RESOURCING PARISH MINISTRY - chelmsford.anglican.org

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RESOURCING PARISH MINISTRYin the Diocese of Chelmsford

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“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this:

‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all

your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’

There is no commandment greater than these.”

Mark 12:29-31

An introduction from Bishop Guli

Understanding our finances:

Income

• Parish Share

• Investment income

• National Church income

• Other nationally funded ministry

• Income – our challenges

Expenditure

• Paying for parish ministry

• Services to parishes

• National Church costs

• More on services to parishes

Our budget in summary

A summary of our financial challenges

Resourcing our future mission and ministry:

1. From Fear to Hope

2. Hearing and responding to God’s call for Generosity

3. Loving one another and working well together

Further help and information

Contents7

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Since I became Bishop of Chelmsford in early 2021, I have

spent much of my time meeting with people, listening,

learning and seeking to understand the culture of our

Diocese and the challenges we face.

Not surprisingly, our financial situation and its implications

for parish ministry have been the focus of many

conversations and concerns. It is a complex and difficult

situation and one for which there are no easy solutions.

The simple fact is that we are running an annual deficit

of over £3 million and we don’t have the kind of historic

resources that will help us to plug the gap for much

longer – we have no option but to find a way of living

within our means.

Whilst there are no easy answers there are a number of

observations I have made which I hope will help us to

journey forward together.

Firstly, we need to move from fear to hope. We should

remind ourselves that if we are faithful, God will provide us

with the resources we need. This doesn’t mean God will

provide us with the resources we need to keep things as

they are or as we want them to be. Instead it means that

we need prayerfully to discern God’s will for the Church in

our Diocese and move forward in faith, knowing that there

will be an abundance of resource for those things that God

wants us to do.

Secondly, we must hear and respond to God’s call for us

to be generous disciples. I’m immensely grateful for the

faithful generosity of so many who’ve made possible the

mission of our diocese over the years.

Now we must press on further and share that call

to generosity with all the people around us in our

worshipping communities. It’s in living out our call to be

generous disciples that we’ll see transformation in our

financial situation.

Our giving is an act of worship in response to a generous

God and it enables us to serve our communities.

Thirdly we need to love one another and work well

together. We are one body in Christ with a shared mission

across our diverse array of parishes and worshipping

communities. We must remind ourselves and others that

when we give to our church or when we pay our parish

share, we are contributing to that shared mission that goes

beyond our parish boundaries.

Our financial challenges have understandably caused

significant anxiety and put a strain on relationships and

our perceptions of each other. Loving one another and

working well together will mean taking time to listen to and

understand each other’s challenges and supporting those

in different contexts to our own.

Finally, we need to communicate the details of our

financial challenge and support parishes in addressing it

in their own context. I hope this booklet, which is part of

a wider programme of communication, consultation and

engagement will help us to do that.

“We should remind ourselves that if we are faithful, God will give us the resources we need”

The Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis-DehqaniBishop of Chelmsford

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Where does our money come fromOur Annual Income is £16.65 million

The vast majority of our diocesan income comes from

Parish Share. Each year each parish is asked to make a

payment over the course of the year.

How much each parish is asked to pay is based on a

formula which takes into account factors such as size of

congregation and local deprivation levels. This formula

is complex and in some cases not effective in helping

us to fund our shared mission and ministry. Reforming

parish share is a priority. See page 28-31.

We receive nearly £1m a year from investment income

and fees for weddings and funerals. Much less than

many older, resource rich dioceses.

In the past the national church provided £3.1 million

each year in financial support for our mission and

ministry (this support is known as the Darlow Formula).

The funding is being gradually withdrawn. In 2021 it

was 1.19 million. By 2026 it will be zero. The national

church also awards a grant to support mission in low

income communities. To compensate for the loss in

Darlow formula, this will increase to £1 million by 2026.

The figures used in this booklet are taken from our

2021 Budget and relate to our unrestricted General

Fund. The Diocese receives other income which is

ring fenced e.g. Strategic Development Funding.

Understanding our financesThis chapter explains the financial challenge in Chelmsford Diocese including why, as has been widely reported, we have a significant annual deficit.

