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GIVING FOR LIFE – GIVING TO KEEP THE CHURCH ALIVE
Giving for Life – Giving to keep the Church alive.
A family were walking home after the Sunday morning service. ‘It was
terrible’, said the father, ‘that preacher just can’t preach!’. ‘I quite
agree’, said his wife, ‘the choice of hymns was awful and the organ
deadly slow’. Their daughter also commented on the hardness of the pews
and the spiders.Their youngest son thought for a while and then said
‘You know Dad, it wasn’t that bad a show considering it only cost you
50p’.
At the Church AGM last month many received a disturbing surprise from
Michael Pullin, PCC Treasurer with his financial report . This showed
that though church attendance was slightly higher last year, regular
giving through Free Will Offering envelopes & Church collections had
reduced & the accounts are showing a deficit of £2,340 equivalent to
£180 per week. There is a grave need to increase income and he asked
all church members to review their regular giving, especially if they
have not increased their giving during the last five years. The budget
for 2010, £49,730, must meet an increase of 37%. This means that a
weekly offering of £5 in 2005 should be increased to £7 while £10 should
be increased to £14. He was grateful to the church members who are
currently giving £100 or more a month through Bankers Order. These give
him the confidence that such regular offerings are reliable and helps
him with cash flow. At present he is having to draw on reserves to meet
the regular monthly payments for Parish Share, Utilities, Insurance &
general upkeep. Please take the time to review your giving & consider
making a monthly Bankers Order & ask Michael for a Gift Aid form.
Marshfield Parish Church gives Bristol Diocese £34.388 p.a. in Parish
Share. This is used for paying Clergy Stipends and Pensions (£17,882);
Clergy Housing (£5,400); Central support (£3,300); National Church
(£1,925); Education etc. (£5,881). |
