The aim of this information is to introduce You to the St. Bartholomew's Stewardship Campaign, and by doing so help you to become an active member of the Church Team. The theme of this campaign is JOIN THE TEAM and by that we mean both Clergy and Laity alike all pulling together to do God's work. It is hoped that the Campaign may help you to find Your Place in the Team and suggest a way forward for you Personally and for our Church.
Please save and retain this information and its contents as you may find them useful in the future.
“He is the head and on him the whole body depends. Bonded and knitted together by every constituent joint, the whole frame grows through the due activity of each part, and builds itself up in love.” Ephesians 4. v 16.
WHAT IS STEWARDSHIP?
We all need the love and concern of others so let's get together and create a community within our Church. Like so many things in life the more you put into your church the more you will receive as the life and influence of the Church spreads to others.
What is needed is a TEAM OF ACTIVE CHRISTIANS and you are a vital member of the team. Jesus taught us the importance of giving and the essence of this campaign ls to show you how You can out your own particular skills and talents to their best use.
What did Jesus say about Alms giving? You can read it for yourself in Matthew chapter 6. Jesus said Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. [v.3&4]
WHAT CAN YOU GIVE?
The scope is enormous. The list of opportunities to help ls nearly as long as the 1istt of our combined skills!
There are 3 main areas of opportunity to give.
• TIME • TALENTS • MONEY
The most important thing Is don't waste Your gifts use them.
An active participation in this campaign is an Ideal opportunity to exercise your faith and the team needs fit active members.
SIGNS OF LIFE
St. Bartholomew’s continues to be going through one of the most transitional periods in its history. The Church is developing in all areas. The huge diversity of Organisations/Groups who regularly use the Centre; the broad age range and multi-cultural make-up of the Congregation and the Parish in East Ham; and the enormous number of activities In the Centre are all signs of new life for the Church in East Ham.
THE TASK
Much still needs to be done. Members of an effective Team are committed to each other, and use the responses and skills of each member to their best advantage. Financially we are barely paying our way, never mind having a little to spare to support other projects such as Chrlstlan missionary work and charities. Nor are we even aware of the various gifts which members have which could be used to strengthen the church and Its work In East Ham. We know that there are many gifts to offer yet we are not very good at discerning them and channelling them effectively.
IT DEPENDS ON YOU
This campaign is crucial to the future of our Church. It has been organised and run by committed members of the laity in an effort to broaden the base of that commitment. It now depends on you to read this brochure and respond positively to those who will visit you and to carefully consider your commitment. When the Centre opened we were part of one of the most exciting Church developments In the Country and it Is now up to us to prove that the tools we have been given for the mission of the Church can be effectively used by those who have been called to serve God in this place. By our next decade celebration it is hoped that we shall be rejoicing at being part of one of the most vigorous and active teams of Christians in the Borough.
Stephen R. Lowe [Former Team Rector of the East Ham Team Ministry – Now Bishop of Hulme]
OPPORTUNITIES TO GIVE TIME AND TALENT
Here is a list of activities where help ls needed - (if this does not inspire YOU perhaps you have Ideas of your own).
SERVICES
• Serving • Personal Testimony • Reading • Cleaning of the Church - (Saturday mornings) • Stewarding • Helping in Crèche • Offertory Procession • Welcoming newcomers • Intercessions • Coffee Bar after service & during the week • Choir • Helping with our Sunday Club (as a volunteer helper)
DECORATION
• Flower arranging • Other Arts • Needlework • Assisting Sacristan
PASTORAL CARE
• Visiting - (Sick, Elderly, Bereaved, Baptised families) • Transport Co-Ordination • Baby Sitting • Counselling training
• Youth Work – (Subject to the Children’s Act • Child Protection)
Youth employment advisory group Charities Committee representing Church on outside bodies lay link with Church organisations. Helping elderly or Infirm - (shopping, gardening etc).
CHURCH / CENTRE
• Cleaning • Decorating • Gardening • Coffee Bar
• Repairs/Maintenance • Reception/Welcoming
MISCELLANEOUS
• Ecumenical link Evangelism • Dance/drama group worship Committee • Social events • Annual Seasonal Night Shelter (for the homeless of Newham – October-March), through a Project in the Borough • Christian Aid Week
HELP IS NEEDED NOW IN ALL THESE AREAS. YOU WILL FIND A RESPONSE SECTION AT THE END OF THIS iNFORMATION. WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO DISCUSS ANY AREA OF INTEREST WITH YOU.