Specifically the chapter explains:

- Where our money comes from and why there is an

increasingly significant shortfall

- How our money is spent

Parish Share£13.66m - 82%

National Church£2.0m - 12%

Investment & Property Income & Fees

£0.99m - 6%

Our ministry and mission is largely funded through the incredible generosity of those who give to it.

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U N DERSTAN DI NG OU R F I NANCES

Our Bishops

The stipend and housing costs for our diocesan

bishop are funded directly by the national church

as are the stipends for our three area bishops.

The national church also pays for bishops’ office

costs and expenses.

Strategic Development Funding Projects

The national church funding for mission and ministry

under the Darlow formula has been replaced by

targeted funding for Strategic Development projects.

There are many such projects in our own diocese,

particularly in areas of high population growth

where new churches are being established or

existing churches are rapidly expanding to serve

growing communities.

Chelmsford Cathedral

Chelmsford Cathedral is funded by the national

church, the giving of the Cathedral congregations,

and the Cathedral’s commercial activities, at

no cost to the Diocese of Chelmsford.

Nationally funded ministrySome elements of our mission and ministry are resourced from outside our diocesan budget. This means that your parish share contribution doesn’t pay for these things, but it also means that funds we receive cannot be re-allocated to pay for clergy stipends or other parish ministry costs.

In summary, we face three significant challenges in terms or our income:

Income – a summary of our challenges

Our financial support from the national church is declining.

Darlow Formula funding which used to be £3.1 million a year is

gradually being withdrawn and by 2026 will be £0. To compensate,

the national church grant to support mission in low income

communities will increase to £1 million by 2026.

We receive far less by way of investment income than many other

dioceses. This is due in large part to the fact that we are a fairly

young diocese with fewer historic resources. There is little we

can do to deal with this challenge.

However, it’s important to remember that where we sell investments

or property to help deal with short term financial challenges, as

we have needed to do recently, we further diminish our long-term

income from these investments. This will put an even greater burden

on parish share to fund our mission and ministry.

The only significant area of our income that we have control over as a

diocesan family is parish share. Before the COVID-19 Pandemic, there

was already a shortfall in income from parish share and the pandemic

has made that significantly worse.

Parish share makes up 82% of our income. If we can significantly

reduce the decline in parish share payment that we have seen in

recent years, then there will be less need to cut spending in order

to make ends meet. This is a complex and difficult challenge. We

recognise that many who give generously are already stretched

financially. However, as you will see in Chapter 2 there are

opportunities to increase giving in every parish.

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ExpenditureOur Annual Expenditure is £20.15 million

The vast majority of our diocesan budget is spent paying

for parish ministry.

Our Diocese spends more on parish based

ministry than we receive in share payments

from parishes.

Most of our £16.29 million expenditure is spent on

stipends, national insurance, pensions and housing

for clergy. This includes £4.27 million for curates

and ordinands.

14% of our expenditure is spent on parish

support. This includes services such as

Safeguarding, our DAC team that helps

parishes who wish to make changes to their

buildings, our education team that supports

our church schools, and our Archdeacons

who support parishes.

£1.07 million per year is paid to the

National Church. This helps to fund

national clergy training.

Parish Ministry£16.29m - 81%

Services to Parishes

£2.79m - 14%

National Church

£1.07m - 5%

Communications: Each year, many churches and church

schools find themselves at the centre of often unwanted media

or social media attention and call on the professional support of

our communications team for help and assistance.

The communications team also shares important news and

information with parishes and supports and enables parishes to

use digital communications which is increasingly important in

our mission and ministry

Our Mission and Ministry team provide essential training for

our clergy and lay ministers and ensure that there are trained

clergy and lay ministers for our parishes in the future. They also

provide professional support for those who lead children and

young people’s ministry in our parishes.

Our 139 church schools are at the heart of our ministry in

many parishes. Our education team support the work of these

schools which are attended by more than 29,000 children. They

also work with 12 Multi-Academy Trusts and our own diocesan

Vine Schools Academy Trust with some 23 schools.

Chelmsford has worked hard to reduce central costs and will

continue to do so. Whilst at face value, this is something we can

be proud of, we must also recognise that in some cases, the

expectations of parishes significantly exceed the capacity of our

parish support staff.

