Written by the team behind Puzzlify. Puzzlify is our product, so weigh what follows with that in mind. We've tried to make this useful even if you never use it. We're not affiliated with any parish council, parochial church council, diocese, cathedral, church, chapel, churches trust, bank, charity regulator, sponsor, school or community organisation.
It's a quarter past twelve on a Sunday, and the coffee cups are nearly all washed. In the vestry, with the door pulled to, two people are sitting at a small table that has seen better decades. One is a former bus driver called Trevor, who has counted the collection here for eleven years. The other is a newer volunteer called Joy, who said yes to "just helping out for a month" in 2022. Between them are two wooden collection plates, a pile of envelopes, a few coins in a jam jar and a paying-in book. They count it all once, then again, write the totals in a book with a pen that lives on a string, and both sign at the bottom. Joy puts the envelopes in a bag, Trevor locks the cupboard, and they go home for lunch.
On Tuesday evening, at a dining table across the parish, the church treasurer, a retired school bursar called Margaret, will open her laptop, find the sheet with this week's figures and check that everything adds up: the Sunday collection, the standing orders, the money from the coffee morning, the heating bill that came in on Friday. She will spend more evenings on this than almost anyone in the congregation realises. If you'd like to thank the people who keep the church's money honest and its lights on, here's a gentle guide, with a photo puzzle as one option among several.
Who we mean
In many churches, a small group of volunteers looks after the money. Depending on the church, the tradition and the country, they might be called the treasurer, the assistant treasurer, the planned giving secretary, the gift aid secretary, the collection counters, the stewards or the finance team. They might:
- count the Sunday collection after the service, usually in pairs, and record and sign the totals
- take the money to the bank, or arrange for it to be paid in safely
- keep the accounts, pay the bills, and keep an eye on the heating, insurance and repair costs
- look after planned giving, standing orders and envelope schemes, quietly and confidentially
- claim tax relief on donations where the country allows it, which can mean a lot of careful paperwork
- prepare the annual accounts and present them at a church meeting, often to a room that would rather talk about anything else
- answer questions from the vicar, the minister, the church council and the diocese or district about money
- worry, privately, about how the church will pay for the roof
Some churches have a qualified accountant as treasurer. Many have a volunteer who learned it all on the job, with a cash book, a spreadsheet and a lot of patience.
Why a thank-you matters here
Church money is one of the least glamorous jobs there is, and one of the most important. Without it, there are no lights on at Christmas, no heating in January and no roof over the choir. Yet treasurers and counters are rarely thanked, and they're often the ones who have to bring bad news to meetings. People notice the flowers and the music; very few notice that the insurance was renewed on time. Many treasurers say the role is lonely, because they can't talk about who gives what, and they carry worries about the church's future that most of the congregation never sees. A thank-you tells them that their care and honesty are noticed, and that someone understands what it takes.
A little honest background
It helps to get the basics right, because treasurers and counters often care a great deal about doing things properly, and they usually know the rules of their church well.
Arrangements vary a lot between traditions and between countries. Some churches have strict rules about how money is counted, who counts it and where it's kept; some are registered charities with legal duties; some follow guidance from a diocese, a district or a national church. Please don't assume your church does it the way another church does, and don't ask a counter to bend the process for you.
Giving is usually confidential. Treasurers and planned giving secretaries often know who gives and how much, and they're trusted not to say. If you'd like to thank them, it's kind to thank them for their care and honesty, rather than asking about the figures or about anyone else's giving.
For many treasurers and counters, looking after the church's money is a quiet way of serving the church, not a career. Something simple and specific usually means the most: "Thank you for explaining the accounts so clearly at the meeting", or "Thank you for every Sunday you stayed behind to count."
Ask before you take photos inside the church or the vestry, and take them outside services and when no money is being counted. Keep cash, cheques, envelopes with names on them, bank details, account numbers, paying-in slips with figures, spreadsheets, safe or cupboard keys and people's details out of the frame. A photo of an empty collection plate is lovely; a photo of a full one is not a good idea.
If you'd like to give money in their honour, ask the church office or another member of the church council how the church prefers donations to be made, for example towards the roof fund, the heating or a particular project, rather than handing cash to the treasurer personally.
