Serving God by counting pennies

Young Chang

Warren Piper was one of two people at Harbor Christian Church who knew

how much money congregants gave.

He kept track of people’s financial pledges and was the sole guy

responsible for counting the total offerings and depositing them into the

bank.

Having served as the church’s financial secretary for the last 10 to

15 years (Piper is so used to the task he doesn’t remember how long it’s

been exactly), the longtime volunteer retired late last month because his

eyesight is failing, which means working with numbers gets tiring.

“I have been told that I have macular degeneration, which makes it

difficult to focus on ordinary print and that sort of thing,” said the

74-year-old. “It also makes it difficult to drive a car.”

For the church, Piper’s absence as financial secretary means it is

losing someone greatly trusted.

“It’s a very important position,” Pastor Dennis Short said. “It’s very

confidential, as well as precise and time consuming.”

The church staff is looking for someone new, but in the meantime,

they’re also planning a big celebration of Piper’s many years of service

to take place next Sunday.

Piper joined the church about 15 years ago and started serving in

“other capacities,” which entailed being responsible not only for himself

but for other committees and teams.

“When I was asked if I would consider the financial secretary job, I

said I would give it a try,” the Huntington Beach resident said. “I

thought a job in which I was mainly responsible for my job alone was

easier for me to handle.”

Piper admitted that in the beginning, if he stopped to think about it,

he was flattered the church trusted him with matters as big as money.

“And it was a little scary, if I stopped to think about it,” he said.

“We don’t have somebody standing guard over every step of the operation.”

His volunteer duties, throughout the years, included gathering

people’s financial offerings, counting the sum and depositing the money

in the bank. He wrote financial reports every month for church leaders to

read during board meetings, and he sent out letters quarterly to

congregants who had made pledges to the church.

“To let them know how they’re doing,” Short said.

Piper added that these reports gave people the “straight scoop” and

helped them when it came to filing tax reports.

He retired eight years ago from his job as a document control

supervisor for a manufacturing company, which gave him more time to give

to the church. Piper said volunteering is important to him because it’s

part of being responsible.

“The people that I most admired were always volunteering for various

things besides just going to church,” he said. “I felt if I weren’t doing

something like that, that I wasn’t doing my share.”

Piper said the only thing tiring about his job was balancing things

out and then trying to figure out why one set of numbers didn’t “jive”

with another.

“But I’ve always liked working with numbers, and I also became

enamored with computers when they came into being, and computers and

numbers fit together,” he said.

Piper, also a former elder at the church, will continue attending

Harbor Christian as a member.

“He’s been a very significant member and quiet leader,” Short said.