Gift Aid — Supporting St Lawrence’s

 

Donating through Gift Aid means St Lawrence’s can claim an extra 25p for every £1 you give — It won’t cost you any extra.

 

Download our Gift Aid form to support us!

 

Supporting St Lawrence’s

 

There are many ways to support St Lawrence’s and we are always grateful for the contributions Parishioners make towards the life of the Parish, particularly the time they give up and the skills they lend to ensure that the Parish runs smoothly.

 

The information below relates to financial giving, but if you feel you could contribute to the Parish in another way please do share this with the Parish Priest.

 

In terms of contributing financially to the Parish, there are three main ways to give regularly:

1. Via the Offertory Collection taken at Sunday Mass (including the Saturday Vigil);
2. Via Standing Order. To set up a Standing Order please pick up a leaflet from the Parish Office.  You will need to complete this and send it to your bank or you can set up the standing order electronically. To set up a Standing Order please pick up a leaflet from the Parish Office.  You will need to complete this and send it to your bank or you can set up the standing order electronically.
3. Via your work payroll giving scheme also known as ‘give as you earn’. You give direct from your pay tax free based upon your personal rate of tax.  Please contact your employer’s payroll department for more information.

 

Gift Aid

 

If you pay UK tax (Income or Capital Gains Tax) it is possible for the Parish to claim back basic rate tax on your contributions provided you have completed a Gift Aid declaration.

 

This applies whether you contribute via the Offertory Collection or Standing Order.  The basic rate tax reclaimed via Gift Aid represents a significant benefit to the Parish and accordingly we would encourage you to use this method where applicable.

 

If you haven’t already done so, you will need to fill in, sign and return to us a Gift Aid declaration.  If you would like to Gift Aid your contributions to the Offertory Collection we will provide you with individual envelopes for each weekly collection.

 

(Note, if you pay higher rate tax, you may recover this through your own tax return).

 

The Gift Aid form is available on the website, Parish office or at the back of the church.

 

St Lawrence charitable Fund

 

If you buy online from Amazon, Argos, John Lewis, Tesco or any of 2700 retailers! They will give us a percentage of your shop value to support our St Lawrence charitable Fund…. SLCF provides support to vulnerable individuals and families who are unable to get support from any other sources.

 

These cases of need are brought to our attention by direct contact, through a third party or from the Social Services.

 

We support people in a practical way by providing household necessities such as floor covering, furniture, washing machines and cookers; support to individuals by paying for critical educational needs; occasionally we have provided assistance with funeral costs.

 

Many thanks to everyone who is already us.

Since 1992, Missio has been the Catholic Church’s official charity for overseas mission. It brings the hope of the Gospel where there is turmoil, poverty and uncertainty in the world, and where the Church is new, young or poor.

 

Missio employs local people to form and sustain communities of faith and we train and nurture future leaders so that the vital work of the Church in the world can take place. 

 

To provide for the different needs of the overseas Church, Missio focuses on four main areas of provision:

• Children’s projects( faith, health and education)
• The training of local priests and sisters
• The building of Church infrastructure and support of faith communities
• The promotion of world mission through prayer and study

 

Missio Red Boxes

 

APF- Mill Hill’s Red Boxes can be found in over 200,000 Catholic homes in England and Wales.

 

 

The pounds and pence that are put into these boxes go to fund the vital work of the Catholic Church abroad, by bringing God’s love and hope to the poorest and most in need.

 

Missio’s iconic Red Boxes are a simple way for Catholics to play an active role in the missionary activity of the Church; they give to all who come into your home an opportunity to contribute to the life-giving work of Gospel proclamation abroad. 

 

By taking a Red Box into your home, you automatically become a member of APF, a worldwide community of generous givers whose faithful prayers and support over the years have helped fund 1,069 missionary dioceses.

 

Many of the churches supported by Red Box funds are young, face extreme difficulties and urgently need our prayers and continued support; so your generosity really does make a difference!

