How to support your parish
Your generous giving both supports the parish's mission, and is an expression of your discipleship of Jesus lived out in the Church. Your giving supports a range of important ministries covering the complete spectrum of our community form the very young, through to teens, young adults, singles of all ages, families and the elderly. Our mission is to share the love and goodness of Jesus Christ through connecting and engaging with people, then giving them the opportunity for growth and discipleship at their pace and understanding. This is the work your donations support. We humbly ask for you to consider a Planned Giving contribution by EFT or Credit Card as this helps fuel the on-going needs of the Parish. Every year we publicly report to the parishioners on our source and use of funds. Please see below for more detailed information. Should you require further information or assistance in any area please call us at our Office on 02-9876 2853.
1. Information about Planned Giving (with form and instructions).
Planned giving is a process through which parishioners give regular donations on a weekly or monthly basis to support the Parish. This is usually through your Credit Card or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) that you arrange with your bank, either online or by visiting your bank. Pledging a regular donation, no matter how small gives us a reliable source of income to meet our own financial commitments and work towards further enhancing our parish ministries. These donations can be directed to either of the funds below. Download the form & instructions here. (PDF 496.4KB)
2. Information about the Collections we take up at Church
Our Parish Fund (Second Collection)
The Our Parish Fund (envelopes and cash) and Planned Giving (direct debit and credit cards) are for the works of the Parish. These funds support all of our parish ministries, meet the administration costs including electricity and insurance and maintenance of the parish buildings.
The Clergy Fund (First Collection)
The Clergy Fund, as well as Stole fees from Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals, are for the support of the Priests and Bishops in our Diocese. After covering the household expenses of the clergy in our Parish, the balance of the Collection is passed over to a pooled fund that provides Stipends for all active Priests, supports our retired clergy and pays medical costs. A portion of the collection (15%) is allocated to a fund to support the Bishop (and retired Bishops) and his office.
Personal mass offerings and gifts remain with individual Priests.
3. Other works we do in the wider area
Throughout the year there are a number of appeals for donations for a range of charitable works the Church undertakes both locally and internationally. All donations for any aspects of the Church are voluntary. People are free to choose the causes they wish to support if any.
Pastoral Works Fund
The Charitable Works Fund appeal is held three times a year and provides funding for charities that directly support the people of our Diocese. These are primarily:
- Confraternity of Christian Doctrine which resources our catechists in State Schools
- Catholic Care Hospitality Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care Practitioner Program
The Pastoral Works Fund is tax deductible. You can donate here.
St Vincent de Paul: appeal is held twice a year for the Winter Appeal and Christmas Appeal. Our local Vinnies Conference looks after the poor and needy in our local area. There are also 'Poor Boxes' with the SVDP logo in the Church.
Peter's Pence: appeal is conducted on the first weekend in July and sent to the Vatican as a response from the faithful to support the charitable activities of the Holy See.
Project Compassion: appeal is conducted during Lent each year for Caritas, the Catholic organisation that provides humanitarian assistance to people in need. Project Compassion is tax deductible.
Catholic Mission: appeal is conducted annually to support the spreading of the Gospel in places around the world where Australian missionaries work. Catholic Mission is tax deductible.
Holy Places: appeal is held on Good Friday to promote missionary work of the Church and support education, health and medical and social works for the people of the Holy Land and to preserve and restore the sacred historical sites.
4. Make a once-off donation online for a range of areas
A drop down box will give you the option of making a donation to the first collection (support our priests), second collection (support our parish), the Pastoral Works Fund, or a donation for a wedding, funeral or baptism. A receipt will be emailed to you if you provide your details when you make your donation on line.
5. Further information about donations or bequests
Devotional Candle Stands
Money placed in the boxes at the candle stands goes to the Parish Fund to support all the works of our parish.
Paywave/Tap and Go
There are Paywave machines in each church which accept Visa, Mastercard, ApplePay and Samsung Pay. The machine in the foyer is set to $10 per tap. These donations go to the Parish Fund and are used for the renovation and maintenance of the church building.
Bequests
A bequest is a donation left to your local parish, given via your will. A bequest to your parish will help the faith community which has meant so much to you to continue its good works and its loving outreach. It is also a means by which you can plan a lasting gift for your parish which might not be possible in your lifetime.
In receiving a bequest, a parish may be able to use the gift to attend to much needed maintenance and improvements to the church and other Parish property or put the gift towards building a new church or refurbishing their existing one. These kinds of gifts help the Parish free up other income to use towards pastoral care programs.
No matter the size of the gift, a bequest of any kind in your Will can make a significant difference.
The following are some examples of how a bequest may be given:
- A Specific Bequest: A detailed gift, for example, an item of property, shares or an insurance policy
- Percentage of your estate: Nominating a set percentage of your estate for your chosen beneficiaries
- Residuary Request: Nominating a beneficiary to receive any leftover monies from your estate
- Whole Estate: Nominating your entire estate for your chosen beneficiary
For more information on how to lodge a bequest, please visit the Diocese of the Broken Bay website.
Donations Policy
If a payment or donation has been made to Catholic Parish of Epping and Carlingford in error and a refund is required, please contact our Parish office by phoning (02) 9876 2853 alternatively email eppcarl@bbcatholic.org.au. Please note any approved refunds will be returned using the original method of payment. Payments or donations from credit cards will be refunded to the same credit card used to make the donation.
6. Governance and transparency
The parish follows rules and procedures that ensure transparency and governance. The Parish Priest establishes parish strategy in consultation with the Parish Pastoral Council and Parish Finance Committee. These two bodies comprise volunteers of parishioners with skills in these areas. The Pastoral Council and the Finance Committee each hold monthly meetings where crucial areas of running the Parish are discussed and reviewed. Yearly, budgets are developed and their performance monitored. Each year the Parish Finance Committee publishes the annual activities and presents these to parishioners at every Mass. Members of the Committee are available for consultation at this time and throughout the year. Please call our Office if you would like to discuss any aspect of our governance.