In tomorrow’s AJC

By Bob Howard

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

In tomorrow’s AJC

The recession’s latest victim? Churches

It was, without a doubt, a double whammy.

Catholic Charities Atlanta, the Catholic Archdiocese’s social service non- profit, saw its donations fall by $200,000 this year. Church contributions were down, but so, too, was money the church receives from agencies, such as the United Way.

Just as the budget fell, demand for help more than doubled.

“We went from serving 14,000 people to 32,000 people this year,” says Joe Krygiel, the director of Catholic Charities.

With more folks needing help, Catholic Charities staff members now have less time to spend with clients, and they’re trying to find ways to work faster, such as preparing a handout with information about housing rather than spending time with a client, Krygiel said.

So it goes, as churches around the metro area – and the country – face the most severe drop in donations in a generation.

How bad is it?

The Georgia [Southern] Baptist Convention saw its budget between 2008 and 2009 drop from $49 million to $45 million.

And Hamilton Mill United Methodist Church in Gwinnett County, donations declined more than $150,000 from last year.