Holy Ghost Balham, Planned Giving Drive
On Ash Wednesday, Fr Richard reminded us of the three central tenets of Lent – Prayer, Alms Giving and Fasting. Through Prayer, we deepen our relationship with the Lord our God – loving him with all our heart. Through Alms Giving, we remember our responsibilities to our neighbours – to love them as we love ourselves. And through the discipline of Fasting, we focus on what it is that we each need – not just what we want or would like.
Thus, in a way, Lent is an opportunity for us to review and re-set our priorities.
Our Call to Stewardship
A strong, vibrant and growing Parish is something that I hope will appear high in our priorities. But it doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens only through each of us giving of our time and of our money.
Through the giving of time;
- our catechists educate the next generation in our Faith;
- our Servers, Readers, Eucharistic Ministers, Choir, Flower Arrangers and Church Cleaners all assist in elevating our Worship; and
- our Social Committee, Summer and Christmas Fair Committees, SVP, Mother and Toddler Group and those involved in the Seniors’ Christmas Lunch all help to bring our Parish Community together.
However, for most of us, work and family absorb such of our time that we mostly meet our responsibility to the Parish through the giving of money.
- Money that funds the wages of our Parish Secretary, without which nothing would occur; money that funds the costs of running the church;
- money that funds the Parish’s obligations to the Local Council and to the Diocese; and
- money that funds the catechesis that keeps our Faith alive for future generations.
“…serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received” 1 Peter 4:10
But our community is not static one, every year children are born into the Parish whilst others die; families arrive and families leave; people grow, leave school or university and start work whilst others retire. In short, our circumstances change.
And so, the teams of people who organise and run these many elements that make up our Parish need regular refreshing and new recruits. Currently, we urgently need someone to take on organising the Seniors’ Christmas Lunch.
Similarly, we need to review and refresh what we each donate to the Parish. When I first talked about Parish Finances, around ten years ago, the average per capita giving was broadly equivalent to a cup of coffee from a high street vendor. Ten years on, the price of that cup of coffee has risen dramatically, as we know from the current cost-of-living crisis. Yet our giving to the Parish has not kept pace.
Our Parish, Our Mission
This week is the start of our Parish’s biennial planned giving drive; when we take an opportunity to remind ourselves of what it is that we need to give in order for our Parish to thrive and blossom.
I am very conscious that asking for further funds at this time may appear unsympathetic and that some families, struggling with the costs of food and basic utilities, already will be giving as much as they can. But not everyone is in the same situation. Some of us are more fortunate than others.
My appeal is that, during this Lenten season, as we review and re-set our priorities, let’s also ask ourselves most particularly whether there is any more that each of us can do for the Parish in terms of our donations of both time and money.
Thank you.
Antony Legge
Finance Committee
Holy Ghost Parish Church