How do I support St Thomas'?
Supporting the church by giving as generously as possible of your time and resources - what we call 'stewardship' - is an important part of church membership and Christian life. We recognise that peoples circumstances differ widely, but ask that everyone who is part of the community at St Thomas think and pray carefully about and regularly review their level of financial giving and the other ways in which they support the work of the church.
Giving your "Time and Talents"
There are many ways church members give of their time and talent to contribute to the life of the church...
Sunday and weekday Worship: bellringers, sidesmen and women, servers, readers, intercessors, eucharistic assistants, flower arranging. Music: Choirs, orchestra, organists. Children's work: Baptism families visiting group, creche, Sunday school, Toddler group, Youth group, Pre-school. Church Groups: 61 Club, Alpha course, House groups, Saturday breakfasts. Fundraising: Art show, Christmas Bazaar, auctions and fayres. Church Centre/Hospitality: staffing the centre, Sunday Coffee, Wednesday lunches, special event catering. Maintenance: church cleaning, general maintenace and upkeep, cleaning silver etc. Administration: church office, editing of bullitin and newsletter, website, PCC.
To find out more about giving of your time and talents in one of these or another area, speak to one of the people already involved or to one of the clergy. Alternatively, complete one of the Time and Talents confidential pledge forms available at the church.
Giving your "Treasure"
The Church of England does not receive any funding from the state, apart from some heritige funding for maintenance of historic buildings (which falls well short of the actual cost of their upkeep). Each parish is required to make an annual contribution to the diocese which, in turn, has to support the national church structures. From this income the diocese has to pay the clergy stipends (salaries), and parishes are responsible for all other running costs. St Thomas' is a large church with a historic building that costs a considerable amount to maintain, and because of its size makes a significantly above-average contribution to the diocese. The main source of income for this and any parish is what its members give.
The biblical level of giving is the tithe, i.e. 10% of household income. We recognise that in modern society some of the things which the tithe covered in biblical times are now funded by other charitable donations and tax. A more realistic level might therefore be 5% of gross household income (i.e. after tax). The following table should give you an idea of the level of weekly giving which this equates to:
| Annual Household Gross Income |
Weekly giving, after tax | ||
| 3% | 5% | 7% | |
| £7,500 | £4 | £6 | £8 |
| £15,000 | £7 | £11 | £16 |
| £25,000 | £11 | £18 | £25 |
| £35,000 | £14 | £24 | £34 |
| £45,000 | £18 | £30 | £42 |
| £55,000 | £21 | £36 | £50 |
| £75,000 | £28 | £47 | £66 |
| £95,000 | £35 | £60 | £82 |
| £120,000 | £44 | £73 | £103 |
How to give efficiently
You can give via the collection plate or set up a standing order for a regular donation. If you are a UK taxpayer, by filling in a simple gift aid declaration you can allow us to reclaim tax at the basic rate, and if you are a higher rate tax payer you can claim back the additional tax for yourself via your tax return. Gift aid envelopes are provided in the back of each seat in church for this purpose, or download and print a gift aid declaration from the Inland Revenue website. Regular giving can be simplified by joining the weekly envelope scheme - you then only provide your details once (held confidentially by the stewardship officer) and you will be given a year's supply of envelopes with a number to identify the donations as yours for tax purposes (only the stewardship officer will know how much you give - not even the clergy will know). Alternatively we can set up a standing order from your bank account, saving you and us the hassle of dealing with cash and cheques. Whichever method of giving you prefer, it makes our financial planning easier if you are able to give us a pledge in advance of your planned level of giving, and you can do this using the confidential pledge form available at church, the online pledge form, or by speaking to the stewardship officer.
Restoration Appeal
In addition to the considerable ongoing running costs for a parish like St Thomas', from time to time there are major capital expenses. 
At the moment we are running a Restoration Appeal in order to raise funds for three projects: the roof, the bells and the organ. The first priority was to re-tile the nave roof, which has now been done. More work is needed on other parts of the roof, the refurbishment of the bells has been completed but now the priority is to raise runds for much-needed work on the organ. We are urging everyone who loves St Thomas' to dig a little deeper and support the Restoration Appeal in addition to their regular giving. Again, if you are a UK taxpayer then you can make your donation go further by completeing a Gift Aid declaration. Download and print a gift aid declaration from the Inland Revenue website, or use our online donation facility.
The stewardship officer, Derek Argent, will be happy to discuss any of this with you, and will treat information about your circumstances and level of giving with absolute discretion. Email the Stewardship Officer.
Online giving
Make an online tax-efficient donation now on your credit/debit card or PayPal account
Regular giving
Pledge a regular tax-efficient gift by standing order or weekly envelope