FINANCE
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Maintaining the church of St. Mary Magdalene is costly. We receive no regular funding from the Government or the Church of England towards maintenance, restoration and development work. We must rely on our own endeavours and the help of the congregation and other supporters. St. Mary Magdalene is not only a historic building, but also a place of worship playing a vital role in the life of South Molton, proclaiming the Christian gospel in words and actions and providing services of Christian worship and praise. Whilst recent decades have seen a decline in regular church attendance, 85 per cent of the population still visit a church or place of worship in the course of a year, for reasons ranging from participating in worship to attending social events, interest in a historic building, or simply wanting a quiet space. We believe that for many people locally St. Mary Magdalene holds a special place in their lives, and would not want to see its decline, either as a building, or a place of worship, even though they may not attend church regularly. It is still the focus of many major events in people's lives, be it births (baptisms), marriages, or deaths (funerals). To maintain our church building as a place of worship costs about £1,200 a week, a considerable burden for the congregation. Amongst the regular expenses are:- The 'Common Fund' - our contribution to this fund is paid by the parish to the diocese. It contributes to the costs of clergy stipends across the diocese and, from 1998, pension contributions. It accounts for about 60% of our outgoings. For each regular member of our congregation this parish is required to give about £10 a week to the Common Fund. This is irrespective of whether that person might donate 20 pence or £20 each week. You can get an idea of how this money is spent across Devon by viewing the video. The working expenses of our own parish clergy - phone bills, stationery, car mileage etc. Running costs of the church, and church buildings. e.g. insurance, heating, and lighting etc. Maintenance of church buildings. What should I give? Although the church is reluctant to lay down hard and fast rules about giving, all of us can do with some advice in this area. Otherwise some people feel guilty that they don't give enough while others simply reach for loose change whenever they hear the word 'collection'. So how much should we give? The Bible suggests that we should set aside a tenth of our earnings for the church and charities: other major world religions have similar guidance. Giving can transform the world - our lives as well as the lives of others, our community and beyond. The Church of England suggest that church members give at least five per cent of net income to their local church and five per cent to other charities they wish to support. Only an individual can determine what they can reasonably give. We cannot say what that might be, and no one should be judged on what they give. You might like to download the Giving Guide and/or Giving For Life leaflet as a means to making your decision. |
This link will take you to further information about the Common Fund on our Mission Community website.
Giving On a Regular Basis.
Regular payments can be made monthly, quarterly or yearly by Direct Debit through the Parish Giving Scheme (PGS). This is simple to set up. Information can be found on our Giving to the Church page, including answers to the most frequently asked questions. GIVING TO THE CHURCH. One Off Gifts. You can donate securely online using a debit or credit card via STEWARDSHIP Gift Aid If you are a UK taxpayer, we can increase any donation of yours by 25p for every £1 donated (or more if you pay a higher tax rate) by reclaiming the tax you have already paid on it from the government under the Gift Aid scheme. This adds to the value of your gift, but without any extra cost to you. Gift Aid reclamations are a very important part of our income, but in order to claim under the scheme we need you to authorise it. You will be asked to make a Gift Aid Declaration when using Stewardship or applying to join the Parish Giving Scheme. |