I believe that people give because they carry the image of God – they have in them a divine piece of DNA which radiates grace. Rationally, it seems foolish for people to give £30,000,000 to a commercial fund-raising site because Honorary Colonel Sir Tom is walking up and down his garden. But when we see a need, and are inspired by a person, our default is an urge to give. Even if we often find reasons not to give, (I’ll do it later, I haven’t got enough myself, I don’t know how to give) there’s something in us that wants to join in with the generosity.
Stewardship’s church planting team, still in its infancy, was set up to serve those who feel God has placed a call on their heart to start a church. When statistics seem to show a decline in church attendance, it’s amazing to hear stories of people stepping out in faith to build God’s house. Pastors like Pete and Rachel Whittaker from Freedom Church Preston are leading the charge.
Whilst COVID-19 appears not to have significantly slowed the repayment of Gift Aid claims, HMRC has identified some common errors made on claims that do cause processing delays.
The Government has agreed to temporarily enable attendees of events that have been cancelled as a result of COVID-19 to be allowed to donate their event ticket price to the hosting charity, under Gift Aid, without the need for the price paid to be refunded to the ticket holder first.
The Government has once again warned that fraudsters are exploiting the spread of COVID-19 in order to carry out fraud and cybercrime.
There are two major updates for staff-related matters at this time.
The first relates to employment contracts. On 6 April this year, new regulations came into force with significant changes to the rules on written statements of employment. The first major change is that employees, and now also paid workers, have the right to a written statement of employment on day one.
After my friend quit her high-flying, high-paying job to go travelling, COVID-19 suddenly intervened. Once back in London and working shifts at her local Co-op, she made the drastic announcement that after “not much thought” she was planning to shave her head (and livestream it) to raise money for the NHS. We all secretly wondered if perhaps lockdown had caused her to officially ‘lose it’ (pardon the pun).
We recognise that being a church or charity trustee at the present time is not easy. All the normal rules of operation appear to be removed, and even the simple task of meeting together to discuss issues is not possible. So how do you make biblically based decisions at a time like this?
The Government has launched several loan schemes designed to finance entities through the difficulties caused by COVID-19.
blogs by the Stewardship team and selected guest writers.
Stewardship is the operating name of Stewardship Services (UKET) Limited. Established in 1906.
Registered charity no. 234714, and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England no. 90305.
Registered office: 1 Lamb's Passage, London EC1Y 8AB
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