Making money grow - Magic Envelopes
It has been brought to my attention that not everyone understands the envelope system of giving in church collections. It's known as Gift Aid and can only be used by taxpayers. Each person is given a pack of envelopes, one for each week of the year. Each time he or she comes to church the collection money is put into the envelope before putting it into the plate. You don't have to give any more than you would give if you just dropped your donation loose into the collection plate, or commit yourself to a specific amount. (Of course we would be delighted if you got into the habit of putting money into the envelopes every week even when you didn't attend church.)
At the end of the service, envelope donations and loose money are totalled separately. The Gift Aid figures are then sent to those magical people at the Inland Revenue who check our taxes and they very generously give back to the church 28 pence for every pound given by this method. So our income grows - perhaps not as quickly as the beanstalk but enough to make it worthwhile. It all adds up. Think about it. If you're interested in joining the scheme let me, or anyone else at church, know.