Donating to St James Church

Money plant

As Christians, giving is part of how we say thank you to God for His amazing grace and the indescribable gift of his Son to us. The Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver, because cheerful, generous giving blesses others, supplies the needs of the church, and helps to resource our Good News mission. It is also an act of obedience and trust – in doing it we are saying that it is God, not ourselves or anyone else, who ultimately provides for our needs. Giving should never be forced or grudging, but free and joyful. "Let each one give as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves a giver whose heart is in his giving." (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Giving financially is, of course, just one way of expressing generosity. If you’re struggling financially or in debt, we encourage you to express generosity in a non-financial way by serving on a team, praying for the Church, or being generous with your time towards others. We'd also recommend the Christians Against Poverty website as a great place to get further help.

Thank you so much for considering financially supporting the work and mission of St James. See below for several ways you can make donations as well as some special ways to further boost your gifts!

1. Regular Giving - Monthly Online

This is the ideal option (where possible) as it enables our leadership team to plan ahead more strategically and responsibly. It also means we can automatically receive Gift Aid - the very generous scheme from the UK government which adds a bonus 25% to gifts if you pay income tax. That means, if you have signed a simple Gift Aid declaration, for every £20 you give, the church receives £25! So please use this option if you are able to.

The best way to do this is to fill in the simple online form here. The form gives you the choice of how much and how often you give.
One vital detail: In the "Beneficiary" section, start typing "Uplands" and then select "Swansea Ministry Area: St James Uplands". Then your donations (+ any Gift Aid) will find their way to us.

If you need to cancel or amend your regular giving at any point, just fill in your details and request via the quick online form here. (To reassure you, your request to amend or cancel will be considered as actioned immediately.)

For any further questions or queries about regular giving, just have a chat with our friendly treasurer, Tony Lamb.

2. Regular Giving - Occasional Online

Some people - such as those who self-employed - like to give regularly but cannot give on a weekly or monthly basis.
For some, the best way is use this online form here but to choose the quarterly, 6-monthly or annual gift option.
For others, please use the same form every time you who wish to make a donation and choose the "Frequency: One-off" option.
(Please tick the Gift Aid box if you pay income tax.)

3. One-off Gifts & Special Appeals

To make a one-off donation either to our general mission fund or to one of our current fundraising appeals (such as the Building project), please fill in the form on this page - see below. For a specific appeal, select from the list under the "Additional Details: Donation Use" tab.

4. Leaving a Legacy

One very generous and highly strategic way for people to invest in God's kingdom and the spread of the Good News, even beyond their own lifetime, is to leave a legacy gift as part of your will. These gifts can make an enormous difference to the church's mission, such as resourcing a new staff role that multiplies our impact, or enabling us to greatly improve our services and facilities.

You can include a gift to St James in your will by the addition of a straightforward clause, using the following wording:

“I give ____% of my residuary estate free of all taxes to the Ministry Area Council of Swansea (registered charity *number _________ ) for specific and exclusive use in the mission, ministry and general purposes of St James Church Uplands in the Diocese of Swansea & Brecon, and I declare that the receipt of an officer of the Ministry Area Council or a sub-warden or treasurer from St James shall be a sufficient discharge to my executors and trustees.”

*August 2023 note: We are currently waiting for the charity number of the newly formed ministry area.

5. Employer Matched Giving Schemes

Many employers offer matched giving schemes. In most cases, the company will match your donation pound-for-pound up to a specific amount; a handful of organisations will even double your gift. Perhaps ask the Human Resources or Social Responsibility Office at your workplace to find out if they operate a matched giving scheme. Some employers may not match giving for religious purposes, though most will match gifts that are restricted to special projects serving the community. Ask Angela our treasurer how to make a restricted gift.

6. On Sundays

We have an offering box and envelope scheme for those wishing to make cash donations or who have less access / confidence regarding online giving.
We will also be shortly installing a contactless giving station to enable people to give by card.

***NOTE: THE DONATION PORTAL BELOW WILL BE FUNCTIONAL SOON - BUT NOT QUITE YET***

For more information, please get in touch with us on our Contact page.

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning.

Where and When

We meet at the Church Building (details here) for our Sunday Service starting at 10:30am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will be wearing a Welcome lanyard.

We serve tea, coffee and biscuits after the service in the church centre next door. It is a great way to meet people. All refreshments are free.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access at the rear of the church, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There are toilets in the church centre next door.

Our Service

We hope that whether you've never been to church, or you've been coming for decades, you'll be at home and you can experience God's presence. The main service begins at 10:30am with a warm welcome and notices about what's coming up. Our services are a mix of old and new - contemporary songs led by a good music group. alongside traditional hymns and prayers which have sustained generations of Christians around the world. Preaching is designed to make the bible come alive and be relevant for our daily lives. Every Sunday morning we join in Holy Communion, which keeps our worship anchored in what God has done for us in Jesus. So our services are about both a personal encounter with God, and about establishing our faith in deep biblical wisdom, prayers and traditions of the wider church.

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What about children?

We have a popular children's programme, led by Sherry, our Child and Family worker and a team of helpers. If you're bringing children, have a chat with a member of the team when you arrive - our welcomers will direct you.

Children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for the welcome, first hymn and prayers. During a second song children leave for the church centre.

The children's group activities vary depending on the age but usually there is a friendly welcome, bible stories, praying, and a mix of music, craft, drama, fun games and free play. Our Eco Church group occasionally take sessions in the church grounds, and the vicar Ian leads some sessions too. Children come back into the service for communion and either sit with parents or with each other. We sometimes have all age services where children take a leading role, particularly on special days.

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Other activities

Growing in faith

We have a programme through the year of different types of courses and groups. In the last year, we have done the Prayer Course, had in-depth teaching sessions on the Cross, and Salvation & Life after Death; spiritual gifts; and books of Daniel and 1 John. We have an annual lecture series, which in recent years has looked at literature and faith and science and faith. We're looking to do the Start course for those wanting an introduction to faith, and later in the year the Bible course. These are usually on Thursday evenings at 7pm in the church centre, sometimes you can join on Zoom. And there's a prayer group at 9.15am on Thursday mornings.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team.

Other Ministries

We also run the following ministries:

After school club
Healing ministry
We host and actively support Swansea Asylum Seeker Support

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

Leadership


Rev Ian Folks, Vicar		Sherry Tanagho
Ian has been at St James since 2021, and has lived in the Uplands area since 1993. He's married to Vanessa, and they have children Daisy and Amelie. He's passionate about developing healing ministry and children's ministry. He loves walking on the Gower, playing guitar and is afflicted with a love of cricket and Tottenham Hotspur.		Sherry is our Children and Family worker. Originally from Egypt, Sherry is married to Ramon and their daughter is Rossanda. Sherry has been at St James since November 2022.

We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our church.

Best Wishes
Ian, Sherry and the team