Dan Abel wrote:

>
> > As far as I understand it, it's not like anyone can come in and do it, but
> > it seems that so long as the church of the minister is involved in the
> > service you have the option to use the church hall and to be catered to by
> > the women's group.
>
> I don't know how it works in Canada, but in the US, *somebody* has to
> pay. I've been involved in church finances several times. Unless
> *somebody* pays, then the church goes broke and closes. Buying and
> running a church can be quite expensive.

Of course someone has to pay. The women of the group take turns making
sandwiches, cookies etc. They pay for the stuff out of their own pockets.
Someone pays the group for the food based on the number of people. The money
goes to the group, which in turn buys things for the church. It can get to be an
expensive proposition for those women if a lot of outsiders start showing up for
funerals, or when there is a series of very large funerals.