How Can I Give?

Please can you also consider giving via The Ephesian Fund which is designed to ensure that your money goes to support orthodox ministry in our diocese, church and across england. To find out more and set up a regular payment to St Andrews and St Bartholomew’s PCC, click on the Ephesian fund box below

The Ephesian Fund enables PCCs and individuals to fund evangelical ministries in England that hold to biblical and apostolic doctrine.

Legacy Giving

Each year around 4,000 people leave a gift in their will to a Church of England parish and parishes receive around £50 million in legacy gifts each year – gifts to finance mission projects, maintain beautiful church buildings and grow faithful communities.

For many people, leaving a gift in their will is a final opportunity to make a lasting gift to God and make a lasting difference to the future of their church and community.

A charitable legacy is a gift of money, property or an item left to an organisation in a will. This type of giving to charity is commonly referred to as gifts in wills. Gifts in wills can be left to parish churches and are exempt from inheritance tax.

Please speak to our Stewardship Advisor, Christopher Phillimore, contact our administrator admin@stastb.org.uk or our Vicar if you would like to discuss legacy giving.

What Is Gift Aid?

If you are a UK tax payer (Income or Capital Gains Tax) and would like us to be able to claim back the basic rate tax through the government's gift aid scheme, you will need to fill in, sign and return to us an ongoing Gift Aid declaration (you can do this via the Commitment Form). The benefit to St Andrew’s & St Bartholomew’s is that we can recover the basic rate of income tax, currently 25p for each pound given, at no extra cost to you.                                 

If you are a UK higher rate (40 per cent) or additional rate (45 per cent) income tax payer and you give to St Andrew’s & St Bartholomew’s directly you can also choose to allow us to reclaim the basic rate tax through Gift Aid. Then you are also able to recover, through your tax return, the difference between the basic rate tax that St Andrew’s & St Bartholomew’s recovers and the higher or additional rate that you have paid. 

If you give via Payroll Giving then, because you are giving 'pre-tax', you are able to pass on the full benefit of your tax to St Andrew’s + St Bartholomew’s immediately.

Under the Gift Aid scheme, the PCC can reclaim basic rate tax on all donations you make through the Parish Church. If you are new to the scheme you will be required to complete a very simple declaration, and we will provide the necessary form.

Please consider carefully your financial response for God’s work in the parish. Fill in a form at the Church and return to the Church Office. All responses are strictly confidential.

Why give?

Generous giving is an integral part of Christian discipleship.

The apostle Paulsays that giving is a primaryresponsibility for Christians: ‘But sinceyou excel in everything – in faith, inspeech, in knowledge, in completeearnestness and in the love we havekindled in you – see that you also excel inthis grace of giving.’ 2 Cor 8:7.

God is the ultimate owner of all things

.When we view everything as God’s, itchanges our perspective. We aren’t trulyowners of anything, but rather recipientsof God’s grace. We are stewards of whatHe has endowed us with and He asks usto use it for His Glory and to build Hiskingdom here on earth. Whether we havea lot or a little, we can hold it lightly andpass it on to others as blessings.

Despite the financial climate, we must now set our minds on giving to God’s work. It is good to annually review our financial commitment to ensure the work goes on. The New Testament gives a clear direction as to how much we should give.

Principles of giving to consider

Personal

- ‘Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion...’ Giving is personal toyou. Only you can work out before theLord what you should give.

Planned

- We need to approach giving ina planned, ‘in advance’, intentional way, giving to the Lord from the ‘first fruits of the harvest’ (Deut 26:2). Set out a budget and prioritise how much you might be able to give at the start of the year, and base your discretionary spending around this!

‘Give to the Lord what’s right not what’s left!’

Proportionate

- At St Andrew's and StBartholomew's we recognise that different members face different circumstances and so our giving is proportionate to our means.

Painful!

The Widow’s offering teaches us: ‘She in her poverty put in all she had to live on’. This is a reflection of Jesus’ sacrificial gift of his life and what he asks of us as his followers, as we give our time and resources in service to His Kingdom so that we might truly live! Some have followed the pattern of ‘tithing’ the first 10% of their income towards the local church and other charities as a helpful starting point for thinking about your personal giving.

Where will my money go?

Supporting an incredible range of over twenty local, national and international mission partners and charities, including artists, counsellors, Bible translators, families abroad on mission, Gloucester City Mission, Tearfund and Open Doors.

Upkeep of our extensive church buildings and grounds for local mission to our community, now and for generations to come.

Employing paid staff who resource a wide range of ministry areas from excellent governance, administration, and taking care of our facilities, to our thriving children and youth ministries reaching and disciplining the next generation, to outreach and communicating the gospel in social media, through to the creative arts and sung worship.

Supporting the national and local church to fund current and future clergy, train future church leaders and subsidise ministry costs in more deprived areas around the country.

Pooling our money together helps us more effectively bring Jesus’ hope into our area as we go out and minister, bringing the gospel in word and deed in people’s everyday lives. This includes equipping you to share your faith with work colleagues, friends and neighbours; Funerals and Weddings; Baptisms and Pastoral care; home visits and providing space for people in our community to be curious about life’s big questions…thank you for your part in building God’s Kingdom, through our local church.

Get in touch

If you have any questions on how to give or where your money is going, including discussing the options for giving a legacy. Please get in touch with our treasurer on treasurer@stastb.church