“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 Bible tells us that God in his grace has given us everything: every physical and spiritual blessing we possess is a gift given to us by God paid for in the death of his Son brought to us by his Spirit. God gave the most precious thing he could to buy us back from sin and death for himself.

In response to his grace, as we follow his Son, we are called to give ourselves in loving service of him and others. This involves giving our time, energy, skills, prayer, money and more. Giving is a core part of our discipleship and a work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts as he shapes our character to be like Jesus.
Moreover, giving money away shows that our hope is not in earthly riches and material possessions but that our hope is truly in God (1 Tim. 6:17).

 

Grace-fully (2 Corinthians 8:1-5,9) Sacrificially (2 Corinthians 8:3,4) Planned (2 Corinthians 9:1-5) Cheerfully (2 Corinthians 9:7) For God’s glory (2 Corinthians 9:12-15)

In the Old Testament, God’s people were commanded to give 10% of their income so this may be a helpful point of reference to start us off. But this is neither floor nor ceiling for Christian giving since the New Testament does not set a figure or percentage for Christians. God cares most about our heart attitude and calls us to radical generosity that reflects his generosity to us.

For us who are part of the church family at St Andrew’s then it’s only natural that we should give to the ‘family purse’. There is a great need for people to hear about Jesus in Ashton and beyond and this is what we try to wisely spend our money on. Whether directly or indirectly all of our expenditure on services, activities, wages, maintenance, and mission partners goes towards making and growing disciples of Jesus.

We are so grateful to God for the generous giving of many in our church family. However, at present our expenditure is greater than our income by about £30,000 (for more detail see our full accounts for 2024). In God’s kindness we were able to meet this deficit because of a legacy received in 2015. However this surplus has now run out, therefore if we are going to maintain and even grow the gospel ministry we do as a church over the coming year then our giving income needs to increase to meet our regular costs.

The Parish Giving Scheme is a way of giving to our church family that makes it easier to claim Gift Aid and means it's processed more quickly. If you're not already giving this way, you can do so by going to www.parishgiving.org.uk and finding our parish (from 1^st November 2025).
Here are the details:
Parish Name: Ashton on Ribble St Andrew
Diocese: Blackburn
PGS Parish Code: 030603260 

If you use online banking, use the details below to set up a standing order with your bank and please let Claire Beranek know you have done so.
Account Name: St Andrew’s PCC General Account
Bank: Santander
Sort Code: 09-01-54
Account No: 85941082
Reference: Your Name

Please put cash donations in the collection basket on the table at the back; if you are willing for the Church to claim Gift Aid, please use the yellow envelopes by the collection baskets, filling in your details appropriately. Alternatively you can use dated weekly sets of envelopes to help you plan your giving; please speak to Claire Beranek for more information about these.

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If you are a UK taxpayer, we can reclaim 25p from the Government for every £1 you give. It costs you nothing but makes a big difference to the accounts! To Gift Aid your donations, please fill in your details below.
In order to Gift Aid your donations you must tick the box.

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