Ignaz Dullinger – The Lesson of the Widow’s Mite
Giving a gift in response to a generous God
The churches of Caversham Thameside and Mapledurham enrich our lives in many ways – the beauty and history of the buildings; the reverence and sense of God’s presence in our worship, enhanced by wonderful musicians and choirs; and our sense of belonging. We are God’s family in this place, blessed to be part of the life of these churches and want the ministry here to flourish and grow.
We often pray, ‘Yours Lord is the greatness, the power, the glory, the splendour and the majesty; for everything in heaven and on earth is yours. All things come from you, and of your own do we give you.’
Here’s how.
The Parish Giving Scheme
https://www.parishgiving.org.uk/home/
The Parish Giving Scheme or PGS was thought up by the Diocese of Gloucester and has spread throughout the Church of England due to three aspects:
It’s simple – one form, one decision on how much to give from your bank account in response to God’s generosity and one call if you want to change that amount.
It’s efficient – the scheme reclaims your tax from the taxman and gives it to your church, rather than someone, who could be doing something more useful, filling in forms and dealing with bureaucracy.
It’s helpful – besides doing the paperwork for the church, the PGS helps you to review your giving each year. Tick a box on the form and the PGS will up your giving in line with inflation, tell you what it’s changing to and let you say if you would rather not increase it that year.
All generous God,
you poured yourself out in creation,
were totally spent in Christ’s death on the cross,
and continue to give yourself through the gift of your Holy Spirit to us.
Give us generous hearts;
that, in response to your love,
our lives may overflow in thanksgiving and generosity,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Other ways to give
By card
There are contactless payment machines at all three churches. Just like making a contactless payment at the shops, choose an amount and tap your card. You can do this any time the church is open.
By text to St Peter’s or St Margaret’s
If you would like to donate to St Peter’s church and its place in the community, please text COMMUNITY followed by your donation amount to 70560 to give that amount. For example, text COMMUNITY15 to donate £15.00.
Similarly you can donate to St Margaret’s: text MARGARETS followed by your donation amount to 70480 to give that amount. For example, text MARGARETS15 to donate £15.00.
Texts will cost the donation amount plus one standard network rate message, and you’ll be opting into hearing more from us.
If you would like to donate but don’t wish to hear more from us, please text COMMUNITYNOINFO or MARGARETSNOINFO instead.
Not all mobile networks currently allow text donations (for example, BT/EE does not). If your text donation is rejected, there is a link to pay by Debit/Credit card instead.
Online donation to St Margaret’s
You can make a one-off donation to St Margaret’s Church by debit/credit card.
By Will
Once you have made provision for your loved ones, you have the opportunity to make a lasting gift to God, by leaving a legacy to His church. A gift in your Will is one of the most valuable and lasting ways to support your church’s mission and ministry within your community. A gift can be an expression of your gratitude and thanksgiving towards God and can help keep your local church alive or transform its future.
There is advice on leaving a legacy on a special Church of England website www.churchlegacy.org.uk. The website has examples of how you might word your Will.
A gift in your Will can enable the parish to achieve something it would not otherwise achieve. You may wish to channel your gift to mission or community projects, to maintenance of the church fabric, to youth work or in some other way. It is a good idea not to be too prescriptive, however. There are many examples of legacies left for specific uses that have never been used.
The website strongly advises you seek professional advice from a solicitor.