Giving
Thank you so much for your financial support. We could not fulfil our God-given vision without the generous offering of your time, talents and finance. We encourage regular members of the church to contribute to the vision of the church and the activities associated with it. Note that we do not pass round an offering plate at our services, but different ways of giving are detailed below.
On this page:
We welcome one-off gifts to support our ministry. Giving is easy via our online giving page
When visiting the church you can place gifts by cash or cheque in the wall safe or give by contactless payment card with the electronic terminal at the back of the Church.
It cost approximately £500 each day to maintain Otley Parish Church's ministry to the people of Otley and fulfil our God-given vision. The vast majority of our income comes from regular giving by members of the congregation. The Bible encourages all Christians to give cheerfully and sacrificially.
Have You Recently Joined Us? If you are new to faith, or new to our Church, you might be surprised or worried about this invitation to give. We recognize that people’s finances are often fully committed, and to change patterns of expenditure may take time. God helps us to do this – it’s part of reshaping our lives and our priorities as we learn to follow Jesus in our own unique, and ever-changing, situation.
The Church is part of the Parish Giving Scheme operated by the Diocese and you may give to the Church through this scheme which reduces work for the church treasurer.
You may also give by Standing Order.
The church account details are:
Parochial Church Council of Otley – sort code 20 37 13 – account number 10088811
Set this up online or, if you prefer, you could download and complete our Standing Order Form and send it to your bank to implement. The same form can be used to vary an existing standing order.
For those who are UK taxpayers you can enhance your giving by 25% by using the Gift Aid Scheme. This can be set up by downloading our Gift Aid Form.
If you have any questions about giving to the church, please contact our Treasurer at treasurer@otleyparishchurch.org
Sadly, about 60% of people never make a will, which is our final act of stewardship. Our death can release resources for the causes we have been committed to in our lifetime. At present all legacies are used to maintain our wonderful Grade 1 listed Church building, unless otherwise indicated in the legacy. Do talk to our Church treasurer about legacies.
We give because God has given to us. We recognise that everything comes from God and is his gift. This is why, at the Communion service offertory, we say “All things come from you and of your own do we give you”.
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How we use our time, our money and our talents, balancing our needs with the needs of others is a working out of the command to love God and our neighbour as ourself.
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Tithing is a helpful starting point. The chief guideline from the Old Testament (to a people mostly surviving by subsistence agriculture), is to give 10% of our income to God.
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We are to give generously and sacrificially according to our income and our assets.
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We give to God the best of our time, our money and our talents. Not the leftovers.
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We need to be ‘counter cultural’, resisting the constant and persuasive pressures from advertising and marketing, and from our friends and neighbours.
Isn’t The Church of England Rich?
The Church of England does have substantial central investments which are managed by the Church Commissioners.
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Those investments produce an annual income that is used to pay for pensions, cathedrals and bishops. It also supports the Church in deprived areas and some mission initiatives.
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There are no central funds to support ordinary churches like us in our regular activities
The Parish Share
Otley Parish Church is part of the Diocese of Leeds, and about two thirds of our expected income goes into the Diocese of Leeds’ common pot, from which clergy salaries, pension contributions, housing and training are all paid.
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95% of giving to the Diocesan common pot comes back to parishes, mainly through provision of clergy but also through other services provided. Just 5% is spent on management and administration.
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The amount each Church pays into the pot is determined by the number of clergy (not including curates in training), the size of the congregation and the relative wealth or poverty of the geographical Parish.
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The contributions of wealthier parishes help finance the Church’s ministry in poorer parishes. This is a key part of missionary giving for better-off parishes.
The Parochial Church Council budgeted for a large deficit in 2024 because of the current high gas and electricity costs, another large increase of about 7% in our Parish Share and because of the costs of having a part time youth worker. This deficit is possible because the Church has a good level of financial reserves, but it is not sustainable in the longer term. The Church’s cash reserves are likely to fall by about a third during 2024 unless there is a substantial increase in gifts and donations.
For more information, please get in touch with us on our Contact page.