We are able to receive financial donations by cheque, cash and postal order to the address above. Please make cheques payable to St Mary's Church Tottenham. Thereasons why we give to the church's work are outlined below and ex[plain how you can give most effectively to St Mary's Church. | |
Making
a Donation | |
Jesus
looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the Treasury in the Temple;
and He saw a poor widow put in two copper coins. And He said, "Truly, truly
I say to you, this widow has put in more than all of them; for they all contributed
out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything that
she had." Luke 21:1-4 | |
| Why we give ... | |
| The
Bible tells us to give money to the work of the church We are taught in the Bible to store up treasures in heaven, and to be wise and good stewards of the things of earth. A steward is one who does not merely guard his Master's property, but who uses it and makes it grow. (Luke 19.11- 26). using the resources we have been given on earth to help to keep the church functioning is good stewardship. More than this, as the whole of the Book of the Prophet Haggai points out, our offering to the Lord is a sign that we put Him and the work of His House first in our lives. However much we have in this world we can never be satisfied if we do not find satisfaction in the Lord. (Haggai 1 3-11) So even if we had an endowment for the church that made it unnecessary to give a penny, we would still be called to give to the Lord. The woman in the Gospel gave all she had. Jesus told a rich young man to sell everything. (Luke 18. 18-30). In the Acts of the Apostles we read of a radical call to give everything to the Lord. Acts 4.32-37. Our financial resources are only one part of our lives, but they are an important part, and Jesus calls us to give ourselves to His service without reserve. Our offering of money is a sign of the offering of our lives. | |
| What do we spend it on? | |
| The
Bible tells us to give money to the work of the church The costs of this work include some of the following items | |
£
money we need each year £ The Vicar's salary (£17,500 a year) Heat, light & water for the church (over £6,000 a year) Insurance of the church (over £5,000 a year) Day to day maintenance of the church & hall (over £5,000 a year) Insurance & maintenance of parish properties (over £4,000 a year) £ money we need each week £ Photocopying; stationary; books; service papers; printer ink The Sunday School materials; the youth work budget Candles, altar hosts, altar wine £ money we need to pay our share to others £ our share of the cost of running church schools our share of the cost of training new clergy our share of the cost of the Bishop Archdeacon & Diocesan jobs our share of the cost of paying pensions to retired priests £ money we need to save up for big things £ Major building works and improvements on the church | |
| How you can help | |
| 1. If you are not a tax payer you put your offering in the collection bag each week in church. | |
| 2. You could use your bank to make a weekly or monthly offering direct to the parish bank account. | |
| 3. If you are a tax payer you can use an envelope. | |
| When
you register for your envelope you sign a form. This tells the Government to give
the parish an extra 28p in every £1 at no cost to you. Once you have signed
the form and received the envelopes you put weekly offering in the envelope and
put it in the collection bag. You do not need to say that you will do this for a specific length of time. (When you want your gift aid instruction to stop just tell us), and you can vary the amounts you give each week. You do not need to give away any personal details except your name and address. You can also give in this way using a standing order with your bank. Simply fill in the form provided. We will do the rest. | |
| THE MONEY IS ALL USED TO FURTHER THE WORK OF GOD'S CHURCH HERE AND ELSEWHERE. All the parish money is spent and accounted for by the Parochial Church Council (PCC). This is a body of fifteen members elected annually by all church members, together with the Vicar and two churchwardens, who are elected annually by a meeting of residents of the parish. At the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) the outgoing PCC presents its accounts. These have been inspected by an auditor, and are public documents made available here and lodged with the diocesan authorities. | |
| OLD MONEY. The parish here is lucky to own three cottages and two halls which the PCC lets for rent. These endowments were built because of the generosity of our predecessors who gave the money for them. All the Church of England's central endowments are now used to pay Pensions (in the old days clergy did not retire unless they had private means and parishes were often run by very elderly ill priests). The PCC uses our rents to maintain the church & buildings and pay the costs of having a priest. | |
WE
DEPEND ON NEW MONEY - YOUR MONEY - FOR EVERYTHING ELSE. | |
LOOK
AT THE FLOW CHART SHOWING | |
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Lansdowne
Road, Tottenham, London N17 9XE
Tel/Fax: 020 8808 6644 email: vicar@stmarystottenham.org
Tel/Fax: 020 8808 6644 email: vicar@stmarystottenham.org