Giving to St Mary's

The Lord provides the finances for St Mary's mainly through the generous giving of our congregations. We plan our spending carefully in order to make the best use of the resources God gives us.

We do not pass collection bags at our services. Instead, there are two collection boxes in the Church Welcome Area. Gift envelopes are available from the document rack in the Welcome Area. We thank God for any gifts that are made this way. However it is also a great help for us to know how much income to expect from those who call St Mary's their church family and belong to our congregations, so that we can budget more accurately.

That’s why we run a Regular Giving Scheme (RGS). It's a simple way to give regularly (you choose how often), allowing both you and St Mary's to budget and (if you pay tax yourself) its also tax efficient for the church. You 'pledge' a certain amount per chosen period, but this is not a 'contract' and you can change this at any time.

Finally, it's all confidential and there's neither pressure nor regular paperwork.

To find out more about the Regular Giving Scheme, follow this link. Also, please use this if you wish to make irregular, ad hoc gifts.

Please note that Amazon is winding down AmazonSmile, effective 20 February 2023. We recommend that any bookmarks or favourites you might have to AmazonSmile are edited to take you directly to main Amazon website instead.

If you wish to make a single donation to the work of St Mary's, please follow this link.

If you wish to give towards one of St Mary's Special Appeals (Harvest or Christmas), please follow this link.

For those who wish to leave a gift in their will to St Mary's

St Mary’s welcomes all gifts in wills, however large or small and we promise to use your gift to make a difference in our church. Our PCC Legacy policy is to use gifts to help fund significant development projects, whether buildings, equipment, mission or staff.

Since the needs of the church change over the years, we encourage you to leave the gift in your will for the general purpose of the church rather than for a restricted purpose.

We will discuss possible uses of your gift with your executors when the time comes, bearing in mind your known areas of interest in the church.

You can be confident that your gift will be used to make a real difference to our future mission and ministry.

If you wish to discuss leaving a legacy to St Mary’s, please contact a member of the Finance Committee, via the church office.

For additional information on Legacies and Wills, including advice for Executors and Solicitors, please click on Church Legacy.

The Bible is not prescriptive about where we should give our money. However, here are five broad principles God has given us. They are in a rough 'order of priority'.

(1) Meet your own needs

You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.   1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

The Bible encourages us to work and not be dependent on others. It is foolish to give so much money away that you end up having to be rescued from a financial scrape by others. Equally, our 'needs' may well be less than we tend to think.

(2) Meet the needs of your family

Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. [...] Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 1 Timothy 5:3-4,8

The Bible strongly warns us against neglecting the needs of our nuclear family. If we do so we have 'denied the faith'! It is wise and godly to use our money to care for elderly parents or other family members who need our support.

(3) Support your local church

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Acts 2:42-45

The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honour, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For Scripture says, 'Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain', and 'The worker deserves his wages'. 1 Timothy 5:17-18

This is the hub of our spiritual growth. Unless we provide financial support, church leaders cannot give time to teaching the Bible, the church building where we meet cannot be maintained, the Bibles cannot be bought, the evangelistic events cannot be run and so on. Supporting our local church financially shows a godly concern for our own spiritual growth, the spiritual growth of others, and the mission of the church to reach out in Jesus name. St Mary's gives about 13% (in 2018) of its income to our various mission partners, so your money is also used to support gospel work across the world.

(4) Support Gospel advancement

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21

There are many wonderful organisations dedicated to spreading the good news of Jesus, home and abroad. Supporting the advance of the gospel is always a wise investment in eternity.

(5) Support the poor and vulnerable

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done. Proverbs 19:17

If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:17-18

Often this requires wisdom; for example, giving money to people begging on the streets is not always wise. But our hearts should long to help those in need wherever we come across them. This should be especially true of fellow believers in need.