A loaf of bread costs more today than it did last year.

A gallon of gasoline costs more, too.

But prayer is still free, and there is no admission charge for church services. 

However, not even a house of worship is immune from an economic recession.

Churches have heating bills, fill up their vans with gas and use air conditioning in the summer.  

Historically, recessions have not necessarily resulted in a decrease in giving, according to a report in ChurchSolutionsMag.com.

 This is at least true during the first years of a recession, according to Empty Tomb Inc., which does church business research. After three years, however, pledges and giving frequently are adversely affected by a bad economy.

On the other hand, a representative from the United Methodist Funding Patterns Task Force said there is a relationship — at least in the Methodist church — between cuts in personal income and giving to the church.

“Between 1974 and 1995, giving per member followed the path of the business cycle,” said Don House of Bryan, Texas, who was on the task force. 

A number of factors can affect church-giving, including the area of the country.

For instance, some parts of the United States experience a recession that is coupled with a natural disaster, such as New Orleans or Florida after recent hurricanes.

But the Midwest has been spared some of the economic impact of the current housing crisis because housing prices never really skyrocketed in the first place, according to the National Association of Realtors. It doesn’t make the area recession-proof, but it helps.

Still, churches are at the mercy of the local economy.  Like their congregations, they  may tighten their budgets, eliminate some things temporarily and put major projects on hold.

Mike DeVries, chairman of the trustees at Calvary Methodist Church, thinks there may be some lag time between the beginning of a recession and when it shows up in the offering plate.

But he has definitely seen the recession’s influence in his church’s Thursday night FoodNet program.

For the past two years, the program, which provides food to qualifying families,  served 40 to 50 people each week. Now, at least 60 and up to 100 people request services weekly, DeVries said.

The church, which has a membership of about 200, has tried to be proactive and energy-efficient in using utilities. A timed thermostat cools the church building early on Sunday morning during the summer months so it is cool during services. 

And the church fine-tunes the temperature even more during the week, keeping it cool for events and warmer when the building is not being used.

Keeping those costs down means more is available for the church’s community efforts.  

Doughnuts, which used to be purchased on Sunday mornings, have been replaced by treats donated by various congregation members.  

DeVries and three other members share mowing duties.

“We just finished an unexpected project — reroofing the parsonage — and we had a special project funding request,” he said.

“We have tried to reduce expenses and have limited projects right now,” he said. “People will give if they see the need is important, and it will help other people.”

That said, he believes it is important to be responsible with money that is given. “We can’t be frivolous,” he said.   

Pastor John Kunze, interim senior pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church, just finished working on the church’s budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.

So far, there hasn’t been a downturn in attendance or giving, but it has plateaued, he said.

The large church, which also has a school, is in the middle of a $600,000 gym renovation. A special fund drive made that possible, Kunze said.

“We are trying to be the best stewards we can, in the midst of a recession,” he said.

That included cutting $26,000 from next year’s budget.

“We took a hard look at last year’s actual plate and offerings,” he said.

At Messiah Lutheran, with 1,300 to 1,400 in attendance each Sunday,  one of the biggest expenses is salaries and benefits, Kunze said. Every director has “sharpened their pencil” to pare the budget,  he said. And a proposed  staff member — a ministry technology director — is not happening, he said. 

The church’s benevolence fund has gotten close to double the requests this year, Kunze said. Over a three-year  period, that fund has about $50,000 to offer to congregation members who find themselves in unexpected financial crisis. 

The fund is used for one-time emergencies such as medication, gas bills or part of the rent. “Our members are in need — some have lost their jobs,” Kunze said.

The church partners with the People’s City Mission to provide  advice to those with larger needs.

Meeting basic needs of the church — building maintenance, staffing costs — comes first for most churches.

The Rev. Harold Rainey, interim minister at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, said his church hasn’t felt the recession on the “basics” front yet.

But he is slightly concerned about programs that operate on discretionary funds. “Can we meet those costs?” he said. “Time will tell.”

The church is between building projects, which helps, he said. The building is fairly new and was built with energy conservation in mind. And the congregation of about 200 is a unique group with a fairly stable income, he said.  

Unexpected funds from memorials and non-designated gifts, which used to be extras for most churches, are now helping keep the budgets balanced. 

Through it all, DeVries said, the church’s mission  of faith and community outreach comes first. Although the budget is important, “people come to church to be moved by other things,” he said. 

In times of economic need, “they will always have their church family to fall back on,” he said. 

Reach Kathryn Cates Moore at 473-7214 or kmoore@journalstar.com.