying to starve it out. I can't remember his stand on bingo so I can't comment on that.

I admit that this is sad, but I understand the need to have outside organizations pay for the use of church facilities.