The envelope collection system to collect donations for Midleton Parish (including Ballintotis) commences on the first weekend of 2024.
The collection system is completely voluntary. If parishioners decide to use the new collection system, the parish will be able to claim tax back from the government for donations at no cost to the parishioners, provided you donate a total €250 or more over the year. This works out at €5 week more or less. The higher the amount in a year the more tax we can claim back.
Envelopes are supplied in a large rectangular box. When the large box is opened, it contains two separate smaller boxes with the envelopes. One of the smaller boxes contains envelopes for the first half of the year and the second box contains the envelopes for the second half of the year. Two different envelopes are provided for each Sunday of the calendar year.
The two different envelope types in each box which can be distinguished by the colour of the envelope and the text on the front of the envelope. The first envelope is for PARISH OFFERINGS, traditionally collected in the church door collection and used to run the parish needs such as maintenance of churches and other parish property, supplies for Masses and other parish essentials.
On most Sundays the second envelope is for the parish development fund, which will go mainly to specific projects such as running our new parish centre, new lighting and alarm system in the church as well as providing various courses for people. This corresponds to our second collection inside the church. On some Sundays the second collection will go to Diocesan special collections, or to general diocesan purposes. The purpose of each collection will be printed on the envelope, as well as the date. These collections were traditionally collected in the basket offering at the middle of the mass and are used to help finance dioceses activities such as retired priests, funding seminarians.
Parishioners can decide to continue to contribute in the traditional manner to collection boxes and baskets and not partake in the new system if they wish to do so. However, the parish will not benefit from a government contribution from donations contributed using the old system.
If a parishioner decides to use the new system, they must ensure to complete the card that has the number of their envelopes with the first contribution(s) and add it to one of the envelopes with their first contribution. Any amount can be contributed in one or both envelopes as a parishioner wishes to do so.
Collection of the envelopes with contributions can be accommodated in the box inside the door of the church or in the basket as it is passed around before the offertory at the Mass. It is not essential that envelopes are used at every Mass. If a parishioner misses a week or two, at the next contribution the envelopes with correct date on which the contribution is made should be used to help keep good records for the government tax claim at the end of the year. Unused dated envelopes can be disposed of. Care should be taken that a few missed contributions don’t bring the total to less than €250 over the year.
Midleton parish and the Diocese of Cloyne are extremely grateful for the support which our parishioners give to enable the parish to function effectively. The new collection system is not asking parishioners to contribute any more than previously donated to the parish. The introduction of the new system to collect parishioner contributions is essentially a method to the help the parish and thediocese gain extra income using current tax legislation and is already used in many other parishes.