Want fries with your communion wafers? McMass project wants McDonald's in churches

[UrbScotty]

Would you be more inclined to go to church if services came with a Big Mac and a side of fries? That's the idea behind McMass, a group whose goal is to put a McDonald's franchise in a church.

The group, led by Paul Di Lucca, a creative director at the church branding agency Lux Dei design, has launched a page on the IndieGoGo crowdfunding site. He's looking to raise $1 million to build the first McDonald's church.

The $1 million will go toward purchasing a franchise and construction. The group is currently looking for a church to partner with.

"It's time for churches to engage with entrepreneurship," writes the group. "By combining a church and a McDonald's we can create a self-sustaining, community-engaged, popular church, and an unparalleled McDonald's restaurant."

http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-mcmass-mcdonalds-in-church-20141126-story.html

Besides the absurdity of this, I'd wonder how this would affect churches' tax-exempt statuses.

[TreasonousBastard]

1. I thought the franchise costs a lot more than that...

and that's if McDonald's would go along with such a crackpot idea. Then there's construction and whatever...

Taxes would be no biggie-- plenty of churches and schools own profitable businesses (didn't NYU law school own Ronzoni pasta for years?). The two are set up as separate entities and the business entity gets taxed just like any other business.

[rug]

2. It's an art project.

http://animalnewyork.com/2014/mcmass-indiegogo-campaign-isnt-scam-stupid-hackathon-art-project/