St. Mary’s Church, Selly Oak
Christian Stewardship
This is taken from a presentation given on Stewardship Sunday in 2020 by Laura Hart:
‘All things come from you, O Lord, and of your own do we give you’
Today is Stewardship Sunday when we focus on how we maintain and use wisely the resources that God has given us. Everyone here contributes to the life and community that we enjoy at St Mary’s, whether it’s giving a warm welcome at the door, enhancing the beauty of our church with flowers, keeping our robes clean and the silver polished, celebrating our faith through music, making tea and coffee, serving at the altar, being part of a committee and even exercising our acting muscles in pantomimes. Those of us who were at ‘Puss in Boots’ saw how our friends used their talents and gifts well and to great applause last night.
Stewardship is also about managing our financial resources so that we can serve our community and continue our mission in Selly Oak. The starting point for this is doing the best that we can to ensure that St Mary’s has a regular income that meets rising costs. I’d like to introduce you today to a new way of planned, regular giving - the Parish Giving Scheme - which St Mary’s has recently joined.
The Parish Giving Scheme is a trusted and well-established organisation. It has been set up to help churches best manage regular donations. It is a charitable company owned and run as a partnership between dioceses on a cost sharing basis and it’s been adopted as the preferred way of giving by the Church of England’s National Stewardship Committee. So far, 27 of the Church of England’s 42 dioceses have joined and more than 41,000 people use the Scheme to give to their churches. Locally, 48 parishes are members and more than 760 donors give to their churches through the Scheme.
Donations are made by Direct Debit with the donor choosing whether to give monthly, quarterly or yearly. The frequency of the giving and the size of the gift are entirely up to the individual and can be changed to suit the donor’s situation. Those who pay income tax can also opt for Gift Aid to be claimed for their donation, thus increasing the actual amount of their gift to the church.
I’d like to assure you that donations made through the Parish Giving Scheme are restricted to our church and cannot be used elsewhere. There is no charge to St Mary’s for using the scheme.
There are many benefits to St Mary’s for our giving to come through the Scheme. Our income will be more predictable and stable and our cash flow will improve as our bank account will receive two transfers each month: one for the amount of the gifts and one for the qualifying Gift Aid. The reclaiming of the Gift Aid in particular will mean less work for John Surtees and Ben Reeves, our treasurer and stewardship recorder. It will also result in St Mary’s having this money more quickly than we currently do.
The Scheme can also prompt donors each year to review the amount that they give. The Scheme gives you the option to increase your gift in line with inflation, thus ensuring that the value of your donation remains the same in real terms each year. For example, if you are currently giving £50 per month to St Mary’s through the Scheme, your gift would rise in line with current inflation to £51.10 each month. Choosing to increase your gift in line with inflation could potentially have a huge impact on the life and future of our church.
We are grateful to everyone who gives their money to St Mary’s as our church could not function without your financial generosity. However you currently give to St Mary’s – by standing order, through the envelope scheme or by putting cash on the collection plate - please consider joining the Parish Giving Scheme. If you would like to discuss it in more detail, pick up some information or even join today, please come and talk to Ben and me - we will be at the back of church at the end of the service.
Thank you.
Laura Hart
Stewardship Recorder:
