St Peter

1
St Peters Church

• Is Church Free?

2
SOME BACKGROUND

• We all need at least as much money coming in as
  going out.
• St Peters has spent more than it earns every
  year for at least the last 10 years.
• We have been able to survive by funding the
  deficits from our savings.
• The savings we can use are now down to 3,000.
• We can probably keep going at the same rate for
  no more than 2 years.

3
SOME MORE BACKGROUND

• 2/3 of our costs go to the diocese. Out of our
  control and go up significantly each year.
• The amount we pay to the diocese still does not
  cover the cost of Chris.
• We are still a subsidised church.
• We chose to give 10 of our income to charity
  we think this is important.
• There is not much we can do about our costs we
  have to do something about our income.

4
LOOKING A BIT DEEPER

• This year our costs are expected to be
• We should get from the tax man
• We should get from Hall income
• We should get from miscellaneous -
• The balance we need to raise is

46,000 6,000 6,500 4,000 29,500
THERE IS NO ONE ELSE BUT US
5
SHOULD 29,500 BE HARD?

• We all have different abilities to contribute
• We all feel called to give to different causes
• BUT one way of looking at it would be..
• If we have say 60 regular adults..
• 490/year each
• 9.50/week each
• 1.35/day each

6
SHOULD 1.35/DAY BE HARD?

• Maybe not but it is.
• It is an Anglican problem
• It is a St Albans Diocese problem
• We rely too much on a few people
• Costs do go up everywhere each year
• It depends what comes first
• Tithing (490/year)?

7
WHAT CAN WE DO?

• Give thanks to God for his faithfulness.
• Whatever we give, give gladly.
• Think and pray seriously about our giving in
  relation to our ability to give.
• Recognize that giving should be a form of
  worship to God and love to our fellow Christians.
• Recognize that serious giving requires planned
  giving. It may not always be easy.
• Recognize that Gift Aid brings in extra money at
  no cost.
• Is Church free? yes, but..

8
St Peters Church

• Free at the point of delivery
• Thanks to us