How do we Resource our Parish Vision?

Rev’d Andrew Mintern shares how….

Dear Friends,

Every two years we ask parishioners to renew their financial pledge for the parish Planned Giving Program (PGP). October is the month for this to happen so that a new planned giving biennium can commence on 1st November.

If you already give through the PGP – thank you! If you don’t currently give regularly to the parish in this way, please use this brochure as an invitation to do so. The parish exists primarily from parishioner giving and making a commitment in this way is vital for continuing the ministry of the church in this place.

You will find vision information from the recent parish vision week in this brochure. We hope this will inspire you to see that we are community who wants to continue to grow in faith and continue making a difference in our community.

We are blessed to have the resources we have but there is always more we can do.  We are frugal in our operations. As a parish we currently exist on a lower income than five years ago but, of course, our expenses have gone up. Whilst mindful that many people are living with this same situation within their own households, we do ask you to consider an increase in your PGP giving for the coming two years.

Please continue to pray for our parish community and thank you for all that you contribute to our life together as a parish, that we may continue to be a place where people find inspiration, support and encouragement.

Yours in Christ

Rev. Andrew Mintern (Parish Priest) and Ms Jayne Taylor (Treasurer) (on behalf of the Parish Council)

 

Our Parish Vision

In August 2019 we held another very successful vision week where parishioners gathered at a range of events to think about our parish and share ideas for our current and future ministry.

We weren’t doing this from scratch but were reviewing the excellent work we did two years previously developing our current parish vision (see full version on the website) centred around six spheres of ministry:

  • Inspiring worship
  • Welcoming community
  • Growing faith
  • Serving beyond
  • Responsible stewardship
  • Strategic relationships

We have now collated ideas from vision week and these will be incorporated into our vision for the coming 2-3 years and reported to Vestry. Most feedback was given in the areas of Worship, Welcoming and Connecting with the Local community – here are some highlights.

Ideas from Recent Vision Week

There is so much we are already doing but these comments will help focus our vision ever further as we strive to be “a vibrant, welcoming and inclusive community growing in faith and love.”

Background Financial Information

2017 was the last time we asked Parishioners to consider an increase in giving and, whilst not everyone could do this at that time, overall we did see an increase in giving so that currently in 2019 we have 105 parishioner (individual or family) pledging $178,608.

Looking ahead to 2020, with the parish taking on chaplaincy responsibilities at the school we have reduced overall costs for clergy time by 0.1 FTE and we are planning to budget for reduced Office Administration time from approximately 26 hours per week down to 20 hours. Even with these cuts we will need around a 12% increase in overall planned giving to meet our expenses – we can do this through increased giving, increased people and increased fundraising.

Please give this your prayerful consideration.

Where does our money go?

The following pie charts show our income and expenditure ratios for the past five years. They demonstrate just how important our PGP, open plate and general donations are for our parish.

 

Why is the church asking for money?

We are the church together. This is our church community and together we support and run it. The church is you, the parishioners, led by the wardens and parish council elected by you at annual vestry meeting and the parish priest appointed by you through the nomination process. So rather than think of it as being asked for money it is more helpful to think of it as all of us, the church family, sitting around the dinner table working out how to pay the next lot of bills and deciding whether we can afford to do the things we want to do and where our priorities for spending lie.

How much should I give?

There is no set amount because everyone has different means. A good biblical rule of thumb for Christians is to give away 10% of their income. These days people will choose to donate to a number of different charities as part of their tithe for God’s work. Please consider what percentage to give to the church. To give you an idea of how giving is spread in the parish currently, here is a summary.

Ways to Donate

DIRECT DEBIT – Our preferred option is by regular direct debit to the parish bank account which we have now moved to Anglican Funds South Australia. We suggest you set this up as a monthly transfer near the beginning of the month. Account details are Parish of Glenelg (AFSA) BSB 705-077 Account number 00041211 please indicate your surname and initial and PGP (ie SMITHJ PGP). Our ANZ account will continue to operate for now but this is a good chance to change over to our new Anglican Funds account.

CREDIT CARD – Due to changes in privacy and banking regulations the parish can no longer store and process credit card payments on a regular basis. Anglican Funds can manage this for us so if you would like to contribute automatically by Credit Card please indicate this option on the form overleaf and an AFSA authority will be sent for you to sign.

PGP ENVELOPES – You can continue to give through PGP envelopes using cash or cheque and a new set of envelopes will be prepared for you to use commencing the beginning of November.

ANNUAL DONATIONS & OCCASIONAL DONATIONS – can be made in person at the parish office by cash, cheque or credit card.

BEQUESTS – Provision for the parish can be made in your will as way of giving for the future. If you would like more information about making a bequest please indicate on the reverse side of this form.

NATIONAL TRUST HERITAGE CONSERVATION FUND APPEAL – In addition to regular planned giving, parishioners are encouraged to make an annual tax deductible donation through the National Trust for heritage works on the church. Donate online https://www.nationaltrust.org.au/donate-sa/  and make sure you select St Peters Anglican Church Glenelg Appeal

 

Additional forms of Giving

Please contact the Parish Office glenang@bigpond.net.au  or call 82952382 if you’d like to

□   Receive information about including the parish in my will.

 □  Receive  information about making an annual donation to the heritage Conservation Appeal with the National Trust.