Ranchi: Exactly a month after demonetisation was announced, church leaders have confessed that donations from the faithful had dropped by more than 50 per cent, so much so that philanthropic activities had been cut back and Christmas celebrations were likely to be low-key.
“People, particularly those in remote areas, are now offering us rice and vegetables instead of cash. We fully understand their predicament since the shortage of cash and restrictions on withdrawals have left everyone with very little cash in their hands,” said Johan Dang, the moderator of Gossner Evangelical Lutheran (GEL) Church, the oldest church in Chotanagpur.
The church, the moderator confessed, had always banked on its people and explained that since July 10, 1919 when GEL Church had declared autonomy it meant that all its activities were to be carried out with the help of donations from its own people, without depending on outside sources. A drop in collections meant that the church had very little by way of cash to continue its philanthropic activities, The Telegraph reported.
“While the church depends on its faithful, its people too depend on the church in their hour of need. There are lots of people who are sick and needy and have to be supported. Besides, there are pensions to be paid and scholarships to be given to needy students. The cash crunch would also force us to keep this year’s Christmas celebrations low-key,” Dang lamented.
However, GEL Church was appreciative of Prime Minister Modi’s initiative against black money. “We hope that the dislocations are short-lived. We are confident that the Union government would soon come out with appropriate solutions,” the moderator emphasised.
At Church of North India (CNI), Bishop B.B. Baskey revealed that their collections had also nose-dived by more than half in the last month.
“With very little cash with us, many of our charitable activities have been adversely affected. We need to tone down Christmas celebrations this year. While our churches would be lit up, fewer than usual lights would be used. However, like previous years, we would continue to donate warm clothing to the poor,” the bishop said, adding that the problems notwithstanding, the war on black money should continue.
Bishop Baskey described as “silver lining”, the rapid promotion of a cashless economy. “Our schools and other educational institutions would now need to upgrade their age-old book keeping system to online methods to ensure complete transparency and accountability,” he said.
At the St. Mary’s Cathedral on Purulia Road, Ranchi, parish priest Theodore Toppo confessed that with collections from the Catholic faithful on a downward spiral, he was finding it difficult to meet daily expenses.
“We have more coins than notes. There are many Re 1, Rs 2 and Rs 5 coins with us. There are lots of repair and paint jobs to be done before Christmas. Since no one wants to be paid in coins, I don’t know what to do,” he said.