ALL EYES ON THIS PARISH

Plunge with pledges at Weston Green
THEparish of Our Lady of Lourdes, Weston Green, Thames Ditton in Surrey has become the first parish in the Southwark Diocese to launch a "Do-it-yourself" Planned Giving Campaign to raise money to build a new church, school and presbytery.
A successful football pool was bringing in some funds but not nearly enough to cope with repayment of a loan of £10,000 for the purchase of a new church site on Hampton Court Way, nor £85,000 initial costs for the new church and school.
Professional experts in the field of Church Fund Raising were consulted, but though they guaranteed results, the fees quoted were considerable.
It was therefore decided that the parish would organise its own Planned Giving Programme, thus avoiding both the professional's fee and criticisms from parishioners for "wasting parish funds".
Energetic parishioners together with the parish priest Fr. John Gillespie and the assistant priest Fr. Paul Baker, studied other parishes which had pioneered the way and, with the help of an American text book launched their own scheme.
Visijars are now calling on all households in the parish to obtain from each working adult a promise to pay it fixed weekly sum to the church for one year. Without "dictating" any specific sum the visitors arc trying to get each wage-earner to promise what they can reasonably afford. The pledge is a promise but not of course legally binding, and may be revised or cancelled at any time.
December 3 will be Weston Green's test day. For on that Sunday the pledging should be complete and all will be ready for the first all-in-one collection to he taken up.
This is a challenge to Weston Green-and they'll be watched by many another debt-garlanded parish.