COVID depletes collection plates at churches nationwide

Biltmore United Methodist Church of Asheville, North Carolina, is for sale. Already financially strapped because of shrinking membership and a struggling preschool, the congregation was dealt a crushing blow by the coronavirus. 

Attendance plummeted, with many parishioners staying home or switching to other churches that stayed open the whole time. Gone, too, is the revenue the church formerly got from renting its space for events and meetings.

"Our maintenance costs are just exorbitant," said the Reverend Lucy Robbins, senior pastor. "And we just don't have the resources financially that we used to have to be able to do the kind of ministry work that we would like."