Just like a household, or a business, the Parish has many expenses to meet throughout the year.  It must cover payments for insurance, repairs, electricity, telephone bills, rates, maintenance and hygiene.  In 2021, our insurance bill increased to $22,549 – covering more than 6 weeks of our mass collection!  And given that our Parish Centre is almost 40 years old, the costs for repairs and maintenance are also substantial. Like many Parishes, we are also servicing a loan when we had the church building renovated in early 2000.  It is amounting to $30,456 per annum commitment. With the insurance and loan repayments alone, that already equals 3 months of our current mass collection. The Regular Church Contribtion, therefore, is essential as it allows the Parish to budget, and with some certainty know that it can pay for expenses that fall due during the year.  It also enables the Parish to plan for, and prioritise, specific projects, and highlight where expenditure may need to be deferred or further fundraising undertaken (for example, in the case of the Solar Panels Project).