Monthly E-newsletter from the Finance and Resourcing Parishes Teams

Thinking About Generosity.....

Generous Christmas Resources

Parish Share Communications

Free Wills from the Church of England

Reducing Your Church Energy Bills

Create a Christmas Background for Contactless Device

One-off Giving with the PGS

Diocesan Grants' Scheme 2023

Sunday 11 December. Advent 3. Matthew 11.2-11

Are we ready to rejoice in signs of God’s generous love?



‘Blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me’ (Matthew 11.6). Why would anyone take offence at Jesus and the miracles of divine deliverance unfolding around him?

Jesus’ response to John’s question connects what he is doing with the great promises of Israel’s prophets about the abundant life to be released by God’s salvation, in passages like our Old Testament reading. Perhaps some were offended that a preacher from Galilee should imagine that he could be the focus for the fulfilment of these promises. Perhaps some were offended he could claim any fulfilment when the fullness of that prophetic vision still seemed a world away, with continuing Roman occupation and so much injustice around them.

Living generously as a follower of Jesus means being ready to rejoice in signs of God’s generous love in our midst, even if at the same time we are also painfully aware of the obstacles that prevent its full expression.

Jeremy Worthen is Team Rector of Ashford Town Parish in the Diocese of Canterbury.

Generous Christmas Resources

Christmas is a time of remarkable generosity. God gave the most generous gift of all when he sent Jesus to us as a baby. It’s also the time when friends and neighbours who don’t normally come to church will do so. Visit the link below to find out how to make giving easy with QR codes and Online & Contactless Giving. Download also the Generosity Logo (seen above) to use on your posters and newsletters.

Parish Share Communications

Parish Share Requests for 2023 were sent

at the start of November. If you require a standing order form to amend your payment these can be found at https://www.leeds.anglican.org/finance/useful-links.

This year the share requests were accompanied by our new Parish Share Concise Guide 2022-23 and a short video explaining how the Parish Share helps us to support mission and ministry in every parish. If you missed these helpful resources, click on the links below to view them.

Write Your Will For Free Online

Will writing can often seem like a time-consuming and difficult thing to do. To make it easier, the Church of England has partnered with Farewill, the UK’s favourite will writer, to offer a free online will writing service which you can do from the comfort of your home in less than 30 minutes. Leaving a gift in your will to your church will help it serve the needs of your community long into the future.

Ways to Reduce Your Church Energy Bills

Although rises in energy bills are inevitable this winter, the Church of England and Diocese of Leeds have offered some practical suggestions to help your church save energy and money.

Click the links below to visit the Cof E's page on "Heating your Church This Winter" to discover ways to reduce your church energy bills. Watch a recording of The Reducing Energy Use webinar by the Diocese of Leeds Church Buildings Team which includes advice on sustainable heating solutions for your church and how to search for funding to support your environmental projects.

Create a Christmas Campaign for your Contactless Device

New "One-off " Giving Feature with the PGS

The PGS is poised to launch a new one-off giving feature early in the new year enabling one-off gifts to be made to PGS registered churches via a debit/credit card.

This feature will run in tandem with normal regular giving through the PGS using direct debit. PGS registered parishes will be informed about the new one-off giving development directly by the PGS in December. Dates regarding a webinar to demonstrate how the new feature works will be announced in the January edition of Money for Mission. For more information please email janet.edmond@leeds.anglican.org.

A reminder of our email addresses so you get the right support and advice:

For stewardship, income generation, parish finance, Parish Share and grant enquiries:

resourcingparishes@leeds.anglican.org or you can email Janet or Jenn directly.

For general finance queries including invoices, clergy fees and payroll:

finance@leeds.anglican.org or you can email Jane, Hayley, Clare or Jenni directly.