Why Give?
At our Parish there are three different ways of supporting the building of the Kingdom of God by contributing financially:
Support the Parish
Support the Oratory & Education of Priests
Support Social Outreach
FAQ
Jesus is the model of self-giving because he gave his life on the cross for the salvation of the world. When we give of ourselves sacrificially we imitate Jesus. We are called to give in many ways; one of these is by financially supporting the work of the Church.
The work of the Church is nothing other than to continue the work of Jesus – that is, to call to repentance and to proclaim the Gospel.
“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19).
The parish is the frontline of this divine mission. Together, both priest and parishioner are responsible for the use of their time, resources and money which we relate to as stewards, for the growth of God’s Kingdom.
The parish invests in music, youth and young adult programs, catechism material, training and formation of leaders and teachers. Creating a beautiful and comfortable worship environment is also an important investment.
In the Walmer Township, money is spent on outreach efforts. Other parts of the budget see to the maintenance and upkeep of our facilities which are used without charge by the St Vincent de Paul Society to care for those who have the greatest need. Finally, there are important administration and salary costs to keep the parish running.
• Planned Giving: designate money in your budget
• Priority Giving: give to God first before other expenses
• Percentage Giving: give a percentage, not a Rand amount
• Progressive Giving: increase the percentage as and when you can until you reach 10% of your net income. In the Scriptures Jesus reinforces the practice of tithing (giving a tenth of your income): “You should tithe yes, but do not neglect the more important things” (Mt 23:23); and he praises the widow who is poor in money but rich in generosity (Lk 21:1-4).
If you can’t afford to budget 10% of your income then select a smaller percentage and increase it as and when you can – this is Progressive Giving.
How much you give is known only to those who administer the accounts. It is never a topic of discussion.
The Oratory and parish are separate financial entities. The relationship between the parish and the Oratory is akin to a marriage in the sense that the strength of one is important to the other. When the Oratory first arrived in November 2002, many parishioners saw this as an answer to prayer and assisted with the costs of educating the younger members. This tradition continues: at present, money invested in the Oratory’s Friends of the Oratory account is used for ongoing education of the Oratorians and in preparation for future seminarians.
Feeding the hungry is one of the five Corporal Works Of Mercy (c.f. CCC 2447). Every Christian is called to practise these Works of Mercy. The SVP and other charities are institutions that seek to champion this work.
If you wish to contribute to the SVDP you can find their banking details here
Such a practice is commendable and the Church benefits greatly from this thoughtfulness. It is important to know that all money received by the parish through planned giving, donations and bequests are taxed by the chancery (Bishop’s office).
This provides the Bishop with much needed financial support for running the diocese and supporting parishes that are not yet self-sustaining.