To provide the support that parishes need, we must not be afraid

to invest in parish support staff where it is right to do so. But we

will also continue to scrutinise central spending to ensure that it

is efficient and focused on supporting parish ministry.

Quite rightly there is a call for our diocesan family to focus our

resources on local parish ministry. This is already happening

in Chelmsford Diocese.

As you will see on page 10, more than 80% of our expenditure

pays for parish ministry including clergy in parishes. But what

about spending on our diocesan office?

Our parishes rightly expect to receive professional support

when it is needed; support that would be impossible or much

more expensive to obtain from elsewhere. For example:

Safeguarding: Clergy and parish officers require professional

training to ensure that their churches and worshipping

communities are managing safeguarding and to provide

support where incidents happen or are reported.

Finance: Our finance team support the process of the

payment of our clergy stipends, manage our investments,

property portfolio and £20 million diocesan budget.

Doing this work efficiently and effectively maximises our ability

to resource local parish ministry. Put simply our mission and

ministry is better resourced because we manage our finances

collectively as a diocesan family.

Property: Our clergy and others who rent and use church

houses require support from our property team to provide and

maintain good housing. The diocesan property team manage

and support those who live in more than 400 houses across

Essex and East London.

Diocesan Advisory Committee: When a parish needs

to make changes to its church building, then the Diocesan

Advisory Committee team help them to navigate the

complex legal processes.

More on services to parishes and our diocesan officeWhy do we have a Diocesan Office?


The figures used in this booklet are taken from

our 2021 Budget and relate to our unrestrcited

General Fund. The Diocese receives other

income which is ring fenced e.g. Strategic

Development Funding.

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There are 3.25 million people living in Chelmsford Diocese

which makes us second only to London Diocese in terms of

population size. The Barking Episcopal Area alone is bigger

than most Church of England dioceses.

It is therefore important when comparing central costs and staffing to make comparisons with similarly sized dioceses.

In any organisation having management structures in place

is vital to support, enable and empower people to do their

job well or in our case to exercise their ministry well. In our

Diocese, the clergy and leaders in nearly 500 parishes are

supported by our 7 Archdeacons and 4 Bishops.

Area Deans play a key role supporting parish clergy

whilst ministering as parish clergy themselves.

Our numbers of Archdeacons and Bishops are similar to

the other dioceses in the top five by population size.

How does Chelmsford compare to other dioceses?


Rank by population size

1 London 13

2 Chelmsford 11

3 Southwark 10

4 Leeds 11

5 Oxford 12

Diocese Total number of Bishops, Archdeacons or equivalents

Our budget in summary

A summary of our financial challenges

In recent years we have been running at a substantial financial loss.

In 2021, our budgeted expenditure will exceed income by £3.5 million.

In other words we have a deficit of £3.5 million. This means that our

financial situation is worsening by £3.5 million this year.

We have been addressing the situation by selling assets such as

investments and property, but this is not sustainable. Eventually our

assets will run out and in the shorter term it will reduce our income

from investments and properties and put a greater burden on parish

share. If we successfully address the situation now, it can be done in a

less damaging way than if we ignore it and are forced into taking more

drastic measures later on.

There are two ways we can address our deficit as a diocesan family:

I. Increase income. Increasing parish share payment is the only

significant and sustainable way we can increase income.

II. Cut costs. Cutting costs also helps us to reduce our deficit and

live within our means in the long term. Whilst we have and will

continue to look for opportunities to minimise expenditure on parish

support functions, diocesan expenditure is primarily focused on

stipendiary clergy costs, accounting for 81% of all spend.

Unless we can significantly increase our income, then decreasing

the amount we spend on stipendiary clergy is our only path

to sustainability.

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Annual Deficit - £3.5m

Income£16.65m

Expenditure£20.15m

If we successfully address the

situation now, it can be done

in a less damaging way than

if we ignore it and are forced

into taking more drastic

measures later on.

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Resourcing our future mission and ministryIn this chapter we explore how we can resource our mission and ministry for the future.

There are three key areas of work to help us move forward.

Each area links to Bishop Guli’s three observations in the

introduction to this booklet.

1. From Fear to Hope- prayerfully discerning God’s will for

Mission and Ministry in Essex and East London

2. Hearing and responding to God’s call for us to be Generous Disciples

3. Loving one another and working well together – contributing to a

shared mission and ministry that goes beyond parish boundaries.

