Giving to the ministers of the gospel has been a part of the Christian life from the origin of the church. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians refers to how the Macedonians gave: “ And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.”
Moving forward to the 21st century, it is the members of the Church of England who fund it themselves. Although the Church of England can be described as the national church, it receives no funding from the state, unlike religious bodies in other countries such as Belgium and Germany, which receive funding through the tax system.
Each parish provides the money needed to support the church and the clergy. Since parishes have different abilities to find the money needed, either because of the size of the congregation or their level of income, a mechanism, known as ‘Parish Share’ is used to enable those parishes with more money to support those parishes who are not so well off. The Parish Share is administered by the diocese. Individual parishes also contribute, through the Parish Share, to the administration of the church and charitable activities at the diocesan level.
How should we respond – Ways of giving
Regular monthly giving is the most helpful way to contribute financially towards the work of our church. There are a variety of options available:
Parish Giving Scheme
In 2019, Holy Trinity signed up to a giving system called the Parish Giving Scheme. This is a direct debit system of planned giving, which enables gift aid to be collected automatically, and also gives you the option of allowing your donation to increase each year with inflation. We encourage you to use this system of giving if at all possible:
To find out more about the Parish Giving Scheme, please see this leaflet.
To sign up to the scheme, please fill out this form and send by post or email at: info@parishgiving.org.uk.
Please also see the following information leaflet.
Standing Orders
If you prefer to give by Standing Order rather than Direct Debit, please contact the parish office for a standing order mandate form (office@hthq.uk).
Charities Aid Foundation (CAF)
For giving via CAF, go to this page. One off gifts can also be made by sending a cheque to the Parish Office.
Collection Plate
Collection plate gifts can be made at services by cash or cheque, using Gift Aid envelopes where relevant. We also have a contactless machine for those who prefer to give by card or phone.
Legacies
Legacies are an effective way of supporting the church through the years.
Gift Aid
Gift Aid, where it can be claimed, is an effective way of increasing what one gives.
We should bear in mind the words of the apostle Peter:
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
1 Peter 4:10
We can review how much money we give, how we give it, what we should give to as a church. It is not only money we can give. We can use whatever skills and time we have to support the church work.
Thank you
To all who give generously, grateful thanks are due.