A scheme being rolled out across the Church of England to simplify giving has led to a 10 per cent increase in donations at one County Durham Church.
The Parish Giving Scheme enables parishioners to give electronically via direct debit and increase their giving by the rate of inflation each year.
For churches, it promises to alleviate the administrative burden they have traditionally faced in collecting tithes by standing order and crucially, streamlines the process by which they receive the Gift Aid they are able to claim on donations. With eligible Gift Aid being collected and forwarded to parishes on a monthly basis, it can also help to improve churches' cashflow.
The scheme has been implemented by St Mary's Horden, known locally as the Miners Cathedral, as well as 32 other parishes in the Diocese of Durham.
Local parishioners are embracing the scheme too, with one member of St Mary's Horden recently becoming the 500th person in the diocese to sign up.
Fr Kyle McNeil, the Priest in Charge at St Mary's, said that after implementing the scheme, giving in the church has increased by 10 per cent in the first few months of 2019 alone.
"We got involved because the parish had never engaged in any form of electronic giving or any opportunity for people to automate their giving through the bank - they were only able to give by cash," he said.
"Getting involved with the scheme has massively reduced the amount of administration we have to do and also means that the amount of cash and counting we have to manage is significantly reduced.
"Even more importantly it has improved the church's cash flow as we are now seeing monthly returns of Gift Aid automatically which is a significant part of the monies we rely on to run the church.
"So far about a quarter of the congregation have signed up to the scheme and across that quarter, giving has increased by 10 per cent this year alone.
"This may not be right for everyone, but gradually over time I am confident that more and more people will want to take up this process."
Nathan Bruce, the Parish Giving Champion for the Diocese of Durham, said there had been a rapid uptake of the scheme since it was launched in the area in January 2018.
Joyce Harrison, a member of the congregation at St Mary's, said it had made giving much easier as she no longer had to think about bringing money to church each week.
"It's great not having to think about having money in my pocket," she said.
"Even if I am not here every week, the regular collection means I don't need to worry. In many ways, it allows me to focus on the service and not worry about the collection. I think this scheme is a win-win for all scheme members, but most importantly for the church."