We should remind ourselves that if we are faithful, God will provide us with the resources we need.

RESOU RCI NG OU R FUTU RE M ISS ION A N D M I N ISTRY

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Generous God

We thank you for the abundance of gifts

that you have given to each of us.

Strengthen our faith that you will

provide for us

Open our hearts to help us discern your

will and open our minds to new ideas

In Jesus’ name

Amen

Introduction

This section explores how we might come together as a

diocesan family to prayerfully discern how we organise

our ministry and deploy our people across Essex and

East London. Specifically, the section includes:

- A prayer of discernment for our diocesan family

- Exploring new models of mission and ministry

- A history of reimagining ministry in Chelmsford Diocese

- Journeying forward together – the next steps

From fear to hope – prayerfully discerning God’s will for mission and ministry in Essex and East London“If we are faithful, God will provide us with the resources we need. This doesn’t

mean God will provide us with the resources we need to keep things as they are

or as we want them to be.

Instead it means that we need prayerfully to discern God’s will for the Church in

our Diocese and move forward in faith, knowing that there will be an abundance

of resource for those things that God wants us to do.”

A prayer for discernment

Exploring new models of mission and ministry

RESOU RCI NG OU R FUTU RE M ISS ION AN D M I N ISTRY

Whenever we face change, it is easy to imagine that

things have always been the same, that there is too

much about the present that will be lost and too

little about the future to look forward to; to perceive

decline as inevitable.

Of course the church across the world has been

in a state of constant change for the past two

thousand years. In many cases, even when changing

in response to adversity, the result has been a

flourishing in mission and ministry.

In Chelmsford Diocese we have known that we

need to change how we organise and resource our

mission and ministry for nearly a decade; originally

because of a shortage of stipendiary clergy and then

as a consequence of financial challenge.

In that time parishes and worshipping communities

have come together to explore new ways of working

Sometimes these new ways of working have been

a consequence of diocesan initiatives, on other

occasions they have been more spontaneous; a

result of relationships or shared missional focus.

In many cases collaboration has borne considerable

fruit and can be an inspiration to us as we discern

and consider how we organise and deploy our

people and resources in the future.

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The need to reconsider how we organise and deploy ministry across

Chelmsford Diocese has been present for nearly a decade. The original

cause was not financial but because a large proportion of our stipendiary

clergy were approaching retirement age and there was a shortage of

stipendiary clergy to fill vacant posts.

Consequently Reimagining Ministry became an integral element of our

Diocesan Vision and Strategy, Transforming Presence. Various programmes

were put in place including Mission and Ministry Units to encourage

collaboration across parish boundaries and ministry teams comprising of

ordained and lay ministers serving multiple parishes.

During this time successful work has been undertaken to grow and support

lay ministry across our diocesan family and we are hugely grateful for the

tremendous contribution of our lay ministers. Understanding how we can

best recognise and deploy their considerable gifts and talents is a key

challenge for the future.

Plan published to reduce stipendiary

clergy posts to 215, not because of

financial challenges but because

of a large number of anticipated

clergy retirements and a shortage

of clergy to fill vacant posts.

Reimagining ministry programme

launched to rethink how parish

ministry is structured including the

growing role of lay ministry.

Mission and Ministry Units introduced

to help parishes share ministry

and work together across multiple

parishes in a geographical area.

National Church announces cuts

to diocesan funding over a 10 year

period. Combined with a decline in

parish share payment this leaves

Chelmsford Diocese facing a

mounting deficit.

Finance becomes the key driver of

the need to reduce stipendiary

clergy numbers.

Revised estimates indicate that based

on current giving levels, stipendiary

numbers may need to reduce further.

Covid-19 pandemic has major impact

on parish share payment. 2025 target

for stipendiary clergy reductions is

brought forward.

We continue to work towards a figure

of 215 with the hope that further

reductions won’t be necessary.

This is dependent on giving.


A history of reimagining ministry in the Diocese of Chelmsford

CHELMSFORD DIOCESE

REIMAGINING MINISTRY

TIMELINE

2012

2016

2019

2020

Reflecting upon and moving on from the RAG coding process

With 81% or £16.29 million of our annual budget spent on

parish ministry including clergy costs and a £3.5 million budget

shortfall, it became clear very quickly that unless urgent steps

were taken to accelerate the reduction in stipendiary clergy

numbers, our financial situation would become critical more

quickly than anticipated before the pandemic.

