An update from the Treasurer

When I took over as treasurer under a year ago, little did I know what a year it would be! We are incredibly fortunate at SMV to have a usually stable source of income from our tower and shop. This enables us not only to support our own array of ministry, but also contribute to the wider diocese and community (such as our support for the Parish of Littlemore through our joint Newman connection - enabling them to install running water in their church). We also put aside money to pay for the upkeep of our own building (for example the roof and stonework on the south side of the church both need repairs soon. Having paid the Living Wage for some time, this year we became an accredited Oxford Living Wage employer for the first time.

In common with people and organisations all over the world, the last month has seen all financial plans turned upside-down. The closure of the church, shop, tower, and cafe, will have a significant impact on our income - and the expected reduction in visitors to Oxford will reduce this in the medium term as well. There is a lot of uncertainty for all of us ahead, but depending on what happens I am expecting the church's income to be reduced by £500,000-£750,000 this year. Each year we are blessed to receive about £100,000 in donations - both from the generosity of our congregation, and of our many visitors. Again there is a lot of uncertainty, but these could decrease by £35,000-£50,000. 

We are already using the government schemes to support both our staff and our finances. We are rightly committing to paying all of our staff their full wages (topping up those on furlough by the extra 20%) and treating part-time and freelance staff in a similar way, as well as supporting the cafe business. We are also committing to paying our promised share to the diocese, and our other charitable activities - these are needed now more than ever.

Overall, the church's net income may decrease by £280,000-£400,000 this year. I want to reassure everyone that we have "rainy day" fund for just this sort of eventuality, but it will inevitably impact on our future plans. I am also incredibly grateful to our Finance Officer, Jeanne, and all of the staff for their very hard work in the last few weeks.

The relationship between the church and money can be complicated, Jesus drives out traders in a rebuking of commercial activity in the temple, but also has his feet anointed by Mary with what would be in today's money around £25,000 of perfume. More practically, the Church of England, through jointly founding a credit union in 2014, aims to provide responsible credit to those most in need. The money that our church looks after we always aim to put towards the ministry of the church, whether that is direct funding of staff, funding of congregational activities, contributions to wider charitable activities, or looking after our beautiful building - a house of prayer for hundreds of years. I pray that this may continue long after I am gone. 

Like many others, this year is going to be financially challenging for us; so I am asking you to consider whether you might be able to support the church financially during this period. For example, if you usually make a contribution to the collection plate on Sundays, might you be willing to consider contributing the equivalent online? It is very easy to contribute online both as a one-off and a regular donation - https://www.universitychurch.ox.ac.uk/content/ways-giving - by donating online you can still help us to claim gift aid if that applies to you. Of course, many people's personal finances are under considerable strain at the moment, and if you are one of them, please do not feel under any obligation. But if you are able, please do consider it.

This week I have been re-reading "Dethroning Mammon" by Justin Welby. In it, he writes "We have a tendency to think about money as people in the prohibition era thought about alcohol. Although there is nothing specifically in the Bible which justifies its banning, we feel that its effects are so often bad that there must be something inherently wrong with it. [...]. The Bible clearly does not disapprove of money - quite the reverse, in fact. From God's blessing on Abraham's wealth, through to the generosity of the early apostles, we can clearly see a scripturally positive view of money.". It is my prayer that we can live out this scriptural aim in our own financial ministry.  

Felix Leach

Treasurer