Your givings…did you know?

Did you know that there are two categories of givings to Windsor Park United Church?

The first category is the General Fund.  All monies given to the General Fund help support the life and work of Windsor Park United Church.  This money goes to pay salaries, pay for utilities (aka “keep the lights/heat on!), pay for upkeep of the building, buy supplies for Bible Adventures, study groups, purchase music/equipment for the Worship Choir/Praise Team, etc.  For a more complete listing, please see our Gifts Catalogue, available at the church or go to:  http://www.windsorparkunitedchurch.com/our-gifts-catalogue/

The second category of givings is to the Mission and Service Fund.  Monies given to the Mission and Service Fund are given to the larger church organization for distribution. They may go towards Global Mission and Service, the Canadian Community and Justice Work, Faith Formation, Support to Local Ministries, etc.

At Windsor Park United Church we have 3 ways of giving:

1. Envelopes  – ask at the office to receive envelopes.  You will receive a box with envelopes and a dedicated number so that you can receive a tax receipt for your givings at the end of the year. On the envelope there is a place where you can choose how your money will be allocated.
2. PAR – PAR is short for Pre-Authorized Givings.  It is a monthly direct debit from your bank account.  This eliminates the need to have cash/cheque for weekly/monthly givings.  It also helps us keep a predictable cash flow throughout the year (ie when people are away for winter/summer vacations).   You also receive a dedicated number and tax receipt for these givings. The amount of money given monthly can be changed by calling the church office (eg. you would like to increase your givings for 2019 or need to decrease givings due to financial hardship).
3. Open Givings.  Open givings are monies put in the offering plate with no name/number.   Because we don’t know who the money came from, we are unable to provide a tax receipt.  If you are a guest and would like to have a tax receipt, there are visitor envelopes at the back of the church.

There are actually 2 more ways of giving to Windsor Park United Church:

1. Memorial Fund.  If you would like to donate money in memory of someone, you can simply write “Memorial Fund – person’s name” on your cheque or envelope or use one of our Memorial Fund envelopes.  The money is put into a dedicated Memorial Fund and may be used for things such as: upkeep of the Memorial Garden, purchase of memorial items, etc.
2. Special Project Funds.   This fund is opened whenever we have a special project on the go.  Previous Special Projects include: the Lift Fund, the Organ Fund, the Piano Fund, etc.  This fund is closed when the project is accomplished.  An example of a recurring special project would be Christmas Hampers (White Gift envelopes).

As we move into a new year, we would like to take this opportunity to express our thanks and gratitude for all gifts, great and small!