Our God is very generous and he calls us to be generous too. We can express our love to Him and to others by continuing to give our time and our money even when life seems tough. See below for more information on one-off donations.
Stewardship 2024
Thank you for your support
Without contribution of time, talent and money we couldn’t keep St Andrew’s going, keeping alive over 700 years of prayer and praise. Recently we have reached out more to the wider community with events like our community meals and May Fayre: without a huge amount of effort from members of the congregation, we could not keep going. But time and talents aren’t enough without finance. No one likes talking about money, but we do need to think about it now.
Keeping St Andrew’s alive
At the moment, we get a generous contribution from the Diocese towards having a vicar – around £35,000. But that contribution is decreasing year on year. And inflation means that just to stand still we need to increase the amount of money coming in. We don’t want to stand still – we want to do more – but we can only do so if we keep on top of our finances.
We would like to ask you to think about three things by the end of October. You may do all of these already – and they won’t be possible for everyone. But it would help so much if you could give some thought to what is right for you.
Those three things are:
- Regular giving – through a standing order, direct debit or envelopes
- Think about an increase – your giving is worth less than it used to be
- Gift aid if you can – if you are a UK taxpayer the government will increase your giving by 25%!
Regular giving
We appreciate all giving, but it helps us keep on top of our finances and plan for the future if you can give regularly. The easiest way is by standing order. Some feel embarrassed not putting something in the collection at services, but these days most of the congregation don’t use cash on the day. It has been a big change in a short time.
If you do online banking, all it takes to set up a standing order is our bank details - please email Brian at treasurer@nschurch.org.uk to get them.
If you don’t use online banking, please email Brian at treasurer@nschurch.org.uk or ask for one at church.
Alternatively, you can use a direct debit which is easy to set up online: go to our Parish Giving Scheme page and sign up. You can also make one-off donations here.
If you still want to put your contribution into the collection bag, we can provide you with weekly envelopes – use Brian's details above to get in touch.
Think about an increase
Money is tight for all of us, including the church. What we could do with £10 ten years ago now costs us £13.40 – so if you have given the same amount for a number of years, its value has decreased a lot. To have the same value as a £50 donation ten years ago, you would now need to give around £68.
Our expenditure went up 8% last year, and though inflation is slowing, our biggest outgoing, our payment to the diocese, will go up by another 10% next year. In the Bristol diocese, on average each week a regular giving household gives £20. The average for St Andrew’s is £12.75.
Gift aid if you can
Gift aid is a wonderful scheme that means that if you are a UK taxpayer, we can claim an extra 25p on every pound of regular giving. This means, for example, if you give £50 a month, we will receive £62.50 a month, without you paying a penny more.
If you haven’t filled one in before and pay tax, download a gift aid form here. Alternatively email Brian at treasurer@nschurch.org.uk or ask for one at church. If you give by standing order or envelope, please fill it in and return it me at church or at the address above. If you decide to give by direct debit, you can fill in gift aid details at the same time.
Thank you again for all that you do. Please think about this, and if you are going to make a change do so by the end of October.
It's about more than money
We are a welcoming and hospitable community, sharing our riches of tradition, tranquility and stability, in the church building, in the churchyard and beyond.
We need your help to provide that welcome.
Talk to Sally or any of our PCC members to find out more.
We are very grateful for all your continuing support and donations. Exploring God's generosity handout
One off donations
To give using a credit card, debit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay click here and follow instructions - do include gift aid if you are a tax payer.
To make an online bank transfer please email our treasurer for details.