A Red/ Amber/ Green (RAG) coding was developed to help

understand which posts should be cut and what the impact

would be for parishes and the implications for ministry

in areas where cuts would take place.

Implementing the RAG coding was an extremely difficult

decision taken with an urgency that didn’t allow for the kind

of engagement and discussion we would normally have

preferred. Inevitably, despite the best intentions, aspects of

how that decision was made and implemented were not as

good as they could have been and we recognise and are sorry

for any pain and damage that was caused during this period.

Shortly after becoming Bishop of Chelmsford in the spring of

2021, Bishop Guli made clear that whilst there are still difficult

and painful decisions for us to make as a diocesan family, it is

time to move forward from the RAG coding process.

In doing so, it is also important for us to reflect on this period

and explain what moving forward might look like.

How did the RAG coding process work?

Archdeacons, Area Deans and Deanery Lay Chairs were asked

to work together to categorise posts into three categories:

Red: posts designated for closure because they were not

sustainable and alternative ministry provision should be discerned.

Amber: posts that were desirable if finances allow.

Green: posts that will be retained because they are financially

sustainable and/or missionally strategic.

Following the assessment process, Archdeacons began

contacting post holders and parishes to consult on their coding

and discuss the best way forward in each situation.

The financial impact of COVID-19Faced with an urgent need to address the growing financial deficit as a consequence

of many parishes being unable to contribute their usual parish share payments

during the COVID-19 pandemic, diocesan expenditure was reviewed to explore

opportunities to save money or access additional funds. Some non-clergy staff

were furloughed, investments and properties were sold and grants and loans

taken from the national church.

Some important things to note about the RAG process:

In the vast majority of cases reductions are being achieved

by clergy retiring or moving to other stipendiary posts,

including vacant posts in our own diocese.

The RAG coding was an assessment of a post’s

sustainability and strategic missional importance

not an assessment of the post holder.

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The RAG process was introduced out of necessity during the Covid-19

pandemic. It has been difficult and painful but has served to bring us to

where we are today and we hope and pray that it will allow us to move

forward, living within our means and providing a foundation on which to

build a flourishing mission and ministry.

There are still painful consequences that we must live with and there will

still be difficult decisions ahead. Where that is the case, parishes will be

more involved in discussion and discernment about how we can best

deploy ministry across the communities we serve.

We will now move on from the language of RAG codings and in the

coming months we will collectively discern how we move forward

together to deploy mission and ministry to the diverse array of

parishes and worshipping communities across our diocese.

Even with the planned reduction in stipendiary clergy posts in place,

there is a possibility that further reductions will be necessary if parish

share payments don’t increase. As we journey forward we must also

hear and respond to God’s call for us to be Generous Disciples.

Journeying forward together – moving forward from the RAG process


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Introduction

This section explores how we can make generosity integral to

our Christian discipleship and the life of our diocesan family.

Specifically the section includes:

- A prayer for generosity

- How increasing giving is possible

- Practical resources

Hearing & responding to God’s call for us to be Generous Disciples“It’s in living out our call to be generous disciples that we’ll see transformation in

our financial situation. Our giving is an act of worship in response to a generous

God and it enables us to serve our communities.”

Generous God As we celebrate your love And commit ourselves to follow you.

Strengthen us as we live out that calling Give us wisdom and insight as we reflect and pray

Give us courage and grace to find new ways to work together

Open our hearts and minds as we seek to become a diocese of Generous Disciples

We pray this, in Jesus Christ our Lord

Amen


+John Perumbalath, Generous God,Generous Disciples Advent Sunday Service 2020

A prayer for generosity

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure,

pressed down, shaken together and running over,

will be poured into your lap. For with the measure

you use, it will be measured to you

Luke 6:38

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How increasing giving is possibleThe prospect of trying to increase parish giving can be intimidating. Giving

has declined during the pandemic and the economic impacts of COVID-19

will affect many people’s financial situation for a long time.


Many of our churches are also dealing with other significant costs,

including maintaining historic buildings.

