You support the parish through regular, proportional giving, in a way that fits your means. Fr. Michael or the parish office can explain how giving works at St. Michael.
Parishes handle giving in different ways.
Regular, planned giving lets a parish build a realistic budget for the year, paying utilities, maintaining the building, supporting ministries, and meeting its obligations to the Archdiocese. Give prayerfully, considering what God has given you and what you can offer back.
What We Mean by Stewardship
If you’re coming from a Baptist or evangelical background, you might expect to hear about tithing, the Old Testament practice of giving ten percent. Orthodoxy does not impose it as a fixed rule. Not because we want less from you, but because we’re asking for something different.
St. Paul wrote that “God loves a cheerful giver.” He didn’t specify a percentage. The early Church fathers, including St. John Chrysostom, taught that everything we have belongs to God anyway. We’re stewards, not owners. So the question isn’t “How much of my money do I owe God?” It’s “How do I use what God’s entrusted to me?”
For most Orthodox Christians, that means proportional giving. As your income grows, your giving grows. Some families give five percent. Some give fifteen. Some give more in lean years than they thought possible because they’ve learned to trust God’s provision. The amount matters less than the heart behind it.
The Practical Side
Most parishes offer several ways to give. Ways to give vary by parish and may include checks, mail, or online giving. Many parishes now have online giving portals where you can set up automatic payments, helpful if you work offshore two weeks on, two weeks off, or if you travel frequently for work.
Some people give cash in an envelope with their name on it so the treasurer can record it for tax purposes. Yes, your giving is tax-deductible. And yes, it’s confidential. The priest doesn’t get a spreadsheet of who gave what. That’s between you and the parish treasurer.
You can also give non-cash gifts: stocks, bonds, even bequests in your will. If you’ve been blessed financially and want to make a larger impact, talk to the parish council about those options.
Why This Matters
Orthodox parishes don’t have wealthy denominations backing them. We’re not Southern Baptists with the Cooperative Program. We’re not Catholics with Vatican resources. Each parish is largely self-supporting. If the air conditioning breaks in August (and in Southeast Texas, it will), we fix it from what the parish has received in offerings.
More importantly, this is how we live out our membership in the Body of Christ. When you give regularly, you’re saying, “I belong here. This is my parish family. I’m committed to its life and mission.” It’s not about earning salvation, we can’t buy our way into heaven. But supporting the Church is part of how we respond to God’s grace in our lives.
St. Basil the Great said that when we give to the Church and the poor, we’re lending to God. Not a bad investment.
Getting Started
If you’re new, don’t stress about this. Talk to someone on the parish council or ask after coffee hour. Most parishes are just grateful you’re there and learning. But when you’re ready to make St. Michael’s your church home, ask Fr. Michael or the parish office how to begin.
Start where you can. Pray about it. Then commit to it faithfully. The kingdom of God is built on thousands of small acts of faithfulness, including the quiet discipline of supporting your local parish month after month, year after year.
