A poor box, alms box, offertory box, or mite box is a box that is used to collect coins for charitable purposes. They can be found in most
Christian churches built before the 19th century and were the main source of funds for
poor relief
In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...
before societies decided to organize the process and make the public authorities responsible for this.
Contemporary mite boxes are usually made of cardboard and given out to church congregations during the
Lenten
Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
season. The mite boxes are collected by the church, and the donations are given to the poor. Mite boxes are popular with children because they can fill them with small change, teaching them the principle of
giving to the poor. The Mite box promotes the spirit of contributing based on the intent to help others, and not on the monetary amount.
History
The origin of the ''mite box'' is very old. In 2
Kings 12:9, the priest
Jehoiada
Jehoiada ( ''Yəhōyāḏā‘'', "Yahweh knows") in the Hebrew Bible, was a prominent priest in the kingdom of Judah during the reigns of Ahaziah (reigned c. 842 - 841 BCE), Athaliah (reigned c. 841–835 BCE), and Joash (reigned c. 836–796 B ...
bored a hole in the lid of a
chest
The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the crea ...
and placed it near the first
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
,
however this was to fund maintenance rather than alms.
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 ...
, at the end of the twelfth century, allowed some mite boxes to be placed in churches so that the faithful people could at any time dispose their alms.
Many
Catholic parish churches in Ireland have two collection boxes, one "for the church" and the other "for the poor".
Mite
The term ''mite,'' according to the dictionary, is defined as any of the following:
# a very small contribution or amount of money, such as a widow's mite.
# a very small object, creature, or
particle
In the physical sciences, a particle (or corpuscule in older texts) is a small localized object which can be described by several physical or chemical properties, such as volume, density, or mass.
They vary greatly in size or quantity, from ...
.
# a coin of very small value, especially an obsolete British coin worth half a
farthing
Farthing or farthings may refer to:
Coinage
*Farthing (British coin), an old British coin valued one quarter of a penny
** Half farthing (British coin)
** Third farthing (British coin)
** Quarter farthing (British coin)
* Farthing (English ...
.
An alms box is a strong chest or box often fastened to the wall of a church to receive offerings for the poor.
The etymology of the word mite comes through
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...
and
Middle Dutch
Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or c. 1550, there was no overarc ...
from the
Middle Low German
Middle Low German or Middle Saxon (autonym: ''Sassisch'', i.e. " Saxon", Standard High German: ', Modern Dutch: ') is a developmental stage of Low German. It developed from the Old Saxon language in the Middle Ages and has been documented i ...
''mīte,'' a small
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
coin or tiny animal. In
biblical times, a mite or
lepton was a small coin of almost no worth.
See also
*
Coinage of Alexander Jannaeus, King of Judea
*
Lesson of the widow's mite
The lesson of the widow's mite or the widow's offering is presented in the Synoptic Gospels (, ), in which Jesus is teaching at the Temple in Jerusalem. The Gospel of Mark specifies that two ''mites'' (Greek ''lepta'') are together worth a ''qu ...
*
Lutheran Women's Missionary League
The Lutheran Women's Missionary League (LWML) is the official women's auxiliary of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.
The national organization publishes the ''Lutheran Woman's Quarterly'' four times a year, and districts usually have their ...
References
{{Authority control
Alms in Christianity
Containers
de:Gotteskasten