St Georges Magill CHI

We are indeed blessed to have a wonderful community in which to share our love of God, to use facilities that have been handed to us by those committed Christians that have gone before us and to have preachers who continue to help us all to live a Christ driven life.

Having been a Parish Councilor for several terms I have recently been appointed as Executive Chairman of CHI. I follow in the footsteps of several wonderful visionaries who have been in this role over the years – including Bob Schroder and Bill Dickson. I pray that I can continue to direct the valuable work achieved to date.

I hear so many times the question “what is CHI, who does it support, is it owned by our church?”. So I thought I’d share CHI with you in the hope that you will see the value it brings to your church and to ask you to continue earnestly supporting its work in your Parish. The details provided here are a precis of the work conducted by CHI. Full details are available at any time - you just have to ask.

CHI is firstly an acronym – Community Hope Incorporated.
χ Chi (prounced ‘kai’) is the symbol of Community Hope Incorporated. It is the first letter of the New Testament word (χριστος) which means ‘Christ’ in English.

CHI is an incorporated body and a separate legal entity in its own right.

CHI has a management board consisting of parishioners and others who may be asked to help with its work. The CHI constitution mandates that the majority of board members must be members of the Magill Parish Council so parishioners are always represented, first and foremost.

CHI has its own constitution, or actually we have two constitutions, one for our General Fund and the other for our Education Fund. This was a requirement of the Australian Taxation Office because the Education Fund has Deductable Gift Recipient status.

CHI is blessed to have the stewardship of the Parish Treasurer as the Treasurer of CHI. CHI’s books are audited each year as required by the Associations Incorporation Act.

The Public Officer for CHI is our Rector Paul.

CHI’s objectives are in part:-
Provide facilities and professional services to assist young people in the Campbelltown area and surrounds

Provide Christian education and counseling services to selected schools in the area through the operations of the CHI Education Fund in association with Scripture Union and other local churches.
CHI supports the work of a Christian chaplain, Dr Garry Parker, placed at the Norwood- Morialta High School. Garry is employed by the Magill Interchurch Council of which the Parish of Magill is a member.
To encourage partnerships involving local community businesses and bring in additional funds from outside our church which can be used for the mission of the Parish.
To contribute to community development, spiritually and economically
To work with strategic flexibility alongside other Christian or community organisations without the inhibitions created by church bureaucracies.

Currently – all paid staff at St George's (with the exception of our Rector) are employed by CHI.
Tax deductibility is most likely available for businesses who advertise through CHI (each business of course needs to make its own decisions regarding taxation)
CHI’s Education fund is fully tax deductible for companies and individuals.
Our largest financial supporter is the Jumble Mart.
100% of all monies provided to CHI are used to achieve CHI’s objectives. This is a not-for-profit organisation and all monies are used for the mission of our Parish. The only professional fees paid are audit fees to our auditor who is independent of the parish.

GIVING
There are many ways in which Parishioners can give and these are explained in the green handout sheet currently circulating within St George's.

Parishioners who give to CHI can do so via several means:-
Giving in the weekly collection BUT using CHI marked envelopes. You can use any envelope by printing “CHI” on the front.

By setting up (see Kathryn, the Treasurer) a direct giving arrangement with your bank. The monies are automatically transferred once per month to CHI. This process is totally in the control of the giver and can be altered at any time.
Advertise your business within the CHI Gold, Silver, Bronze membership Board located in the Hall foyer. Payment again is made by direct credit or direct funds transfer from your business bank account to CHI.

Finally – the income and property of CHI, however derived, is to be applied solely towards promotion of the aims and objectives of the association and no portion is to be paid or transferred by way of profit to members.

So there you have it. CHI – a living, breathing, working entity that benefits us in many unseen ways. I look forward to your continuing support for CHI’S vital work. If you have any questions about CHI please do not hesitate to discuss them with me.