THE PRESENT FINANCIAL SITUATION
A church needs money for 3 reasons:
1) As a token of our commitment 2) As a response to God's generosity to us 3) To keep it running
The Bible consistently reminds us that 'our' possessions are not really ours. God provides, and we are only stewards of what we have. There is a wealth of material encouraging us not to hold on to our worldly goods, but to use them in God's service. And we should not forget that compared to many in the world, we are incredibly well provided for...
All Things come from you Lord, and of your own do we give you [1 Chronicles 29:14] - Sunday by Sunday, these words are said in many Parish churches. They are taken from King David's prayer at the consecration of the Temple, and recall the people of Israel's understanding that we have nothing of our own - only what God has given.
The concept of the tithe (one tenth) is found in the Old Testament Law. This tithe was to be given back to God, to be used for the upkeep of the community's religious life and for the benefit of the poor. We don't know to what extent the Biblical tithe ever became a real rule of life for God's people.
The prophet Haggai had extremely harsh words for those who lived in nice houses yet were prepared to see the Temple of the Lord fall into disrepair (see Haggai 1.1-3). Ten percent of everything you harvest is holy and belongs to me, whether it grows in your fields or on your fruit trees. [Leviticus 27.30]
In the Church of England, agricultural tithes were used to support the Clergy for many years - not without complaints from the farmers! Today, the tithe is still the basis for some Christians as they plan their giving. The first 10% of their income is given away, and they live off the rest.
Jesus and possessions: Jesus nowhere explicitly endorsed the tithe or any other fixed standard of giving. Yet one estimate is that two-thirds of his parables are about possessions and our attitude to them. You cannot serve both God and Money [Luke 16.13]. The rich young man went away ashamed that he could not - or would not - live up to Jesus' command. But the poor widow was commended for giving what she had. Jesus' words challenge our own consumer lifestyle age. The values of the Kingdom require followers of Jesus to not save up for themselves treasures on earth, but to share with those in need.
Christians recognise that God has freely given himself to them, at great cost. Discipleship is about our response to God's grace. Our wallets, as well as our hearts, should respond!
Paul's collection for the saints: The first Christian community in Jerusalem was noted for its shared approach to possessions.Yet this approach - which involved church members selling their own property and giving the proceeds to the church's common fund - did not continue for very long.
We read in the later chapters of Acts (see chapter 24) of the collection being organised by other churches to support their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. They held everything in common [Acts 4.5]. It may be that famine or persecution had caused the poverty which church members were enduring. The solution was - to hold a collection! We can deduce from Paul's letters that the other churches - some hundreds of miles away - raised money and sent it to Jerusalem.
...First to the Lord... [2 Corinthians 8.5] Paul particularly praises the Macedonian Christians, who despite their own poverty gave over and above what anyone had expected. Paul's view is that they gave themselves first to the Lord, and then to the cause of helping the others (2 Corinthians 8.1-5). But this was not just an emergency appeal - a 'whip round' in a crisis.
Proportionate and planned: It is quite clear that Paul encouraged the various churches to plan their giving on some fundamental principles - which we still apply today to Christian stewardship. Writing to Corinth, he reminds them of a previous message to Galatia and suggests four guidelines which you can apply to your own giving.
It should be:
* regular - on the first day of the week * universal - every church member should play their part * planned - the money should be set aside in advance * proportionate - in proportion to what you earn
On the first day of the week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that contributions need not be made when I come. [1 Corinthians 16.2].
If you take this approach, you will never find yourself wondering how much you ought to put in the collection next time you are in Church. You will have decided long ago how much of 'your' money you are going to give away.
Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. [2 Corinthians 9.7]. In particular:
* planned giving enables you - and the Church - to budget sensibly. Paying by bank Standing Order or via regular weekly envelopes helps you to stick to the discipline.
* proportionate giving means that those who have more of this world's goods give more. High earners can be high givers, as well as high spenders!
WE MUST ALL GIVE MORE
SOURCES OF INCOME
1) Planned regular giving by church members 2) Collections 3) Donations 4) Special efforts - (Annual Winter Fayres') 5) Gift-Aid
The Church relies on help from the Diocese and Church Commissioners to pay Clergy wages. There is inevitably a significant cost to maintain the ministry.
