St Michael's Parish Church, Linlithgow

Dear friends,

 Welcome to the second newsletter in our "Stepping Out in Faith" stewardship campaign. The challenge for us all in our church family is to consider the support we can give to the church under the three headings of Time, Talents and Treasure.

 While a major focus of the stewardship campaign is on stabilising the congregation's finances, we wish to take this opportunity to suggest other ways of reviewing our overall contribution to the work of the church. Hopefully the following paragraphs will help us to consider how we might all respond to this challenge.

 Time:

How much time do we set aside each week for service to Christ?

 There is weekly attendance at worship. Does our commitment end at that?

 There is the time we spend on prayer and Bible study either individually or in our house groups. That too is important. What time do we give to this?

Is there also room in our busy lives to give practical service to St Michael's?  

For many of us, hopefully, the answer will be yes. Now is our opportunity to consider what additional contribution we could make.

 The various Junior Church groups, Parent & Toddler Group, Senior Citizens Coffee Morning, uniformed organisations and the Holiday Club are just a few of the groups which could always do with more volunteers. Organisations may look well staffed but it only takes a bout of flu or a change of working hours to create a staffing crisis. Furthermore, time is needed to train new staff, to comply with safeguarding procedures, so that people need to make their willingness to serve known now so that they are able to help when the need arises.

 If you cannot commit to helping every week, would you be prepared to go on a stand-by list or to indicate that in the future, when conditions are right for you, you would be willing to serve? Tasks can range from washing dishes to leading Bible study, with lots of interesting by-ways in between.

 Talents:

Linked with the question of time is the issue of talents. What skills do we have to offer the church? It is easy to think of those who can always be relied on to provide home baking for coffee mornings and social events in the Kirk Hall. However, the church's needs go well beyond that.

 Our uniformed organisations can offer training so that any latent skills you may have can be built on.

 Maybe you would like to contribute your expertise as a skilled tradesman or as a trained professional.  Alternatively some folk prefer to steer clear of areas related to their daily work and to take the opportunity of developing new skills and interests. The choice is yours.

 While we are making this determined effort to establish contact with members and other regular attenders during the stewardship campaign, we are keen to try to build up a picture of the skills which might be available to us.

 Later in the campaign, you will receive a commitment card on which you can list areas of church life in which you are currently involved and also areas in which you might like to become involved. If you indicate a particular area, our follow-up team will get back to you to discuss your response.

 Treasure

Since the last stewardship campaign five years ago, our income has remained largely the same, whereas on the expenditure side, we have all been faced with the effects of inflation. In addition, gas and electricity prices have surged ahead, as all householders know. We have taken measures to reduce consumption and to renegotiate our charges but it still cost £1,500 in January for gas to heat the church building alone. 

 Following a revaluation of our properties, our annual insurance premiums have more than doubled to £17,000. The recent lightning strike which knocked out our public address system and computer network has demonstrated the need for adequate insurance.

 With effect from April 2011 the change in tax relief for charities will result in a reduction of £5,000 in our annual gift aid income.

 A great deal of our income goes to support the wider work of the Church of Scotland. This year our contribution to the central Ministry and Mission fund is just over £156,000 and from this figure we have the services of the minister and the associate minister. The balance goes to support a wide range of work both at home, particularly in helping the Church to maintain a parish ministry throughout the country, and also overseas.

 The Kirk is one of the largest providers of social care in Scotland so, when you give to St Michael's, you are assisting a wide range of causes and reaching out a helping hand to many groups of people including victims of addiction and those who are in severe need.

After we have paid our Ministry and Mission contribution this year we estimate we will have around £145,000 with which to meet other staff and office running costs; rates and insurance; heat and light, and our contribution to the local community, including Linlithgow Young People's Project. However, it is likely that the actual expenditure will be in the region of £171,000 and this will result in a deficit of £26,000.

 In order to get our finances back on a proper footing we will require to increase our givings by 20-25%, as we cannot sustain the present level of deficits. This poses a challenge to each and every one of us as we determine whether our current giving is a fair and proportionate element of our income.

 In conclusion, may we urge you to continue thinking and praying about all these parts of our campaign and to consider how you might review your contribution to St Michael's? We hope that you will respond positively. Should you require further information, please contact us.

 The Next Step:

The next newsletter will contain information on the congregational events to be held in May and about the form and content of the commitment cards which our members and other regular attenders will receive.

With every blessing,

Stewart Gillan,                           Stephen Blake,

Minister                                     Convenor, Stepping Out in Faith

St Michael's Parish Church of Scotland, Linlithgow is a Scottish Charity, Reg. No SCO16185