There are many ways to donate to the work of the congregation and the wider Church of Scotland.
Open Plate
This is the easiest method, whereby you simply add your offering, as cash, to the offering plate as it is taken round the congregation during the service. Members using this method normally donate on a weekly basis. You can change the amount you give, the frequency at which you give it, or suspend payments for any reason
Freewill Offering Envelopes
If you choose this method, you will be provided with a set of dated envelopes, one for each Sunday in the year. Your offering for a particular Sunday is placed in the respective envelope and added to the offering plate, as above. Should you miss a week due to holidays, illness etc, you can still return the envelope when you are next in church. We do not record the amount you have donated (but see Gift Aiding Your Offering, below).
Standing Order
A Standing Order is an instruction, from you to your bank, to pay a specified amount on a specified date to the church account. Once set up, the payment is made automatically, provided you have enough funds in your account. It is normal for the payment to be made monthly on a date which suits you. It can be changed or cancelled at any time; you are in complete control of its use. Click on Setting Up a Standing Order, on the right, to read more about Standing Orders.
Gift Aid
If you pay Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax, then please consider Gift Aiding your offering. For every £1 you donate, the congregation can re-claim 25p from HMRC at no extra cost to you, provided you have paid sufficient tax to cover all your donations in the Tax Year. You can Gift Aid donations made through the Freewill Envelope method, or the Standing Order method. In either case, your donations are recorded so that we can reclaim the correct amount of tax from HMRC. Only the Gift Aid Convenor and Treasurer will be able to identify which donation has been made by whom. Click on Giving Through Gift Aid, on the right, to read more about Gift Aid.
If you decide to Gift Aid your offering to Forest Kirk and do not already donate by Standing Order, please consider changing to that method.