Newsletters 16 and 23 February
The second Newsletter mentions an awkward subject, i.e. finances. It explains how parish money is collected and disbursed. There are the two collections every Sunday, the first going towards the salaries of priests, both serving and retired, the second towards the diocesan Share fund to be spent on various parishes in the diocese. Outside of these Sunday collections, there is the Family Offering, paid by envelope or standing order; boxes of envelopes are available now for each household.These are difficult times for families, as we know. But I suppose when it comes to spending money, it is a matter of our priorities as to what we spend it on. We all have one or two charities which we single out for support, depending on our sympathies for a particular cause. That is commendable. But (and I'm preaching to myself as I write) let us not forget the parish community we belong to, and the churches that are central to that community, and try to look upon that as a deserving cause too.