However, as we move forward, we need to collectively do more to

put giving and generosity at the heart of our Christian Discipleship.

Giving is our act of worship to a Generous God. And when we give

it allows our mission and ministry to flourish so that we can serve

our communities.

According to the 2019 Church of England Parish Finance

Statistics Report, giving in Chelmsford Diocese was slightly

below the national average per giver and parish income

was slightly above the national average.

The national average for giving in 2019 was £15 per week per giver.

The recent Anglican Giving Survey questioned

2,000 Anglicans between January and

September 2020.

The results show that increased giving is possible.

Some people are giving all they can as their

generous response to God but for many of us the

opportunity to increase our giving is possible.

There is also considerable evidence that increasing giving is possible:

i. A third of Anglicans do not give to their church

ii. 40% of Anglicans have never been asked to give regularly

iii. Nearly half of Anglicans have never been asked to review their giving

iv. Only half of Anglicans have heard a sermon on giving in the past

12 months and 60% said it didn’t change their thinking on giving

if it had

v. The most popular reason to give to their church was to maintain

their building

vi. Twice as many Anglicans have been asked to give by collection

envelope (60%) compared to Direct Debit (31%)

vii. Anglicans are three times as likely to leave a legacy to charity than

they are to their church

viii. Only 27% of Anglicans view their church’s need as ‘very important’

ix. 49% feel they would be motivated to give more if they fully

understood the impact of their giving

x. Less than a third of Anglicans say they are regularly thanked of

their giving.

Top 10 findings from the Anglican Giving Survey

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Generous God, Generous Disciples is the Diocese of Chelmsford’s

support programme to help parishes and worshipping communities

to increase giving.

Launched in Advent 2020, the programme consists of:

Teaching materials to help church leaders preach and lead reflection

on giving as part of Chrisitan discipleship

Practical resources and videos providing advice and guidance on:

• Planning stewardship and giving programmes

• Direct Debit and the Parish Giving Scheme

• Communicating about giving

• Online and contactless giving

• Being a parish treasurer

You can find out more about Generous God Generous Disciples at

www.chelmsford.anglican.org/generous-disciples


In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

Acts 20:35

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Introduction

Our Diocese has made multiple attempts in recent years to solve the problems and address the frustrations

that parishes have experienced with the parish share calculation. In 2020, we took the decision not to rush the

introduction of a new share scheme for 2021 so that we could make sure that we get it right for the future. A

period of listening to parishes followed to try to understand where the problems lie.

That listening exercise taught us three things:

Mutual support vs Transactionalism

Part of our approach to dealing with our financial deficit

before the pandemic put a particular emphasis on parishes

meeting the direct costs of ministry in their own parish.

In short, parish share was presented as payment for the

costs of your parish priest. Whilst this may have been

helpful in demonstrating that parish share is how we

need to pay for our clergy, there was an unintended

consequence. The concept of us all being part of one

diocesan family supporting each other in mission and

ministry was undermined.

We need to recognise this has not worked and move away

from a transactional approach to focus on mutuality and

sharing of our resources across our diocesan family.

Justice

Whilst sharing our resources to support our shared

mission across Essex and East London must be our

primary consideration moving forward, we must also

consider justice.

The fact is that some parishes are being asked to pay

significantly more than other parishes in equivalent

circumstances and this is not right.

Whilst no share scheme will ever deal with this type of

inequity in full, there are inbuilt factors in our current

scheme that make the problem particularly acute. Most

significantly, the transitional funding that was put in place

whilst some parishes were in Mission and Ministry Units

and others had not yet joined.

Complexity

The way parish share is calculated is inevitably

complicated. This is a consequence of putting qualities

such as mutuality and justice ahead of simplicity.

Whilst opportunities to make the share formula less

complicated may be limited, it is important that we put in

an extra effort to help people understand not only how

parish share is calculated but why share is important and

how it is used.

Loving one another and working well together – contributing to a shared mission beyond parish boundaries

Parish share calculations- where we are now

“We are one body in Christ with a shared mission across our diverse array of

parishes and worshipping communities. We must remind ourselves and others

that when we give to our church or when we pay our parish share, we are

contributing to that shared mission that goes beyond our parish boundaries”


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Section one of this chapter explored how we might

work together to organise and deploy ministry across

parish boundaries.