This money and all other expenses we must find for ourselves. Our giving at the moment does not even cover FINANCE
Our Family Purse Payment'. It is perhaps in the area of planned regular giving.
GIFT-AID
That we should be concentrating our efforts to improve' - by donating through Gift-Aid you are helping not only in terms of the actual amount given, but we are able to recover a percentage from the Inland Revenue in tax paid through Gift-Aid.
GUIDELINES
Various guidelines have been suggested to help us to decide how much to give such as £1-5 per week per £1,000 of annual Income or a weekly donation equivalent to your hourly rate of pay. However, In the final analysis the only ones who know how much you can realistically afford to give are you and GOD. So please consider this aspect of your commitment carefully and respond as strongly as your are able.
GIFT-AID - How it Works!
If a donor pays Income Tax, (or Capital Gains Tax), they complete a simple form, (provided by the charity), and return all the proposed giving to the charity. Every £1 you give becomes £1. 28 at no extra cost to you. It is as simple as that.
[For more information, queries, or other question, refer to the Gift Aid Web site at:
Please contact any of our Clergy, Church Officers, or Parish Office for more information.
Please also see our web page by clicking on:
A CHANCE TO RESPOND NOW TIME AND TALENT
I think I may be able to help with the following activities in the life of my Church:
*l/*We would like to respond to the financial appeal by giving £ per *week/*month/*year.
[Gifts from the UK taxpayers qualify for Gift Aid. By signing the declaration below, you are allowing the St Bartholomew’s Church • Parish of East Ham to reclaim the tax on your donations, increasing the value of your gift by almost a third].
Can I add to your kindness?
*We/*I confirm that *we/*I *are/*am a UK taxpayer, and the tax *we/*I will be pay will be greater than the tax that the organisation will reclaim on this gift. Please treat all donations *we/*I make to the St Bartholomew’s Church • Parish of East Ham from the date below until further notice as Gift Aid donations.
• Please notify us if you change your name or address so that we may keep this declaration current. • You can cancel the declaration at any time by notifying the St Bartholomew’s Church • Parish of East Ham. This is important if, in future, your circumstances change and you no longer paying tax equal to the tax which we, as an Organisation will reclaim.
Please stay in touch.
• If you choose to send a gift, we would like to write to thank you for your kindness. If you would rather we did not, please tick here [ ]
• Thank you for your support of our work. St Bartholomew’s Church • Parish of East Ham will hold and use the data you have supplied for administrative purposes only and to keep you informed of its fundraising and other activities. We hope you will want to stay in touch with our work, but if you prefer NOT to receive future mailings, please tick here [ ]
• From time to time the St Bartholomew’s Church • Parish of East Ham may provide information to its related bodies and other charitable organisations for their use in seeking support. If you prefer that we DO NOT disclose your details to other such organisations, please tick here [ ]
• Information on the use of personal data by the St Bartholomew’s Church • Parish of East Ham is available from us at the Parish of St Bartholomew’s Church • Parish of East Ham. Parish Office. St Bartholomew's Church & Centre. 292b Barking Road, East Ham, London. E6 3BA. mailto:easthamparish@tiscali.co.uk
A CHANCE TO RESPOND NOW TIME AND TALENT I can help the Parish of St Bartholomew’s Church • Parish of East Ham.
Thank you for offering to make a regular donation. Please print out and complete this standing order form and return it to : St Bartholomew’s Church • Parish of East Ham, St Bartholomew’s Church & Centre, 292b, Barking Road, EAST HAM, London, E6 3BA
Standing order forms have to be signed by hand, so you will need to print this page out.
For your further assistance see FAQ's. If you are still unclear or wish to clarify something please e-Mail us or complete our Feedback form.
We may also wish to use data you supply to us for the following purposes.
[ ] To send you further information about the St Bartholomew’s Church and its services/activities.
[ ] To pass to other organisations concerned with similar matters to yourselves, or third parties, e.g. other elected Officers of the Church responsible for such matters, or with agencies who require the same, albeit only when necessary and appropriate, e.g. where forms are completed for children’s/young people’s activities, the data will be provided to medical services/hospital where treatment is needed or accidents occur.
[ ] Submitting claim form(s) to the Inland Revenue for the purposes of Gift Aid.
[Please tick the appropriate boxes if you do not wish us to do so]
Data Protection Act 1998
Please note that the information you provide on any form may be stored in a retrieval system.
