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As a parish in the Church of England’s Diocese of Southwark, St Mary’s does not receive funding from ‘central church.’ All our funding comes from donations, both regular giving and one-off gifts, and the hire of our spaces.
When we have large building or mission projects, St Mary’s may seek grant funding or sponsorship from local individuals, charities and businesses. We also regularly partner with other local charities whose mission is aligned with ours on funding bids and sponsorship.
Legacy giving is leaving money to the parish of St Mary’s in your Will. A misconception by many people is that they don’t need a Will. Some think they don’t have very much to leave so it is not worth it, or that, even if they don’t have a Will, their money and other assets will automatically go to their family. The simplest thing to say about this is that everyone should have a Will as it is the only way to be sure that your wishes are fulfilled after your lifetime and that your estate and assets go to the people or organisations you wish to remember or to benefit. Making a Will does not need to be complicated, but is best done with the advice of a solicitor trained in these matters. You can find free advice on making a will here and here.
Historically St Mary’s has been blessed with wonderfully generous donors, both those who are relatively well-off and those who are not. If you stand in the centre of the church and look around at the galleries, you will see in gold lettering on pink background the thankful tributes of the parish to many of those who gave money towards the mission of the parish, particularly in supporting those who are marginalised.
Leaving a gift in your Will is a brilliant way to support the life and mission of the Church that has supported you during your life. Some may choose to support particular aspects of church life — music, mission, heritage or art, for example — and others choose not to ‘ring fence’ their donations for a particular area. St Mary’s PCC takes seriously our calling to steward the gifts that have been left us from previous generations: our church building, our grounds and all our finances. You can be assured that the legacy you leave will be invested wisely, used in keeping with our mission and charitable aims, and will benefit many people in future years of Church life.
If you would like to be part of the centuries-old tradition of supporting St Mary’s with a legacy, there are basically two ways in which you can do so.
1. A gift for General Purposes. The most useful gifts received by St Mary’s are those for General Purposes. These enable us to direct your gift wherever the need is greatest. You may either leave a specific amount of money (a Pecuniary Bequest), or a percentage/share of the remainder of your estate after all your other bequests have been distributed (a Residuary Bequest). For either of these, the suggested wording below may be helpful to you or to your solicitor.
For a General Pecuniary Bequest:
‘I bequeath to the Parochial Church Council of St Mary’s Battersea (The Parish Office, St Mary’s Church, Battersea Church Road, London SW11 3NA, Registered Charity 1143469), the sum of £___ to be used by the PCC at its absolute discretion.’
For a General Residuary Bequest:
‘I give the whole (or a share, for example, one half, one third, etc) of the residue of my estate to the Parochial Church Council of St Mary’s Battersea (The Parish Office, St Mary’s Church, Battersea Church Road, London SW11 3NA, Registered Charity 1143469), to be used by the PCC at its absolute discretion.’
2. If there is a particular area of the Parish’s work that you would like to support, such as worship, music, outreach, fabric or another area, the following wording may be helpful to you or your solicitor. Please note that it is best to make the the use as broad as possible to make sure the gift can be used.
For a Specific Pecuniary Bequest:
‘I bequeath to the Parochial Church Council of St Mary’s Battersea (The Parish Office, St Mary’s Church, Battersea Church Road, London SW11 3NA, Registered Charity 1143469), the sum of £___ and express the wish that they should apply the money to ____. Should this area of work not be in need at the time of my death, the PCC may use the funds with absolute discretion.’
For a Specific Residuary Bequest:
‘I give the whole (or a share, for example, one half, one third, etc) of the residue of my estate to the Parochial Church Council of St Mary’s Battersea (The Parish Office, St Mary’s Church, Battersea Church Road, London SW11 3NA, Registered Charity 1143469), and express the wish that they should apply the money to ____. Should this area of work not be in need at the time of my death, the PCC may use the funds with absolute discretion.’
If you are considering leaving a legacy to St Mary’s in your Will, the best thing to do when you are drawing up a Will is to get in touch with us at [email protected] or 0207 228 9648 to discuss details.