Church gives back donations

The Elim Church of New Zealand is standing by the Napier Oasis Elim Church, which yesterday returned more than $20,000 to a disabled man who had given the church his life savings.
The donations were reported by Otatara Rest Care and Rehabilitation manager Lucy Dever after she found out Whetu Abraham, 54, who lives at Otatara, could not afford dental care because he had donated $10,000 to the church in the last year and $12,000 the year before.
She described taking the money as "unethical, immoral and I believe un-Christian" and said Mr Abraham believed he would go to hell if he did not give. She was pleased the money had been returned and said it was all they had wanted from the church.
Mr Abraham said he gave to the church on the understanding that he received support from it but church members were not visiting him as much as they used to.
Elim national leader Pastor Luke Brough said the Napier church had written a cheque from its own funds to reimburse Mr Abraham, who is a partial tetraplegic since being hit by a car in 1986 and lives in a rest home.
Mr Abraham had given the money willingly and was "adamant that he wanted to give the funds to the church", Mr Brough said.
Tithing is the practice of donating a portion of income to the church. It is usually considered about 10 per cent but could vary at different churches and denominations.
The church supported and encouraged tithing, but people chose how much to give and were not asked for a specific amount of money, Mr Brough said.
"We place no pressure on people to give," he said.
"We do not control or dictate to our congregations how they choose to spend their money."
Giving did not only mean money, it could also be giving time.
Mr Brough said the Napier church served the local community well and had taken the donations in good faith.
Any donations by Mr Abraham that he had not put his name to would not be returned because they could not be identified.
Napier Oasis Elim Church Pastor Bruce Collingwood visited Mr Abraham on Monday to ask him to sign a letter exonerating the church.
Mr Collingwood refused to comment on his visit or the Napier church's policy on tithing and would not tell Hawke's Bay Today what the money had been used for.
He was aware some people would see returning the money as damage control.
"In the end, people will think what they want to think but we have just done what we think is the right thing to do," Mr Collingwood said.
A former member of the Napier Oasis Elim Church, who did not want to be identified, said Mr Collingwood told church members that they should give to the church before paying rent and other expenses.
Mr Collingwood allegedly told parishioners that God wanted them to give to the church and if they followed God's wishes then He would provide for them.