What makes a good photo
- the old wooden or brass collection plates, empty and stacked on the vestry table after the service
- a well-used calculator next to a cup of tea and a pen on a string, with no figures showing
- the vestry door, or the small table where counting happens, in the afternoon light
- the church roof, boiler house or newly mended window that the money helped to pay for
- the treasurer's reading glasses resting on a closed cash book
- the treasurer or counters outside the church, only if they're happy to be photographed and nobody else is in the shot
Getting the JPG right
Use a JPG, sharp and well lit. Vestries are often small and dim, so try to photograph near a window or with the lights on. Turn off flash: it bounces off brass plates and glossy paper and turns the middle of the photo white. If you're photographing a wooden plate, tap to focus on the grain and the worn edge, which is often the most beautiful part. Hold your phone steady, or rest it on the edge of the table, and check afterwards that nothing private is readable in the picture.
Privacy and an optional PIN
Puzzlify puzzles are private links. You can add an optional PIN so only the person you send it to can open it. Photos aren't used to train AI and aren't shared with third parties.
Say it's from you
Put your name, or your family's, house group's, choir's or the church council's, in the note at the end so they know who sent it. A puzzle that ends with "from everyone on the church council, for eleven years of Sunday lunchtimes, thank you" is a thank-you, not a mystery.
Piece counts
Dark wood, plain tables and pale paper can make tricky puzzles, because so much of the picture looks alike.
| Pieces | Photo idea | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | a single empty collection plate on a cloth | a quick solve, or a child's thank-you |
| 48 | the calculator, tea cup and pen on a string | one clear subject, a relaxed solve |
| 80 | the stack of collection plates on the vestry table | a strong subject with crisp detail |
| 130 | the newly mended roof or window the money paid for | a detailed image for a keen puzzler |
| 252 | the whole church from the churchyard on a sunny morning | a long, slow solve for a long-serving treasurer |
| 48 or 80 | an old photo of the church before the repairs next to one taken this year | a warm thank-you for someone who has done it for decades |
How to send it
Make the puzzle, write the note, publish the link, and send it by email or message, or print the link as a QR code inside a card. The recipient doesn't need an account or an app; it plays in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer. The note appears when the last piece clicks into place. If you're thanking the whole counting team, one link can go to the church office to pass on, or you can print the QR code on a card and leave it in the vestry.
Note examples
- "Thank you for every Sunday lunchtime you stayed behind to count, twice."
- "To Margaret: the heating came on in January because of your Tuesday evenings. Thank you."
- "To Trevor: eleven years of careful counting, and never a penny out."
- "From the church council: thank you for explaining the accounts so even we understood them."
- "Thank you for worrying about the roof so the rest of us didn't have to."
- "From Joy: thank you for teaching me, and for the jam jar of coins that always turns up."
What it costs, plainly
The preview is free, so you can see how it looks before deciding anything. Publishing the link costs one credit (€3.99), or less per puzzle with a bundle. It's a digital puzzle, not a printed or cardboard one, so nothing arrives in the post. If a card and a few sentences feel like enough, they are.
Ideas that are not a puzzle
- a short word after the annual meeting: "Thank you, that was the clearest report I've heard"
- a card left in the vestry or with the church office for the counters
- a short letter to the parish magazine or newsletter thanking the treasurer and counting team
- a donation in their honour towards the roof fund or the heating, given the way the church prefers, with a note saying why
- offering to join the counting rota, if the church is looking for people, so the regulars get a Sunday off
- telling the vicar, minister or churchwardens how much their work is appreciated, so it's noticed by people who can say so publicly
Where Puzzlify fits
Puzzlify turns a personal photo into a private digital jigsaw that you send as a link. It isn't a printed puzzle, and it isn't a public puzzle board: only the people you send it to can open it. It's one option among many, and it works best when the photo means something to the person receiving it.
If a photo puzzle feels right as well, choose the empty collection plates, the calculator and tea cup or an old photo of the church before the repairs next to a new one, take it with the church's permission and when no money is being counted, keep cash, envelopes, figures, bank details and people's details out of the frame, pick a piece count that suits them, and write the note in your own words. You can make a free preview here and decide later whether to send it.
Whatever you send, the most important part is the sentence that sounds like you, written to the person who counted it twice and signed at the bottom, so that the rest of us could sit in a warm church under a sound roof without ever thinking about the bills.
Written by the small team behind Puzzlify (info@puzzlify.app). Not legal, religious, financial, accounting, tax, charity law, banking, insurance, data protection, health and safety, copyright, photography permission or gift policy advice. Check your own church's guidance on money, gifts, photos and people's details.