1.   And though it might not be as visible as placing cash or checks into the collection plate, Shields believes electronic giving can be just as spiritual.

2.   And what, she was asked, was in the other envelopes, the ones she put in the collection plate Sunday morning?

3.   Appealing the ruling, Cedar Bayou Baptist has joined with other religious groups across the nation who fear a trend allowing creditors to raid church collection plates.

4.   At the school assembly that day, Seluga talked about the importance of the candy sale like a preacher explaining why he had to pass around the collection plate.

5.   A believer feeling the spirit at the Miracle Center, where large plastic bags are used instead of collection plates.

6.   A group of ministers with downtown churches recently asked the Atlanta committee to compensate their churches for the anticipated impact the Games will have on their collection plates.

7.   Businessmen put their dollars into new security programs with the same impulsiveness that most parishioners donate to the collection plate.

8.   But a new program soon could push aside the collection plate as the preferred way for some congregants to show their Christian charity.

9.   But many Germans view the idea of passing a collection plate as tasteless.

10.   But now that the government is withdrawing the money, the decades of reliance on it leave many religious organizations incapable of raising substantial funds beyond the collection plate.