Ministry & Mission - Building a Generous Church

We believe in a generous God, who longs for us to share his generosity with others. A generous life is therefore a hallmark of our faith and a testament to it, as the more generous we are, the more we reflect the generous God we believe in.

Generosity is, therefore, at the heart of our faith, and our own generosity is a sure sign of our faith in action. The ministry and mission of The Church of England is largely funded through the incredible generosity of those who give to it.

Generosity is a spiritual gift, and we need to encourage people to seek this gift as they grow in their faith.

We need to encourage people along a journey that starts with 'how much of my money do I give away?' to 'how much of God's money do I keep?' It's not an easy or straightforward journey. Our relationship with money is… complicated. We often struggle to talk about how we feel about money, and how we spend what we have. It can feel intrusive, and many people feel guilty and/or confused about giving so would really prefer to think and talk about something else. So we need patience, kindness and love when encouraging people's generosity, and to provide people with the space and time to explore what God may be asking them to do.

Being a member of the Christian Church is not a private vocation but involves belonging to a group of people who accept the Word of God as the most important guide to living together and worshipping our Heavenly Father. The Church as an institution, and this Parish of St Matthew, relies upon our response to God's generosity as the only way to sustain, deepen and extend our life together. That life is not ours alone but demands service to the whole people of God, whether in the Church or without, and this may require our time and talents as well as our financial resources. This is what we mean by Stewardship, and the Church of England has chosen to focus on this in recent months under the theme of 'Building A Generous Church'.

Through the coming weeks we will have the opportunity to learn more together and to reflect upon how we respond to the need to build a generous Church, both individually and collectively. In preparing to think about our response, we may focus on the acronym 'MINT' ~ Means, Impact, Need and Trust.

Means - At St Matthew's most members of our Stewardship scheme find it convenient to use the 'Parish Giving Scheme' of direct debit from one's bank account (which can be set up via our giving webpage) or weekly envelopes in the collection plate, but in recent years we have introduced other ways of giving, including the donation box and a payment device for bank cards at the back of church (helpful for visitors) and QR codes printed in the orders of service.

Impact - The importance of Stewardship is better understood if we are fully aware of the impact that it will have on the Church's ministry and mission. Impact is about how we are realising our vision as a Church, such as bringing more people to Christ, supporting vulnerable people or creating a sense of community cohesion in the Parish. Once we understand better what we can do together, we can think of new and creative ways to spread the Gospel.

Need - Our response to God's generosity can be encouraged through a proper understanding of need, not only in terms of money but also of our mission of service to the wider community around St Matthew's. Sustaining and developing our daily and weekly worship, providing a place for the 9 celebration of the great festivals such as Easter and Christmas, and being here for life events such as baptisms, weddings and funerals, are all part of this.

Trust - The resources that we have, both personal and financial, ultimately come from our Heavenly Father and we have each been entrusted with our share. If we seek to utilise the time and talents that we have within the Parish, we must show to those who give that we are wise stewards of their generosity and that their giving is being used productively and appropriately.

Over the course of the next few weeks you will find more information about this initiative being made available in the pewsheet and the orders of service. If you would like to know more in the meantime, you would be most welcome to approach any member of the Stewardship Team (Donald Cran - Treasurer, Polly Matthews - Stewardship Recorder, Gary and Dave the Churchwardens, and David Waller).

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Making a donation via MyGivingHub

Make a donation via MyGivingHub

The primary way for you to make a donation to St Matthew's church is via MyGivingHub. If you would like to make a one off or setup a regular donation to St Matthew's church, you are able to do so via our PAYA MyGivingHub page.

With an online account, MyGivingHub allows you to monitor your donation history, register one or more cards, manage your Gift Aid declarations and match past online and contactless donations made using your registered cards to help maximise the claim of Gift Aid for St Matthew's. You can set up and manage one off or recurring donations, as well as Gift Aid with a few simple clicks.

MyGivingHub has been designed to make donating quick, and easy. To create an account and start donating to St Matthew's church, use the button above.

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Raise funds for St Matthew's Church every time you shop online with easyfundraising.

Raise funds via easyfundraising

It costs £566 every day to run and upkeep our magnificent church. We are always looking for new ways to raise much needed funds towards this vital grade II* listed building.

It doesn't cost you a penny extra! When you shop online the easyfundraising way with any of their 4000+ registered shops and websites, they receive a commission for your purchases. easyfundraising then turn that commission into a donation for St Matthew's Church.

If you would like to make donations to St Matthew's through your purchases, please click the button above.

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