 

Our Parish Support for Missio

 

In our parish many people support the work of Missio through the APF – Mill Hill Red Boxes. Those contributions raised over £1100.00 this past year. We invite everyone in our parish to support the work of Missio throughout the year through the Red Box scheme as well as through the annual collection on World Mission Sunday.  

It is easy to become a Red Box holder.  Just collect one from the shelf at the back of the church (on the right or left as you enter church). Put it somewhere easily seen in your home and invite family and guests to drop their spare change into it whenever they can.

 

When it is full or every 6 months, take it to the Parish Office. You can then take a new box from the back of the church and start again filling it up! 

 

Your donations are collected from the Parish Office, counted and banked. The funds are sent to the central APF account and from there sent directly to local bishops in our sister churches in Asia, Africa and India. Last year, APF-Mill hill supporters raised over £2,250,000!

Foodbank

Help Feed People in Need

“For I was hungry and you gave me food”

We invite you to donate non-perishable, in-date food and other items from the list attached. These donations are passed on to the Foodbank Distribution Centre at the New Community Church in Station Road, Sidcup.

 

The food and items collected are then sorted, checked and packed into bags/boxes by volunteers to be given to people in need. People in crisis are issued with vouchers that can be redeemed for 3 days emergency food. 

 

Volunteers meet the people to chat with them and signpost them to agencies able to solve the long term problems.

 

As a parishioner you can get involved by making a donation from the Foodbank list below and placing them in the blue/green bins Bexley Foodbank that are located by our church doors whenever you come to Mass or are passing our church.

 

‘Truly I tell you,

whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,

you did for me.’

Shopping List

 

We need:

• Milk (UHT or powdered)
• Sugar (500gm bags)
• Tea bags and instant coffee
• Cereals
• Jam
• Rice
• Rice Pudding (tinned)
• Fruit Juice- long life cartons
• Sponge Pudding (tinned)
• Biscuits or snack bars
• Pasta Sauces

 

• Tomatoes (tinned)
• Instant mashed potato
• Tinned meat or fish
• Tinned soup & vegatables
• Tinned fruit
• Bars of soap and toilet rolls
• Sweet treats (for children)
• Nappies and baby wipes
• Tampons
• Toiletries of any kind

 

Mary’s Meals Backpack Project

 

Bringing hope to a hungry world

Mary’s Meals is a non-denominational charity supported by people of all faiths and none and feeding children of all faiths and none.

 

Mary’s Meals sets up school feeding projects in some of the world’s poorest communities where poverty and hunger prevent children from gaining an education.

 

Their idea is a simple one that works: –

 

They provide one daily meal in a place of learning to attract chronically poor children into a classroom where they receive an education, which can set them free from poverty in later life.

 

Mary’s Meals began by feeding 200 children in Malawi in 2002 — today they feed over three quarters of a million children every school day in 16 different countries. Where Mary’s Meals is provided, there is a rise in school enrolment, attendance, and attainment.

 

There are 300 million chronically hungry children in the world. Around 57 million of these children are out of school. Mary’s Meals works across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean, with over 65,000 volunteers delivering the daily meals to the children.

 

The Mary’s Meals Backpack Project is a low cost way to give

 

 

 

Most of the children who benefit from Mary’s Meals and the Backpack Project have suffered war, poverty, famine, or natural disaster.

 

Very often families cannot afford to buy basic things like pencils and copy books, or even suitable clothes for their children to wear to school. And so their children miss out on school and an education.

 

A simple backpack with educational materials can be a lifeline to these children as studies show that an education is the best way a chronically poor child can escape poverty in later life.

 

You don’t need to fill a full backpack; even just a few items from the list below will help someone to go to school. As all the backpacks are sorted before they are distributed, these ‘extras’ will be used to top up those backpacks that are missing something.

 

We also encourage that, where possible, items are good quality second hand, or from a value range.

 

Red Backpack Project bins are available for your donations

at the back of the church.