Giving
Christians are called to submit every area of their lives to God in His love and wisdom, and this includes our money! We give back to God because God first gave to us - life, love, forgiveness and mercy. In the words of one of the offertory prayers,
Yours Lord, is the greatness, the power,
the glory, the splendour and the majesty;
for everything in heaven and on earth is yours.
All things come from you,
and of your own do we give you.
However, there are also practical implications of our giving, or lack of it, in that the local church is entirely dependent upon the gifts of its people to maintain and staff it. There is no government assistance or central funding, apart from the ability to reclaim tax on gifts made.
Our concerns are threefold:
- Ministry and Maintenance
Our current running costs amount to £2385 per week (you can find more details in the downloadable leaflet). To cover most of this expenditure we are dependent on our members making a regular contribution to keep the church on a secure footing, as they have done for many year. However the recession, combined with the loss of several key members who have died or moved away, has meant that on current projections for this year there will be a deficit of around £10,000, which is an unsustainable position. It is the regular, pledged giving that allows us to maintain our ministry in the parish at its current level. Without this, there is a serious danger that our parish (and its clergy) could be combined with others in the area in order to cut costs, resulting in an overall loss of provision in our communities. To make a regular gift by standing order, please download the pledge form and return it to the Parish Office at your convenience.
- All Saints and
There are also larger sums that need to be spent from time to time, usually on repairs and improvements to our church buildings, and the All Saints and St. Mary’s Charity Trust was set up as a grant-giving body that can support such major projects in either church. Currently, it has insufficient funds to fulfil that role and needs to establish a bank of regular donors (the “Friends of All Saints and St. Mary’s”) to add to its fund-raising activities, thus ensuring that it can support the churches in this parish for years to come.
- Youth and Children’s Work
In addition to the essential running expenses, we are committed to youth and children’s work in the parish which costs us approximately £360 a week, and reaches many more children than we see in church on Sundays. Some people have made specific donations to this project, and we have been able to supplement the costs through a generous legacy, together with a three year grant from the Diocese. Both of these additional sources are coming to an end this year. We have created a separate fund for all donations for this project and we hope this can be expanded by new donors giving specifically for this work.
We are asking all our members and residents of the parish to consider making a regular contribution to one or more of these funds, for the future stability of our ministry in this parish. If you would be able to make a regular pledge, or even a one-off gift, to any of these funds, please download the response form and return it to the address shown or email it to the parish office.
Thank you!