Giving

St Thomas’ Church is active only because of the financial generosity of our members.

We encourage members to give to the Church, and we in turn aim to give generously at home and abroad. Below we have various ways you can give.

Give Now

You can make an immediate one-off gift to St Thomas’ on our Parish Giving Scheme page below.
It’s very simple: click the link and choose ‘one-off gift’.
There is also a card reader in the foyer allowing for a contactless £5 donation (the amount is easily adjusted).

Give Regularly

If you would like to give regularly, our preferred way for you to do this is through our Parish Giving Scheme page (PGS). It takes five minutes to set up. Start by clicking the button below.

The PGS enables a direct debit from your account into our general fund. It’s straightforward, transparent, and secure.

You can find out more about the PGS generally below.

If, for any reason, you do not want to use the Parish Giving Scheme, you can still give regularly by a standing order that you set up directly with your bank to pay into the Church’s bank account. Contact the Treasurer for details.

Got questions?

If you still have questions or want to learn more information please contact our treasurer.

Further Options

  • We go into more detail on the PGS here. However, its main advantages are in reducing the church’s financial administration, automatically handling Gift Aid returns, and making it easy for you to change your donation (including in line with annual inflation).

  • Gift Aid means St Thomas’ will receive an extra 25% for every £1 you donate, as long as you are a British taxpayer. It makes a considerable difference to us as a church, so we encourage you to Gift Aid your donations! (You can find out more at https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/gift-aid).

    If you give regularly to St Thomas’s through the PGS, then you may have agreed to Gift Aid as part of your sign-up. If you donate in any other way you will need to return a Gift Aid form to the church office.

    A newly completed form may be applied to donations up to the last four years (as long as you notify us on the form).

  • A gift in your will can be an expression of your gratitude and thanksgiving towards God, and can help to support the ministry of the church into the future. Since needs change over the years, we encourage those who wish to leave a gift in their will for the general purposes of the parish, rather than for a restricted purpose.

    The PCC will discuss with executors the most appropriate use of the gift.A suggested form of words to use in your will is as follows: “I give ___% of my residuary estate OR the sum of £          (pounds only) free of all taxes to the Parochial Church Council of the parish of St Thomas’s, Lancaster in the Diocese of Blackburn for its general purposes, and I declare that the receipt of an officer of the Parochial Church Council shall be a sufficient discharge to my executors and trustees.”

    If you are considering this option, we would suggest you get in touch with the church office or with our treasurer, Richard Eglese at treasurer@st.tees.org.uk.

  • Donations can still be made in church by cheque or by cash. However, cheques and cash attract bank charges to the church which are not applied to standing orders or online payments directly to the church bank account.

  • Some employers operate a payroll giving scheme allowing money to be donated to a charity tax-free. You can find out more at www.gov.uk/payroll-giving. This can be a helpful alternative to using Gift Aid, especially for higher rate tax payers.