Have you ever wondered

• who pays the minister?
• who repairs the church?
• where the collections at church end up?
• why some people use green envelopes?
• why some people do not put money on the collection plate?

How much does it cost to run Streetly Methodist Church?

It cost about £69,000 to run Streetly Methodist Church last year (Sept 2006 to Aug 2007). This works out as an average of about £1,300 per week or as we have just over 100 members £12 a member a week.

	Whole Year	Per Week
Circuit Assessment	£28,100	£540
Repairs and Maintenance	16,900	£320
Caretaker & Cleaning	£10,000	£190
Utilities (insurance, rates, heating and lighting)	£8,000	£166
Donations	£500	£10
Sundries	£5,100	£100

Circuit Assessment

Our minister's stipend, (including national insurance and pension contributions) and manse are paid for via the circuit assessment. There is also the cost of running the circuit (stationery, postage, travel etc) and a contribution towards the district expenses. There are also the central costs including training of ministers and grants in support of the work of the Methodist Church at home and abroad.

Caretaker & Cleaning

We are fortunate to have a caretaker who also does the church cleaning. He also does minor repairs to the church and works in the grounds. also there are the necessities such as loo rolls and washing up liquid.

Repairs and maintenance

Streetly Methodist Church is nearly 100 years old and costs a large amount of money to maintain. As well as routine maintenance such as painting, clearing the guttering and re-pointing the brick work there are more expensive things that need to be done from time to time. In the last three years we have had to re-roof the Scout Hut, pay our share of the Circuit asbestos survey and then removal the asbestos from the boiler house, pay for the quinquiennial survey and resulting electrical work totaling approximately £10,000

Utilites

These include the weekly cost to heat and light the church, parlour and hall for services and other activities such as women's fellowship and Brownies.

Building Reserve Fund

This is virtually empty as it has been used up to pay for the recent major expenses. The Church should realistically be putting £100 a week into the building reserve fund ready for the next major expense.

Donations

As well as specific collections the Church gives some donations out of general income. Last year these reduced compared to previous years.

Sundries

These include the photocopier and the photocopying of service sheets and weekly and monthly notices. The costs of the posters for the church notice board, stationery and telephone costs. Also there is our share of any Streetly Churches together costs such as the Christmas and Easter leaflets. The music for the church including organists fees and Photocopying and Performing Rights Licences.

Income

	Whole Year	Per Week
Direct Giving	£50,500	£970
Income Tax Refund	£17,500	£330
Lettings	£7,900	£150
Other	£	£300
Total	£80,000	£1540

Direct Giving

Approximately half of our income comes from direct giving.

Income Tax Refund

The Methodist Church is a charitable body that is able to benefit from Gift Aid donations. This means that every £1.00 donated is worth £1.28. Ths giving was increase by £10,00 in response to the Gift Day appeal for the roof over the coridoor.

Other

This includes income from letting the Church Hall and fees for Weddings and Funerals. There is also a small amount of interest from Trust Funds donated in the past. Recently we have also used our reserves to cover the shortfall of income in relation to expenditure.

TRIO - The Responsibility Is Ours

It is now the first anniversary of the "TRIO" campaign when members of the church reflected seriously on their responsibility for the church's financial health. Church members are encouraged to:

• Review prayerfully their giving to the church.

  Is it an adequate response to all that God has done for you and the needs of the church, bearing in mind their personal circumstances?

• Give proportionately to their income,

  So that, when their income goes up what they give to the church goes up in proportion. And if their income goes down, what they give to the church goes down in proportion.

• Join the planned giving scheme

  if they are not members already, using a standing order or envelopes to make their gifts regularly.

• Give tax-efficiently through Gift Aid.

  By completing a Gift Aid declaration any donors who are taxpayers can enable the church to reclaim the tax they have paid on the donations they make - making every donation worth 28% more to the church.

Information on planned giving to the Church is here.