Meaning of "retiring" in "free admission with retiring donations"

Question

We recently attended a concert in a protestant church in England that was advertised as "free admission with retiring donations". The concert was indeed free with a voluntary (optional) donation.

What is the meaning of retiring in this context?

Googling without quotes gives results for people retiring from work, which is obviously not meant here, and googling with quotes returned similar events being advertised as such.

There are many examples shown in a Google search for << "retiring collection" + meaning >>. A collection to which people donate on leaving the room or building etc. 'Valedictory' is unidiomatic here. — Edwin Ashworth, Sep 03 '23 at 12:36
Retiring collection is in common use in the UK (in the sense given by D.J. Clayworth). — Kate Bunting, Sep 03 '23 at 12:45
This should not have been closed. It's a good question with a possible answer. — DJClayworth, Sep 03 '23 at 13:19
Oxford Languages (courtesy of Google) provides: << retiring collection [noun] a collection of donations from people as they leave an event, typically for a charity or to cover the expenses of performers or speakers at the event itself. >> The usual collocation (70x as many hits as for "retiring donations" in a Google search). — Edwin Ashworth, Sep 03 '23 at 14:39
Concert was in a protestent church in England, noone was retiring, it was just some community Sunday music — Kyle, Sep 03 '23 at 20:40

DJClayworth · Accepted Answer · 2023-09-03T13:20:37.050

34

"Retiring donations" (more commonly "retiring collection") means you will be asked for donations on your way out - using "retire" in the sense of "to leave a room or group of people".

edited Sep 03 '23 at 13:20

answered Sep 03 '23 at 12:28

DJClayworth

25,795

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score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 05 '23 at 10:01

We use the term in Baptist circles to indicate, as previously stated, an offering that will be taken up at the end of the service. This would usually be for a cause outside of our church. Maybe we will have heard abut the work of a charity during the service, and we will take up 'a retiring offering' as we leave the service, to benefit that charity.

Meaning of "retiring" in "free admission with retiring donations"

2 Answers2