A decision by members of the Church of England’s General Synod to vote against committing one per cent of Church Commissioners’ funds to parish funding, has caused outrage among some clergy.
The proposal, which had been put forward by the Bishop of Bath and Wells, Rt Rev Dr Michael Beasley, would have seen the money redistributed to parishes every year in perpetuity.
Money to parishes is currently distributed through grants from the Archbishops’ Council.
Posting on social media site X, Rev Marcus Walker, rector of St Bartholemew the Great in the City of London said:
‘Astonishing. 22 bishops voted against a ground-breaking proposal to redirect a mere 1 per cent of the Church Commissioners' enormous wealth to fund impoverished parishes and bankrupt dioceses. Now they will need to return to their dioceses and demand parish shares go up. Shame on them.’
The Bishop of Hereford, Rt Rev Richard Jackson, was among those in favour of a new system. He said that currently, diocesan finances are in a “parlous state,” and have resulted in cuts to stipendiary posts, the amalgamation of parishes, and an increase in clergy stress. He went on to describe it as an “existential threat to the Church of England.”
The Bishop of Chelmsford, Rt Rev Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani also said a new way of funding was needed:
“Stress levels are high among clergy, some of whom, especially in smaller churches, feel like they are failing, and it is difficult to see how we can increase vocations to ordained ministry if people see that we don’t have the funds to pay the stipends.”
The Bishop of Blackburn Rt Rev Philip North however said he feared “missional imagination” would suffer if a “no-strings subsidy” was introduced.
But on X, Angela Raynor, who is vicar of Holy Trinity and St Augustine, Upper Tooting disputed this:
"How does +Blackburn know that no strings subsidy will encourage torpor? Maybe it would enable clergy and lay ministers to be sufficiently resourced to be able to do get on with mission and evangelism."
Priest Sam Charles Norton posted:
"The trouble with the top of the Church of England is that it thinks everyone below them won't act in a Christian way, aka faithless managerialism."
First Church Estates Commissioner, Alan Smith, warned against the change, saying it would have a detrimental effect on “almost every other area of discretionary spending.”
The Bishop of Sheffield, Rt Rev Dr Pete Wilcox, who is also a Church Commissioner, put forward an amendment which was passed by a large majority for more stakeholder engagement in national spending plans. He’s called for a full debate on the issue.
The Church Commissioners manage a £11.1bn investment fund for the Church of England.