Reflection 

One of the prayers we sometimes say comes from the Hebrew Bible in which the people pray, ‘all things come from you God and of your own do we give you’ – a reminder that we are not owners but caretakers of God’s gifts and resources. In other words, our lives are not our own. 

When we look at Jesus’ ministry, we see he was financially supported by a group of people whose generosity and faithfulness enabled him to teach, heal and proclaim the Kingdom of God. We too are called to support this work with our time and money, and one of the important ways we do that is to support our church – the gathering of God’s people in this part of Walthamstow.

At St Mary’s, we are working to build a church that is financially sustainable in order to release us to be generous in service, faithful in proclaiming the gospel and inclusive in our welcome. As churches around the country face an uncertain future, we recognise the importance of trusting God whilst also doing all we can to continue the vital ministry of St Mary’s, a Church for the Whole Community and a Christian presence in Walthamstow for over 900 years.

This Big Giving Week (17-23 June), we invite you, if possible, to support St Mary’s with a monthly donation, a one-time gift, or by increasing an existing standing donation in support of our ministry, which reaches thousands of people every year in Walthamstow and beyond.  

What it costs to run our buildings/ ministries and where we get (or don’t get) our money: 

• Aside from being able to reclaim Gift Aid as an independently registered charity – and aside from clergy stipends and housing, which are funded by the Central Church – St Mary’s receives no direct, ongoing financial support for the day-to-day running of our buildings from taxation, the Council, or from the Church of England
  
• At St Mary’s, it costs us over £250,000 per year to manage and maintain our buildings which are places of welcome, encounter and ministry to the whole community
  
• Though we are working hard to increase the revenue we generate from outside hires, the majority of our income comes from donations (53%, with Gift Aid factored in) 

• Whilst we get some income from grants, these grants are time-limited and do not fund the ongoing running of our buildings which serve as warm spaces, places to get help with confusing paperwork and places of encounter and ministry throughout the week 

• We are currently operating in a deficit budget in order to keep our ancient church building open during the week to the whole community, and we need your support
  

How to give: 

The Parish Giving Scheme allows us to automatically reclaim Gift Aid; we recommend giving by standing order via the Parish Giving website: parishgiving.org.uk  

You can also make a one-time gift or set up a standing order via our website: stmaryswalthamstow.org/donate