Whether your reason for giving is to celebrate a special occasion, in memory of a loved one, or just to support us, your gift really does make a difference. We rely on the generosity of people to support the work that we do in Worshipping God, Proclaiming Christ and Serving the Community. There are different ways of donating: Standing order, during Sunday Service, cheque, Give as You Live, legacy or time and talents. There are further details on each of these below.
We seek to be transparent in how our finances are spent. Financial reports and budgets are created by the treasurer, following OSCR guidelines, with the support of the Finance Committee. They are then approved by the Trustees and examined by an Independent Examiner. These are presented at an Annual Stated Meeting and are available to anyone upon request.
Over recent years we have gratefully received financial support to assist with the renovation project at Orwell Church and the results, I am sure you will agree, are amazing. If you haven’t been to see inside yet please feel free to come along and you will receive a warm welcome.
Apart from supporting our own congregation and the national Church of Scotland from our giving
we also supports a number of charities, mainly Christian but some secular, both at home and abroad. These include Christian Aid and Poppy Scotland with annual dedicated offerings, and quarterly at our Communion services we have retiring offerings, 2 local and 2 overseas, agreed annually by the Kirk Session. We also support the following bodies on a regular basis:
KYTHE
KYTHE is a local youth group based on Christian principals, was established in 2013 with financial support, work and prayer from the four Churches of Scotland in Kinross-shire. It has grown massively since its beginning now with 5 employees and around 20 volunteers. Orwell and Portmoak continue to provide substantial support but this is now just a small part of its need. If you can help in any way please make contact at https://kythe.org.uk
MOMBWE
Mombwe is a parish in Northern Malawi which entered into a Twinning arrangement with us in 2015. Twinning is intended as a two way mission engagement and providing support (not specifically financial) where possible. We have made donations to help with building projects and in recent years we have assisted with food and seed purchases when catastrophic floods caused widespread food shortages and loss of crops. We envisage the need for on-going support.
OVERSEAS MISSION FELLOWSHIP (OMF)
OMF (https://omf.org/uk/) has been sharing the good news of Jesus for over 150 years in East Asia and we have adopted Lorna Ferguson, the daughter of our Deputy Session Clerk Harry McLennan, as our missionary partner in Japan. Lorna and husband David have served with OMF for many years planting churches in various areas of Japan. Sadly David died several years ago, but Lorna has remained there continuing her missionary work. The congregation provide financial support from retiring offerings at our Christmas services.
Additionally, other charities we support include Broke not Broken and Kinross Day Centre, who each provide support for the needy in our community have been supported from special collections or Church funds following a local appeal. “We also have fundraising events for specific projects and recently raised over £1500 towards the cost and ongoing maintenance for a defibrillator for community use installed outside Orwell Church hall.
Please contact treasurer@orwellportmoakchurch.org.uk if you would like to assist with any of these projects or if you have any queries relating to any aspect of giving.
Ways to support Orwell and Pormoak Church
Standing Order
Setting up a standing order through your bank is an easy way to automate the payment of your support to Orwell and Portmoak on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis, whichever you prefer. You can either set this up via your own online banking or by completing a form and sending it to your bank to action.
Sunday Services
On entrance to the Church for Sunday Worship, is a collection plate for placing cash or cheques. These can be placed in an envelope if you wish. At Orwell Church on the organ, you will find a Sum Up machine for contactless card payments, should you prefer that method. There is no need for anyone to know what you donate. You simply activate the machine (using the button on the right-hand side), enter the value you wish to donate, give a reference of your name if you wish us to reclaim Gift Aid, and tap your card.
Cheque by mail
You can also donate by posting a cheque. Please contact treasurer@orwellportmoakchurch.org.uk for the address to send it to.
‘Give as You Live’
Google the above, create an account with them. Once you have logged in you select the store from the drop-down list that you want to shop from and are then redirected to their online shop. Shop as normal and the funds raised will be credited to Orwell and Portmoak Church account in due course at no additional cost to you.
Legacy
Making or updating a Will is an important job that we often put off however it can help focus our minds on the priorities of our lives. One of these might be how you can continue to support the work of your local Church in the form of a legacy. These can be small or large – the gift you leave will always make a difference to your church. Orwell and Portmoak Church is a registered charity (SC015523) so any legacy that you make could help reduce any inheritance tax due on your estate.
If you wish to consider this further, then please discuss this with your solicitor who can ensure that your wishes are clearly reflected in your Will in accordance with the law. If you wish to understand more about how a legacy could help with the work of Orwell and Portmoak Church, then please email treasurer@orwellportmoakchurch.org.uk
Time and Talents
Last but by no means least is the help we receive from the many volunteers within the Church. As with any organisation there is much activity behind the scenes to make things go smoothly. If you are interested in helping in any way : being on door duty, doing readings during the service, supplying Church flowers one Sunday a year, helping with the setup of furniture for occasional events or anything else you can think of please contact the Church office office@orwellportmoakchurch.org.uk giving your name, contact details and the type of help you are interested in giving. Someone will get back to you as soon as possible.
Gift Aid Declaration
If you are a UK taxpayer please do think also about gift-aiding your gift as this adds an extra 25p for every £1 you donate at no extra cost to you thereby boosting these donations by a quarter. We are claiming back the basic rate tax already paid on donation made by you. For more information in understanding Gift Aid please visit https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/gift-aid. By giving Gift Aid HMRC will NOT need to contact you and your personal details are only known by the Gift Aid Convenor.
Bank Details for payments:
Royal Bank of Scotland, East Port Dunfermline
Sort code: 83-23-47
Account number: 00144234
Account name: Orwell and Portmoak Church
Or Cheque made payable to Orwell and Portmoak Church and put in envelope addressed to Linda Stewart, 35 Old Perth Road Milnathort or hand the envelope into the office on South Street.