When did you last review your giving? Regular donations are important to our churches. The Church of England offers a Christian presence in every community. Together we seek to make this Christian presence the heart of all our cities, towns, and villages; by our wonderful buildings; by worshipping together; by serving our communities and by sharing our faith and values. This valuable contribution to our community has a cost, of which 75% is met by personal donations. For our churches to survive and grow, we rely on regular donations so that we can plan confidently for the future. The PGS is a national scheme which the Diocese pays for - so there are no additional running costs to our churches. The main beneficiary of this scheme is our churches. Through your generous commitment, we can be assured of a regular, tax-efficient source of income which has the capacity to increase with the cost of living yet involves virtually no administration (a real bonus for our Treasurers). Gift Aid is automatically collected and paid straight back to our church, each month (another huge bonus for our Treasurers). The Scheme is easy to sign up for. If you presently give to St John’s or St Anne's by standing order, it's simply a case of cancelling that and starting a new direct debit through this scheme. You are given an option to automatically increase your donation by inflation every year. Your direct debit is taken on the 1st of the month. You indicate if you wish to Gift Aid your donation & the scheme does the rest. St John’s or St Anne’s receives all donations in one aggregate amount soon after the 1st of the month and receives one Gift Aid recovery payment each month via the scheme. This benefits our churches, giving a regular, sustained income including regular Gift Aid. It greatly eases the admin for our Treasurers. Please join the scheme if you can. You can sign up for the scheme by one of 3 methods---online banking is not essential. 1) By phone 2) Online 3) Completing and posting the form that is attached to the Governance section. Please speak to the Church Warden or Treasurer at your respective church. Please consider this opportunity to help our churches and be part of this scheme.
Gil led the singing, and all enjoyed a hot 2-course lunch.We meet on the third Tuesday of the month at The Refectory, at 12noon.All are welcome.
‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age’ (Matthew 28: 19-end NRSVA)· Leading Intercessions in our Sunday services · Leading prayers for small groups · Reading the Scripture in our Sunday services. · Working in a small team to plan and help host mission and outreach activities in our churches in the communities they serve. · Joining our choir – choirs in both churches need new members. Come and enjoy fellowship and music. If you sense God is calling / prompting you to serve in any of these ways, please chat to me, Reverend Lesley.
