Do they really charge to attend? I am dumbfounded. What is next, Jewish style dues to be a member?I'm not familiar with COG assemblies, but are they open for regular members or ordained ministers only? In the COGOP (at least 30 years ago), anyone could attend and vote (if a member). Do they charge now also?Financially, I can understand, though I would have thought free will offerings could have handled it, but morally, particularly if regular members can attend, it doesn't seem right that a family of 4 could pay $500 just for required admission costs. That just blows my mind.Fortunately, it doesn't affect me, but I am just astounded. Do Churches charge a fee to attend? I realize legalistic views on tithing essentially amounts to a fee to be a member, but a fee to attend a Church business event just blows my mind. Maybe the COG Assembly is different, but the COGOP assembly was far more than just business decisions, but involved a lot of inspiring messages, etc. A fee for a religious service? What is next? Fees for prayer? How far is this from the Catholic methods? The COG has managed to move to a Catholic style charge for candles in barely 100 years? I assume it took much longer than that for the Catholics to institute charges.