Som erset past or lashes out w it h fire against credit card com panies

Pu blish ed: Mon day , Apr il 23 , 2 0 12 , 7 : 3 0 AM Updat ed: Monday , April 2 3, 20 1 2, 9: 0 8 AM

Eu g e n e P a ik / T h e St a r - Le d g e r By
FRAN KLI N TOW N SH I P ( Som e r se t ) The Rev. DeForest " Bust er" Soaries Jr.s fiery crusade against predat ory financial pract ices has becom e so inflam ed t hat not even Sundays rainfall could put out t he flam es.

St anding out side in a downpour, t he Som erset Count y past or and a few dozen m em bers of t he First Bapt ist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Franklin Tow nship incinerat ed a buck et ful of m ailed credit card offers in a show of defiance against credit card com panies t arget ing risky borr owers.
V i e w f u ll siz e Pat t i Sap on e/ Th e St ar - Led g er Th e Rev . D eFor est Soar ies Jr . ( t h ir d f r om r ig h t ) an d m em b er s of t h e Fir st Bap t ist Ch u r ch of Lin coln Gar d en s in Fr an k lin Tow n sh ip set f ir e t o a b u ck et of cr ed it car d of f er s r eceiv ed in t h e m ail. On e p er son con t r ib u t ed 3 8 of f er s in t h e b u ck et .

The t im e has com e for us t o st op m aking people rich off of our ignorance, Soaries, a form er New Jersey secret ary of st at e who once ran for Congress, t old t he crowd.

The burning com es on t he heels of recent report s t hat credit card inst it ut ions have been issuing m ore cards t o borrow ers wit h quest ionable credit .

The news hit hom e for t he past or, w ho for seven years has t aught churchgoers about financial planning when he wasnt preaching. Soaries said he recent ly has been working wit h ot her churches and businesses t o m ak e lessons about being debt - free a priorit y, and added t hat he hoped Sundays act would inspire ot hers t o t ake a st and.

Soaries w asnt sure how m any credit card offers w ere t orched, but he not ed t hat 38 were cont ribut ed by one person.

Church m em ber Joseph Et se, a 55- y ear- old pharm aceut ical scient ist , said he believes credit card offers hav e becom e ex cessiv e and have increasingly t arget ed people wit h low incom e. The offers com e so oft en t hat he receiv es roughly 20 each m ont h.

I n a day I could get four, Et se said.

More Som erset Count y new s

 2012 NJ.com . All right s reserved.