Giving

We at St Matthew’s Anglican Church, Windsor believe that as God did not hold back giving his son Jesus, in order to save us, we too should have the same attitude towards giving. A great way to partner with us in seeing the Gospel go to the nations is by giving in the following ways.

It is impossible to be an authentic Christian and not be a praying Christian. The great reformer Martin Luther once said:

 

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”

 

As we seek to be an authentic community of Christian people, prayer is a necessary and fundamental part of what we do, when we meet together as God’s people. But we also seek to encourage individuals to be meeting together with God on their own, in personal quiet times. It is during these times we ask God’s people to remember to pray for the ministry of the church.

There are many ways in which to serve the body of Christ at St Matthew’s. Visiting infirm people at home or with a phone call. Children's ministry on Sunday and SRE in Windsor Public School (with the proper child protection training.). We need small group leaders and participants, help with cleaning and looking after our extensive grounds, computer skills, building handyman skills.  What are you good at? We have something for you.

At St Matthew’s we are seeking to be an authentic community of Christian people. Our motto, ‘A credible presence of Jesus Christ in the Hawkesbury’ means that we as Christians are always seeking to grow in our relationship with Christ and we want the people of our community to come to know Christ and grow in their relationship with him as well. The work of our church is very important. Some of our ministries include:

 

All of these ministries need financial support to pay for our ministry team, buildings, equipment, utilities and supplies. The New Testament church was organised to minister to the needy and to provide for those who would preach the word of God (Acts 2:42-47, 6:1- 7). In the same way, we ought to want our church to provide this essential ministry within our community.

 

It may surprise you to know that we receive no financial support from the wider Anglican church or from the government to fund ministry. In fact we give financial support to the diocese, charities, overseas missions and community projects. The grants we receive to restore our historic buildings often only partly cover the total cost of each project. We rely totally on the faithful giving of committed members of the congregation to support the ministry of our church. Therefore we want to thank you for your generous support and ask you to make giving to the gospel ministry of our church a priority in the allocation of your financial resources.

There are a number of methods to assist your giving to St Matthew’s.

Offering envelopes are made available by the church and are a great help in systematic giving and can be used for cash or cheque. Our offering envelopes have two pockets, one is for giving to St Matthew’s, the other is for giving to mission. If you wish to direct your giving to a mission organisation, then please write the organisation clearly on the mission side of the envelope.

 

This is very simple to set up providing you have internet banking. St Matthew’s bank details (BSB and Account number) are provided below and are printed each week on the back of the bulletin.

 

Account Name: St Matthew’s Anglican Church Windsor

BSB: 082 918

Account No: 515043480

 

If you wish to keep your giving anonymous, just put the word ‘offertory’ in the fields marked ‘name’ and ‘message/reference’

 

 

Many retired people have only a small fixed income but over a lifetime, have accrued significant assets which upon death are often liquidated and divided up amongst children or family members. Have you thought about including St Matthew’s in your will?

 

How do you do this? It is necessary to make an adjustment to your will. This may seem daunting or upsetting but it is not as hard as you think. The treasurer can provide examples of clauses that could be included in your will. However, you should seek your own legal advice on this matter.

In the Old Testament, God’s people were commanded to give tithes and offerings of all their produce to God in joyful response to His generous blessing to them.

 

“...the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits of their grain, new wine,

oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great

amount, a tithe of everything.” (2 Chronicles 31:5)

Then they faithfully brought in the contributions, tithes and dedicated

gifts. (2 Chronicles 31:12)

 

The giving of God’s people in the Old Testament was costly and sacrificial. They were urged to give generously and to trust God to provide for all their needs.

 

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my

house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not

throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that

you will not have room enough for it. (Malachi 3:10)

 

The New Testament does not stipulate percentages, but challenges us with the principles of generosity and sacrifice as a loving response to the kindness and grace God has shown to us. Paul encouraged the Corinthian Christians to “excel in the grace of giving” by reminding them of the example of Jesus.

 

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was

rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty

might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

 

The fundamental question to ponder is not “How much should I give?”, but how do I respond to the grace God has shown me?

 

Giving should be regular and faithful, cheerfully, not begrudgingly done. As circumstances and income change, we need to prayerfully reconsider our response to the Lord’s grace. A tenth may be a starting point in considering how generous we can be in our giving to our church and the wider needs of the world. Some with little or no income could not afford this much, while others with much larger incomes, could give much more than a tenth. Australia has been abundantly blessed and many of us can afford to be generous.

 

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and

watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many

rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in

two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his

disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put

more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their

wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live

on.” (Mark 12:41-44)

 

Should you wish to discuss any of these options further, please do not hesitate to contact the Senior Minister or the Treasurer of St Matthew’s.

 

Rev. Chris Jones

4577 3193

 

Mrs Kalita Thorburn

0416 004 330