our vision and fundraising campaign 2023
GIFT WEEK
On Sunday 26th November we launched ‘Gift Week’. Those who attended in person at the 10am and 6pm were given a paper copy of the booklet that is linked above. You can watch the presentation here.
We wanted to give people an opportunity to think, pray, chat with others and then discern what a personal response might look like.
As you read and pray through the information, be encouraged to think how a response, regardless of the amount might be given Sacrificially, Generously and Cheerfully, following the pattern of many Saints down the ages who have given because they believed that God would do amazing things through the little or lot that they gave.
If you have any questions, please do get in touch and we will endeavour to help provide answers, in the meantime, don’t forget you can pledge using the form and return that on Sunday to the pledge box, or see this page on how to give.
Video update (2)
(To watch the fundraising launch video click here)
INTRODUCTION
We have had lots of conversations as a PCC, in our staff team and as a Leadership Community recently about the opportunities and challenges that now live before us in this post- pandemic world that we find ourselves in. We’ve been discussing what it is need we need to be focusing on and grappling with as a church in 2023 as we find a way in this new season.
The last three years have been hugely challenging for all of us, including All Saints and we've been so proud of the way in which together we navigated all things Covid and all that we did together to get us through that.
It's been an absolute joy to see the church spring back to life over the last 6 to 9 months in all sorts of ways - lots of people have joined us, we have greater numbers of kids and youth than ever before and there is lots of initiative and excitement about all that lies ahead.
This is the context to our “Making Room for More” campaign.
MAKING ROOM FOR MORE
We sense that the Lord is saying to us that we are to make room for more of what God wants to do, to literally make more room because we're running out of space on Sundays, and to make room in our structures, planning and finances for more of what God wants to do in us and through us as a church.
We will be saying more about this over the coming weeks and months.
All this means that we are going to need to do more together if we are to make room for more of God. And specifically, we're going to have to increase our finances - both our giving and our income.
It's not been a surprise to the PCC to see our income and giving drop somewhat over the last 2 to 3 years. That was expected and all churches have had all sorts of challenges on this front. We've actually navigated it really well - our financial resilience has been remarkable. But we remain acutely aware of the current cost of living crisis.
We want to say thank you to all of you for the way you give financially to All Saints. We know for some of us this is really sacrificial. Thank you to those who have joined us recently and begun to give.
£80,000 MORE
The reality is that for us to make room for more of what God wants to do we need to see an increase in our giving and in our income of £80,000 in 2023.
That seems like a lot but actually it's nothing like lots of churches are facing and we are confident under God it is possible for us to achieve this.
That figure is made up of two parts.
(i) Increased giving of £30,000 annually
We need to see our regular giving increase by £30,000 this year and be sustained into the following years so that we can continue to underwrite our ministry costs. Some of you will recall that currently some of our staff team are paid for out of a “resourcing church” funding package. That funding will end at the end of 2025 and so we need to be making sure that we are in a position to continue to pay salaries beyond then.
(ii) One-off giving and fundraising in 2023 of £50,000
That leaves us with £50,000. That figure is also made up of two parts.
St Helen’s reordering
£30,000 of that is the money that we are going to have to find to make sure we can finish the St Helens reordering project. Most of that work is funded as part of the “resourcing church” budget - about £500,000. This represents an extraordinary investment in us, allowing us to do this once in a lifetime legacy reordering.
We need to find the final £30,000 to make sure it's properly equipped and set up in all the ways we want people to be able to use it and so we can underwrite some of the increased costs of materials which have escalated massively in the last two years.
All Saints repairs
Then there is the remaining £20,000. We have already spent this on urgent repairs on the All Saints site - we've had to fix the roof of the cabins in the courtyard that were both leaking and make repairs to the downpipes on the courtyard side of All Saints. These issues were causing the boiler house to flood and the room in which our precious 0-3 year olds gather to become damp.
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
We will be sharing details of how you can both give and help with fundraising over the coming weeks and months. To stay up to date on this campaign, please make sure you’re subscribed to our weekly email.