A report prepared for the Church of Scotland General Assembly has revealed that donations to the Church have doubled in real terms over the past 20 years, the BBC has reported.

|PIC1|The figures prove pleasantly surprising for the Church, as the increase has come despite an apparent 40 percent fall in Church members between 1984 and 2004.

The report, which was compiled by the Kirk Stewardship Committee, indicated that the amount of donations received by the Church from members and supporters had risen by 43 percent in the same two-decade period.

However, once the rate of inflation is taken into account, it is thought that the donations have basically doubled over the twenty years.

Figures even showed that just last year the amount donated continued to rise to record-breaking levels. The Church received more than £67 million in offerings and taxes recovered via Gift Aid.

However, despite the reports indications, the committee believes that congregations could give even more.

|TOP|In places where congregations have been challenged to be more generous in supporting their churches, the response has been extremely positive. However, the report warns that in a majority of situations, the core motivation to raise money is to balance congregational books, rather than to carry out core work within the Kirk.

The report has come at a time when the Church of Scotland’s Guild look set to report to the 2006 General Assembly on a number of successes as well as outline needs for the future development of the Guild and its work at home and abroad.

With the period of financial support for the Dare to Care programme due to end in June, the General Assembly will be asked by the Guild to commend its support for the projects under the programme.

|AD|Dare to Care is a unique programme operated by the Guild which brings together worship, study and project work over a three year period, with a different area of focus in each of the years.

The General Assembly will be asked to see off the shortly concluding 2003 to 2006 Dare to Care programme, which focussed on Commitment, and welcome in the new project partnerships for the 2006 to 2009 programme which will run under the theme ‘Let’s Live: body, mind and soul’.

Guild meetings raise money to support a different project each year both home and abroad, with the Church of Scotland Guilds have raised more than £1million for worthwhile projects over the last 5 years.

The Guild reported that the Dare to Care projects proved particularly successful in the last period in drawing support from Guild members, reaching an impressive £560,000.

In its report to the General Assembly the Guild will stress the importance of raising the profile of the Guild in the coming years and expanding its partnership network.

“The Guild believes that the building of good relationships with other organisations, both Christian and secular, increases the recognition factor and produces fruitful partnerships,” said a Kirk statement.