Weekly Offertory and Special Collections

The weekly offertory collections taken during our weekend masses are an important source of income for our parish.

Your weekly financial contributions make a big difference in our parish. Here are just a few ways your weekly gift is used:
 

• To pay for the utilities which keep the parish buildings and school facilities running efficiently for all those who gather for prayer, education or social ministry.

• To purchase the many supplies that are needed for our liturgies and sacraments, including hosts, wine, candles, prayer books and hymnals.

• To support the programs and staff which provide services to our parish families

• To maintain the parish facilities and grounds so that our parishioners and visitors enjoy a positive welcoming experience each time they visit
   

Every registered parishioner who has not enrolled with our electronic Offertory program will receive personalized weekly offertory envelopes by mail.  You can use these envelopes to make your regular offertory contributions at Mass and they will help us to record your donation amounts for tax purposes.   Envelopes will also be provided for special collections and Holy Days.

If you are not a registered parishioner or do not have your envelopes with you, you can simply drop your contribution into the offertory basket when it is passed.

Online Giving

Online Giving is a convenient and secure way for you to make your donations to churches within Christ the Divine Shepherd Parish electronically via an automatic debit to your checking account or credit card.  This program has proven to be very popular with many of our parishioners – young and old alike.  Participating in online giving provides many benefits to you and to the parish as well.  Getting started is simple and only takes a few minutes. Christ the Divine Shepherd Parish uses Vanco.

Memorials

Many people choose to contribute to CDS in memory of a deceased loved one or to mark a special occasion. If you would like to learn more about the options for doing this please contact the Parish office.
 

Bequests/Planned Giving

Bequests  - The simplest Planned Gift to the Church is a bequest in your will or in your living trust to your parish. This requires a valid will or trust in order to accomplish your goal of leaving a legacy to the Church as your final act of Stewardship.

Other Planned Giving examples include -

Life Insurance – Through life insurance, you can continue to support Church ministries that have relied on your generous lifetime gifts after your death. Remember to state CDS as one of the beneficiaries.

Gifts of Appreciated Stock – The tax impact of the technique you use to give appreciated stock to the Church will vary greatly. If you sell stock and give the proceeds to the Church, you will pay income tax on the gain. Of course, you will be able to claim a charitable donation. If, however, you give the stock to the Church you avoid the tax. You will also be entitled to the charitable contribution deduction for the fair market value of the stock on the day the Church receives it.

For more information on bequests and planned giving options, please contact our Parish office.

To secure maximum benefits in your estate planning, we recommend that you consult with legal and financial advisors.