Parish Tithe

WE PROVIDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT for local and national charities by setting aside a portion of our general income. This portion, currently 5% of general income is known as the Parish Tithe.

There are three ways in which this money is used.

We provide sustainable support in the form of an agreed annual donation for a minimum of three years. These donations are given half-yearly in May and November. Among the charities that have benefited from sustainable support are USPG, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Richard House Trust and ChildLine. Wherever possible, we encourage representatives from the charities to visit and speak about how our donations are being used.

Some of the suggestions that we receive for charitable support are from members of the congregations, who wish the charity to be supported for personal reasons. In these cases, a more appropriate response is a single donation.

The third level of support that we provide is in response to emergency appeals from the Disasters Emergency Committee. In cases such as the Tsunami Appeal, the Niger Crisis and the Asian Earthquake, we would take up a retiring offering after our services and match the money collected in our ‘£ for £’ programme.

Hunger Lunch Programme

ON THE FIRST SUNDAY of each month, we hold a Hunger Lunch at Christ Church. A meal of bread and soup is provided by a rota of talented cooks from within our congregation for which we ask a donation equal to what would have spent of having Sunday Lunch at home.

The money raised from this scheme is given in support of specific projects of the Angola, London and Mozambique Association. The project that we are supporting at the present time provides bibles and mosquito nets for communities in Mozambique.

Operation Christmas Child

EACH YEAR, WE PARTICIPATE in Operation Christmas Child, organised by Samaritan’s Purse International Relief. Members of our congregations pack shoe-boxes with appropriate items such as cuddly toys, colouring books, crayons, puzzles, sweets. The shoe-boxes are then distributed as Christmas presents to children in hospitals, orphanages, refugee camps, homeless shelters and impoverished neighbourhoods across Eastern and Central Europe. For some, the shoe-box is the only Christmas present that they will receive.