Supporting Your Church

Ways to Support St Mary Oatlands

Ways to Support St Mary Oatlands

Like any organisation, it is much easier to make financial plans, if the Church has a regular income, upon which it can rely. This is essential for us, to enable us to carry out God’s work in Oatlands Parish. There are several ways in which you can support us financially.

  1. At our services, we take a collection to receive any cash donations, which attendees may wish to make. We also have the facility to accept payments by debit or credit card.
  2. If you are a regular attendee, you may wish to join the Envelope Scheme, under which you receive a box of numbered envelopes, each donor having his/her own number. You promise to pay a certain amount each week, although this can always be varied if your circumstances change.
  3. You may wish to consider completing a bank standing order. Most people find this to be the easiest method and you can choose the frequency of the payments – monthly, quarterly or annually. A standing order form can be found here.
  4. If you are a UK Tax Payer, your donations can be increased by completing a Gift Aid Declaration form. This will increase the value of those donations by 25%, at no cost to yourself, as the Church is able to claim the additional 25% from HM Government.
  5. One-off donations are very much welcomed. These donations may be in response to dividends payment, promotion or act of thanksgiving to God and His church. You could speak confidentially to our Treasurer, Brian Stickland, treasurer@oatlandschurch.org.uk.
  6. The Church also has a JustGiving page, which can be found at https://www.justgiving.com/oatlandschurch. This is could also be used for on-off gives or other sundry donations to the church’s activities. 
  7. When you shop online, please consider using www.easyfundraising.org.uk  or https://smile.amazon.co.uk/ these will help raise some funds for your church. 
  8. Finally, why not consider include a bequest to St Mary Oatlands in your will? Such legacies reduce the value of your estate for Inheritance Tax purposes and may, in effect, attract tax relief at up to 40%. Further information from the Church of England is available at https://www.churchlegacy.org.uk/.  You may also speak to the Vicar (Tel 01932 840077, vicar@oatlandschurch.org.uk) to explore various means and opportunities to leave a lasting bequeath to the church. 

However you choose to support us, we are extremely grateful for that support.

Time and Talents

At Saint Mary’s we see ourselves a family. And like in most families, each member is valued, respected and cherished. Each member makes a contribution to the wellbeing of the whole family. We also believe firmly in the diversity of our gifts and talents. Hence as the Body of Christ, we encourage each part to make use of their gifts for the benefit of the whole.  It is thus no wonder that the running of the church depends on a large number of volunteers who undertake various roles.

We believe in underating these roles, we are serving God and thanking Him for His many blessings and most especially for sending His Son to die for us. These roles include helping at services, reading, leading intercessesory prayers, singing in the choir, Bellringing, flower arranging, helping with children’s and adult groups, Pastoral Visiting, preparing ans serving refreshments, gardening, cleaning, fund rasing, Welcoming and followup new comers, Hosting and leading Home Groups administration, serving on the PCC and many other equally important roles. We are always looking for and encouraging our members and community to be involved in our services and activities. 

If you would like to help in any capacity please speak to the Parish Office (parishoffice@oatalndschurch.org.uk. or Tel 01932231274) or the Vicar Email: vicar@oatlandschurch.org.uk. Tel 01932 840077. You could also download and fill this What I co do at Saint Mary Oatlands form and send it to the Parish Office.