Our giving is channelled into 3 main areas:
‘Housekeeping’ or Freewill Offering Account
This account is used to meet ongoing expenditure of the church such as the Rector’s and other staff salaries and expenses, payments to the Church of Ireland, the cost of running our buildings and supporting the ministry of the church. Donations are given to this account through weekly Free Will Offering Envelopes or directly via Bank Standing Order. We give at least a tithe (10%) of the income to this account to mission work outside of our own church.
Development Fund
We have plans drawn up and passed for a major refurbishment of our church and hall buildings. To this end donations given to the Development Fund will be used for this work. Donations are given to this Fund through weekly Development Fund Envelopes or directly via Bank Standing Order.
Missionary Account
We give at least 10% of our general income to mission work outside St. Mary’s and, in addition, any specific donations or special collections all go into this account and are distributed accordingly.
Instructions for setting up a Standing Order
Most banks allow you to set up a new standing order via online banking or via telephone. You are in full control of the standing order and can stop or alter it at any point by contacting your bank. Simply find your bank, if listed below, click on its name and follow their instructions. If your bank is not listed, please refer to your bank’s website or any information you have previously received by post.
To set up a Standing Order, you will need our Ulster Bank details, which are as follows.
For Free Will Offering are:
| Payee | St Mary’s Parish No.1 Account | ||
| Sort Code: | 98-05-77 | Acc. No. | 72482025 |
| Reference | ‘Your name’ FWO ‘your envelope number*’ | ||
or for the Development Fund:
| Payee | St Mary’s Parish No.2* Account | ||
| Sort Code: | 98-05-77 | Acc. No. | 72482108 |
| Reference | ‘Your name’ BF ‘your envelope number*’ | ||
(* if you have envelopes)
Specific bank instructions for setting up Standing Orders:
AIB Danske Bank (Telephone Only)
Nationwide Natwest Ulster Bank
Santander See “Manage Direct Debits or Standing Orders”
Giving One-off Donations at Give.net
Another way to give directly to the work of the church is securely over the internet and you can do that by clicking on the link St Mary’s Ballybeen. Please use this only to give ‘one off’ donations; it is more beneficial to us if you wish to give monthly by using a Standing Order.
Traditionally weekly envelopes have been used to facilitate regular giving to the Freewill Offering or Development Fund. However, giving to the ongoing work of the church by standing order rather than using the traditional envelopes is preferred as a more convenient and consistent method of giving.
If you wish to give by Standing Order or by Envelope, or have any other questions, please contact our Treasurer, David Manning.
St. Mary’s is a registered charity (NIC 102119). View our most recent accounts.
Serving
If you would like to know more about serving in the church please get in touch with our Rector.
Gift Aid
Your donation could make an even bigger impact at no extra cost to you.
Gifts from UK taxpayers qualify for Gift Aid. This means that for every £1 you give to St. Mary’s, we can claim an extra 25p from the Inland Revenue. For example, a gift of £20.00 means we can reclaim £5.00, making your gift worth £25.00.
Gift Aid makes a tremendous difference to the resources we have available to use in St. Mary’s. If you are a UK taxpayer, you can ensure that your giving to the church goes a lot further by signing a Gift Aid Declaration which is not committing you to anything but allows us to claim an extra 25% of what you donate to us – all of this at no extra cost to you!
If you haven’t already completed a Gift Aid Declaration, please consider doing so as soon as possible and contact our honorary treasurer who will be glad to provide assistance.