Each year in the autumn we hold a generosity week, and this year it will take place from Sunday, September 10^th to Sunday, September 17^th. There are so many aspects to generosity, and Stella has written a really interesting article on generosity, that I recommend here. Most people think about giving money, or perhaps time or talents, and these are all important, but generosity is also expressed in how we treat other people – the way we speak to and about them, the way we forgive, make allowances for and give other the benefit of the doubt. It is in the way we use social media, the way we listen to others we don’t necessarily understand, the way we look for what unites us rather than what divides us. When we are generous in our hearts, it spills over into our lives. Generosity also extends to how we treat our planet so that we are more willing to take care of the resources and share with others, including the generations yet to come.

There are so many ways that we are generous as a church in our actions and support for many in our community in many ways:

• Foodbank collections
• Hygiene Bank collections and storage
• Farnham Help for Refugees collections
• Part of Farnham Connects (the group that coordinated work through the pandemic)
• Helping schools including mentoring at Farnham Heath End School
• Services and visiting at local care homes
• Little Bees toddler group
• Friday Night Games club for all ages
• Open the book – presenting Bible stories in our nurseries and schools
• Weddings, funerals, baptisms
• Connections at St George’s for the over 50s
• Support for the Sandy Hill Inclusive Partnership
• Arts events
• Questioning faith and study groups
• Social events
• Welcoming other groups into our churches so that they can hold their own events
• A port of call for those who are bereaved or troubled in any way

I’m sure you can think of many other things that we do as churches that support our community. We do have much to give thanks for and many things planned as we continue to serve our community.

I am told we have 59 people who give either through the PGS system or through giving to the bank, I don’t know whether you are one of our planned givers, but if not, I wonder whether you might like to be. If so – please contact Jacquie, our Stewardship Officer – stewardship.officer@badshotleaandhale.org and she will help you. Also, please would you take a moment to prayerfully review your giving for the next year. I know we are all in different financial situations, some much better off than others, but if you would be able to increase your giving that would help us with our financial security going forwards. At the moment, the average donation is £89 per month. I am very grateful for the increases in giving we have seen over the years. This year is the first year in over a decade that we have seen the level of giving reduce, which is very understandable given the economic downturn. This unfortunately coincides with a rise in inflation, and our outgoings increasing.

To make ends meet, each church needs to raise about £50,000 per year (and we have three) and the main way that we finance that is through giving, the projected income streams this year are:

If you would like more detailed information on the budget, then please ask me. The good news is, for the first time, our budget balances and we are paying all our bills on time. We have received a letter from the archdeacon commending us on our sterling effort. It is very tight, but the PCC have managed this process of being able to balance the books. This is mostly due to increased trading, and that has been a blessing both to us and our community – see the article here and also due to incredibly generous giving. Please continue to pray, and help us if you can, our finances are so very fragile.

I have also put together some ‘Situations Vacant’ – there are many roles that you may be able to help us with! To see that click here.

Thanks again for all you do,

Blessings

Lesley