This section explores how we share our money as a

diocesan family and in particular explains parish share,

the need for reform of parish share and how we can

collectively discern a way forward.

Parish share is complex and every diocese in the country

is engaged in a continual struggle to get it right.

There will always be perceptions and indeed cases where

calculations aren’t just and parish share formulas are often

difficult to understand.

Chelmsford is no different but we know there is

more that we can do to improve parish share.

What’s more we recognise that building confidence

in parish share helps us all to encourage

greater generosity.

All the believers continued together in close fellowship and shared their belongings with one anotherActs 2:44

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We will run a series of consultation meetings to consult on potential

models for a long term scheme. The primary goal for that scheme

will be to deploy our financial resources in the best way possible to

support our shared mission and ministry across our diocesan family.

We will remove the elements of the current share arrangement that

have caused most complaints. Most notably, the transition funding

offered to parishes as a reduction in the parish share requested

will no longer depend on whether or not that parish is part of a

commissioned MMU.

Models for a more mutually supportive parish share arrangementAdapting a more mutually supportive parish share arrangement

will mean moving on from thinking about parish share as paying

for the costs of ministry in our own parish to thinking about how

we collectively pay for the costs of parish ministry across our

whole diocesan family.

But how do we make decisions about how that payment

is organised and who pays what. The consultation webinars will

provide an opportunity to discuss this. In doing so it is worth

considering examples from other dioceses:

Option 1 – the centrally determined modelIn this approach the diocese sets parish share for every

individual parish using a range of criteria such as church

attendance and deprivation indices. This allows those who

are well placed to pay more to do so thereby helping to

fund ministry in parishes that are less well off.

The model helps parishes to be clear about expectations

but makes it more difficult to factor in local circumstances

such as expensive building maintenance or other criteria

that aren’t so easily assessed using objective criteria.

Option 2 – the pay what you can modelThis approach completely devolves decision making

about share payment to parishes, but makes it difficult

to ensure that we bring in enough money to fund parish

ministry across our diocesan family.

The risk is that if total share payment isn’t high enough

then our annual deficit will continue to grow and further

cuts to parish ministry will be necessary.

Option 3 – the hybrid modelSome dioceses are adopting a hybrid model through which

deaneries are given a total share figure covering all their

parishes. The parishes in the deanery then meet and agree

how best to allocate share payment between themselves.

This allows for some local agency and the factoring in of

exceptional circumstances in some parishes. Where the

deanery collectively meets the total allocated share

payment, then their full contribution to funding ministry

across the diocesan family is made.

Within each option there are further possibilities in terms of

how a scheme might be implemented in practice and the

consultation will help us to decide the best path forward.

We will introduce a parish share arrangement for the long term in

2023. We know that many would prefer a long-term solution to be

implemented from 2022. However, to do so would mean that we

would not have the time to properly develop a long term model

collectively and in consultation with parishes.

There would be a risk that we would get this wrong again which

could have a significant impact on the resourcing of mission and

ministry and lead to further frustration in parishes.

The Parish Share consultation events will take place on Zoom at 7pm on:

The events will be vital to help us collectively address how we shape parish share for the future.

At each event we will explain the challenges we face, discuss the way forward and invite feedback.

• 14 October 2021

• 20 October 2021

• 1 November 2021

• 10 November 2021



Phase 1 – 2021-2022

Phase 2 – 2023

Parish share consultation events

Parish share – next steps


We will introduce a new parish share scheme in two phases.

3 2

- Generous God, Generous Disciples Resources for Parishes

www.chelmsford.anglican.org/generous-disciples

- Parish Resources Website

www.parishresources.org.uk

- Generosity Week

bit.ly/3axStD7

Stewardship and Giving

Further help and information

Diocesan OfficeThe Diocese of Chelmsford

The Diocesan Office, 53 New Street,

Chelmsford, Essex CM1 1AT

@chelmsdio chelmsdio chelmsdio

www.chelmsford.anglican.org

The Chelmsford Diocesan Board of Finance is a registered charity, No 249505.

A company limited by guarantee – Registered in England No 137029.

RESOURCING PARISH MINISTRY - chelmsford.anglican.org

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