Stewardship
Those of you who have been here longer than me will be only too aware of the impact our Parish Share deficit has had – hanging over many of our decisions and thoughts.
At the last PCC meeting we felt that we needed to update the parish on how things are going. Well, the good news is that we’re almost there. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and it is getting closer. If we meet our parish share in full up until the end of this calendar year, our deficit will be written off in full! I think that deserves a cheer!
When we write off this deficit, we will be opening a new chapter in the life of the parish. It will bring hope, it will bring a sense of a new beginning and we can rejoice in that. However, we are not quite there yet, and even when we get there, and the journey will still be continuing. If we do not pay off our Parish Share in full this year, the agreement we have with the diocese to write off our debt will be cancelled, and we will have to find the full amount of the deficit. This would mean that instead of the approx £4,000 extra we need to find to pay off our Parish Share between now and December we would need to raise £12,000.
You don’t need me to tell you that in a time of increasing food, fuel and heating costs it can be hard to keep going, but keep going we must. I am conscious of the fact that we are surrounded by so many people who dedicate so many of their own resources to this place – be it resources of prayer, of time, of finances, of the myriad of other things we do – and for that I am truly staggered and thankful. Well done to you all.
But we do need to raise that £4,000. Can I ask you to consider what else you could give between now and December in order to help us to raise that amount? Extra ‘appeal’ envelopes (which you can Gift Aid with) will be available in each church to help us do that, and we will regularly update you between now and December on how that appeal is going.
Can I also please remind you to regularly review how you give, how much you give, and whether you are using the most effective way of doing so. There are various ways of doing this:-
• There’s our envelope scheme, or standing order scheme where you control the amount you give – speak to Julie Morrison our gift aid officer about the best ways of allowing us to claim back the tax on those
• There’s the new direct debit scheme run by the diocese which is anonymous and also automatically adjusts for inflation each year (unless you opt out)
• There’s our contactless card reader at the back of Holy Trinity for occasional one-off gifts, all of which we can claim gift aid off.
• There’s also, of course, your gift of prayer – please continue to hold the parish and all its activities in your prayers each day as I know you already do, but please also consider joining us for our special service – joining us at our quiet days and prayer days and lift the parish up to God during those times too (the next quiet day coming up is a pre-advent Quiet Day on the 30th November).
• And there's your gift of time – we value all the hard work you put into our events, into our pastoral visiting, and our other activities like the drop in or Ark - what a mission it is when we engage with our community.
We do truly see God’s Love extend out into our Community in this parish – let’s ensure that continues!
With many thanks for all you continue to do for and with our Parish,
Fr Graham
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