Sounds a little like my last experience with the church.
Me: Single parent who's ex has emptied their bank-account, living on a receptionist's salary.
I got my request for the "dîme" (pronounced dim in French) - a yearly fee we pay to the church. It was supposed to be 60$ per household and 10$ per head in the household, so seventy dollars in my case.
I called the church and explained my situation; I barely had enough money for food in those "peanut-butter" days (feed the baby, and a slice of peanut-butter bread for me.) The priest kindly suggested that I could sell one of my possessions to get the money right away.
Mind you, this was the same priest who told me that I couldn't get an annulment on my mariage just because my husband was cheating on me, on drugs and threatening me with a switchblade.
I realize this is probably not typical, but our experiences are what they are.
