St Michael's and Money
All things come from you, and of your own have we given you (1 Chronicles 29 v 14)
The members of St Michael’s, wish to give thanks to God, and bear witness to others, for all his gifts so freely given. We aim to do so through a balanced approach to both Christian giving (what we ask of ourselves), and fundraising (what we ask of others). You can read our full policy here.
The members of St Michael’s, wish to give thanks to God, and bear witness to others, for all his gifts so freely given. We aim to do so through a balanced approach to both Christian giving (what we ask of ourselves), and fundraising (what we ask of others). You can read our full policy here.
Parish Finances
St Michael’s (in common with most Church of England parishes) is a separate registered charity (No 1134547) and therefore completes annual accounts in an approved format each year. For charity details please follow this link.
We have three main sources of income:
A little over 50% of our total income is paid to the Diocese of Oxford to provide clergy (including our Rector), training, and the infrastructure that ensures the church remains prominent in our national society. We receive no funds from the Diocese or the Church of England, apart from a grant from the Diocese towards part of the salary of our Family Worker.
The remainder pays for the ongoing operations of St Michael's, our work in the local community, and the upkeep of our buildings and churchyard.
We have three main sources of income:
- The generous giving by our members and visitors;
- The commercial income from the Pastoral Centre
- Statutory fees received with respect to Weddings, Funerals, and the Churchyard.
A little over 50% of our total income is paid to the Diocese of Oxford to provide clergy (including our Rector), training, and the infrastructure that ensures the church remains prominent in our national society. We receive no funds from the Diocese or the Church of England, apart from a grant from the Diocese towards part of the salary of our Family Worker.
The remainder pays for the ongoing operations of St Michael's, our work in the local community, and the upkeep of our buildings and churchyard.
Funds
We hold our money in a number of funds including:
- General Fund - typically holding about two months of expenditure;
- Repairs Fund - to cover significant urgent items of repair and renewal to our property;
- Winspire Fund - where we hold the funds specifically raised for the repairs to our stained glass windows, spire and other significant projects as we ready the church for our 800th anniversary;
- Youth Work fund - which covers the church's contribution to the Sandhurst Youth Project;
- Family Worker Fund - which covers the costs of our Family Worker;
- St Mary’s Fund - which holds the money set aside to develop the site in Wellington Road owned by the parish which will form the basis for the ‘Mission Fund’ to support ongoing mission projects by the church;
- Hardship Fund - a small fund to assist anyone in the parish with immediate financial need in a crisis.
Personal Giving
Members of St Michael's are encouraged to give generously and regularly in the context of Knowing God better, Growing in faith, and showing our love in action. You can read more here.
Our hearts may be filled with worship for God, and our heads may be clearly aware both of what God has given each of us and the deep needs of others who have less, but until we take action our worship and faith remain dead. Our personal giving is a step of putting faith into action - it brings our faith to life.
Our giving to the church not only keeps church going, but enables it to reach out to others to show God’s love in action and in words.
And as our faith grows, our attitude to giving change and develop.
A collection is taken at the Parish Communion and the Family Service. At the back of the church there is a contactless terminal for credit/debit card donations and a box for a retiring collection at other services. Thanks is given on the fourth Sunday each month for those who give by direct debit or similar, whose names are recorded in a locked leather bound book brought up with the offering.
If you would like to make a regular or one-off gift to the work of St Michaels please go to our Donations page where you can give online, or can download a Pledge Form.
The PCC reviews its own approach to good stewardship each year, and encourages the members of the church to do likewise. In line with Church of England teaching we encourage members to give 5% of their net take-home pay (i.e. after tax) to the church, and a further 5% to wider charitable work. We have developed a simple spreadsheet to help you analyse your giving - see the end of this page.
We also run an occasional course developed by CAP Money to help individuals develop a more responsible approach to managing their finances. More details here
We would also ask you to consider including a bequest to St Michael's as part of your will. Such gifts enable us to undertake special projects and expand our horizons. You can see our legacies leaflet here.
Our hearts may be filled with worship for God, and our heads may be clearly aware both of what God has given each of us and the deep needs of others who have less, but until we take action our worship and faith remain dead. Our personal giving is a step of putting faith into action - it brings our faith to life.
Our giving to the church not only keeps church going, but enables it to reach out to others to show God’s love in action and in words.
And as our faith grows, our attitude to giving change and develop.
- Perhaps we start just putting any spare change in our pockets in the plate when it’s passed round.
- Then we progress to offering more regularly using the blue gift aid envelopes.
- And next we get serious about giving regularly by Direct Debit, bringing God the first fruits of our labours..
- And finally we put our faith fully into action regularly reviewing our priorities in stewardship of our resources, both through life, and in the legacy we leave for the future.
A collection is taken at the Parish Communion and the Family Service. At the back of the church there is a contactless terminal for credit/debit card donations and a box for a retiring collection at other services. Thanks is given on the fourth Sunday each month for those who give by direct debit or similar, whose names are recorded in a locked leather bound book brought up with the offering.
If you would like to make a regular or one-off gift to the work of St Michaels please go to our Donations page where you can give online, or can download a Pledge Form.
The PCC reviews its own approach to good stewardship each year, and encourages the members of the church to do likewise. In line with Church of England teaching we encourage members to give 5% of their net take-home pay (i.e. after tax) to the church, and a further 5% to wider charitable work. We have developed a simple spreadsheet to help you analyse your giving - see the end of this page.
We also run an occasional course developed by CAP Money to help individuals develop a more responsible approach to managing their finances. More details here
We would also ask you to consider including a bequest to St Michael's as part of your will. Such gifts enable us to undertake special projects and expand our horizons. You can see our legacies leaflet here.
Fundraising
From time to time we hold specific events aimed at raising funds either for the church generally, or for a specific project or organisation. Current needs and projects can be found on our news page
Charities Supported by St Michael's
The PCC is pleased to ensure that we give the first 10% of all donations received through our planned giving and regular collections to external charities of both local and wider scope. Details of the charities currently supported are given here
Financial Review Spreadsheet
The spreadsheet is below, but if you prefer to work with paper and calculator there is also a pdf version for you to print.
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