We are joining the national initiative Generosity Week which follows on from the harvest season. Our week will start with the harvest festival on October 1st and end on October 8th. The focus is to celebrate God’s generous gifts to us and respond by reviewing our giving to the church. Churches need money to pay the bills, to finance our work with young people and (via the diocese) to pay clergy, to name but a few of our expenditures. Without your giving we would not be here.
As you know both churches have had a difficult year financially, and we are grateful for the generous donations we have received. But in order to put our finances on a firm footing, we need to be able to plan. If you already give regularly, when was the last time you reviewed the amount? For some, things are difficult with the increase in the cost of living, and we recognise that not everyone can give more. But the increases in bills, especially the heating and lighting affect the church, too, so please prayerfully consider the extent of your giving.
If you don’t yet give regularly, then let me explain how it’s done.
If you look at the collection plate on a Sunday, there is very little in it! That’s because most people choose to give by promising a set amount each week. There are two ways to give:
- Using the envelopes. Put a set amount of cash or a cheque in one of the envelopes every month. Only the person who administers the scheme knows how much you give.
- By using a Bank Standing Order. That’s a very handy way to give, as once set in motion you can forget about it until it’s time to review it.
Even better, you can add 25% onto your donation through Gift Aid. This works in two ways.
- Under the Gift Aid small donation scheme cash gifts of up to £30 are increased by 25% by the government. You don’t have to sign anything, or even give your name. We can only claim a limited amount back this way so the other option is:
- If you are a UK taxpayer you can sign a Gift Aid form. Every time you give to the church, we can claim an extra 25%
Our other focus this year will be encouraging you to consider remembering St Margaret’s and St George’s in your will. This is not just for the elderly! Everyone should make a will, even if you hope it won’t be needed for decades to come. In the event of an unexpected and sad bereavement, the last thing families want is be tangled up in the legal complications when someone dies without a will.
Once your family are provided for, would you consider leaving us a bequest? We rely on regular donations for the day to day running of the church, but bequests allow us to do something extra that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to do. Information on how to go about making a bequest will be available.
Lastly. If you shop online Easyfundraising is a way of collecting donations for the church from a wide variety of websites. It is very simple and at no cost to you. More information will be available during the week.
We will keep coming back to the fundamental theme of our week:
All things come from you, and of your own do we give you.
Rev Sue
St Margaret's Church Prestwich 