Talents

We all have them and it is good to be able to use what we have for the church community; some people can afford to give generously from their income while some others are not so well endowed with monetary talents but have a huge store of abilities which they can use just as generously.

The present situation

We are committed to ensuring the future of our church as a centre of Christian worship and community outreach whatever the prevailing financial climate. One of the best ways of preserving fabric is to ensure that it is aired, and an excellent way of doing this is actually using it.  Therefore we are keen to explore ways in which our beautiful buildings can be used by members of the congregation and the wider community.

In our accounts year to August 2009 voluntary contributions from the congregation (through standing orders, weekly envelopes, cash in the plate and related tax recovery) amounted to £84,000. Day-to-day running costs of the church totalled £115,000. The difference was met by income from investments bequeathed to St Margaret’s by former generations. No longer can we raise the funds St. Margaret’s needs from stock market profits and to compound the problem our investment income will be reduced by around £5,000 in the financial year to August 2010. Our focus is always on running the church finances as economically as possible.

In addition, maintenance of the fabric of our building averages out at around £25,000 per year and we have had to sell investments in order to balance the books. Clearly, this cannot go on.

Can you help us?

A monthly standing order; this allows the church to have a steady income stream.  If the donor is a tax payer then the amount can be Gift Aided thus enabling the church to receive 25p in the pound tax reclaim.

Pledging to give a regular amount through the weekly envelope scheme; this is run to allow members to give to the weekly plate rather than through their bank account.

Anyone who would like to give by either of these means can obtain details from the Treasurer.

We also have room for ‘ideas’ people who can use their talents by thinking up ideas to raise money.  There is a Talents Committee who will always welcome new people who can generate ideas for using the talent within the church and can find ways of involving the wider community in active but fun fundraising.

Finally, we have a lovely building; we are happy to share this with groups who would like to use it for conferences, rehearsals and performance as appropriate.