Coffee Hour

After COVID everyone wanted Coffee Hour back but only a few people ever volunteer to make it happen. Could you be the solution?

It can be a bit daunting if you have never done anything like this before. Current hosts would be very happy to "apprentice" you if you are nervous about jumping straight in.

If you are worried about not providing food which is "good enough", please don't. Easier said than done -right? We have some people who are very talented bakers - if you are not why not think about doing something a bit different - or you can use store bought. If you find even that difficult please ask about helping and using Church supplies for food. We always have things in reserve in the freezer.

People are genuinely grateful to have Coffee Hour - you can even team up with another person if you are not wanting to do it on your own. Perhaps you are great at making things look nice and cleaning up but not good with food - find someone who is - work together.

The unfortunate thing is that our hosts are having to work really hard at the moment and it is not fun for them any more. They all love doing it but having to do it too often burns people out. Coffee Hour simply cannot exist unless as many people as possible take a turn.

Please email Janet if you want to know more, or you can just take the leap and sign up in the Narthex. If you have zero idea what you are doing - ask for help. Our experienced volunteers know that getting you up and running means less work in the long run.

Thank you for considering this as an offering to Redeemer.

If you are already a Coffee Hour host looking for the checklist it is here

Festivals and Celebrations

Festivals and Celebrations

Join the Team

Festivals and Celebrations form a large part of our life together at Redeemer and they are often accompanied by meals and other activities.

We usually schedule events a year out at about this time of year. The things listed below are things we have done before, would like to do again and some need a coordinator.

Please think about whether you can coordinate an event. How things have been done is not set in stone so you can make events your own. We are shelving the name “Parish Life” whilst we reorganize. This is to help you all use your imagination, just because it has been a way, does not mean it has to be. You will be able to recruit a team to help you so you are not doing everything on your own.

There are plenty of other things happening, the ones below are just the things which have been "Parish Life" up until now.

September 10th

Coordinators Grace France and Helen Whitby

What you need to do: Bring toppings

October 8th

Coordinators: Donna Logan and Mary Howe

What you need to do: decide whether you want to enter a chili and bring it along in a crockpot. No formal entry. No crockpot - please ask.

November 26th

Coordinator: Spirituality Team

What you need to do: Come along and make a wreath.

February 14th 2024

Coordinator: Noone yet - this is a big event and needs a team.

March 31st 2024

Coordinator: You???

This can be a big deal or it can be a slightly fancier Coffee Hour which is what we did this year. It is up to the coordinators team to decide. This is a bring and share.

May 19th 2024

Coordination team: you???

This is a bring and share but needs folks to decorate and organize drinks etc.

Want to volunteer - email us. You can say in the email whether you would like to lead a team or be a part of one.

Thanks all. These events can only run if we get volunteers and there is not one person doing it all any more.

Make your dollars work harder

On August 6th we had a Parish Meeting, during that we learned a bit about how to make out money stretch further in terms of charitable giving. This is the information from Stephens Inc.

(Please note, whilst the information comes from this company we are not meaning to suggest that there are not other Financial Advisors available to you).

1. Church can be set as a Beneficiary on retirement accounts, life insurance, an annuity, or any other assets.

2. Qualified Charitable Distribution- If you are +70.5yrs, you are able to donate up to $100,000/year to charity directly from your IRA instead of taking RMD & paying the income tax.

3. Low Cost-Basis Stock – give taxable stock with large gains to charity. You get credit for the value of the stock gift & the non-profit can sell the stock tax free.

4. Real Estate can also be gifted to a non-profit during your life time, or at passing. The donor avoids the capital gains tax and gets a larger deduction, while the nonprofit can retain the full amount since they are a tax-exempt organization.

5. Maximize Deductions in Years when Itemizing

a. With the large increase in the standard deduction under recent tax law changes, and the scale back of many popular deductions, fewer taxpayers will choose to itemize on their tax return going forward. Some taxpayers may benefit by alternating between claiming the standard deduction some years and itemizing deductions other years. If possible, it would make sense to “lump” as many deductions into those years when itemizing. For example, taxpayers may want to consider making a substantial charitable contribution during a tax year when itemizing instead of making regular, annual gifts.

**Neither Stephens Inc. nor its representatives provide legal or tax advice. Due to the fact that each individual's tax status may vary, please consult your tax advisor before making any decisions.

Give us a call to discuss your specific scenarios.**

Mary Grigg Jack Elster

Financial Consultant Financial Consultant

Private Client Group Private Client Group

Office: 336-251-0407 | Cell 743-444-3830 Office: 336-251-0407 | Cell 743-444-3830

Mary.Grigg@stephens.com Jack.Elster@Stephens.com