“The value of the parish system comes from the fact that it can reach out to all sections of the community across England. Yet, as many of your correspondents have pointed out, the parish system is under threat – not, as you might imagine, from external forces, but from within. Read more…
“In 1959 the Church employed 13,075 stipendiary clergy and 250 diocesan support staff. There are now 6,500 support staff, most of whom are not ordained and have no contact with places where most Christian good is done, and are often on salaries well in excess of the stipends paid to Read more…
“The old parishes are mostly real communities, and the whole parish still often has a strong sense of connection with the parish church, reflected in the high rate of occasional offices proportionate to the population. Those links are invaluable and should be preserved. Most old parishes want traditional clergy-led worship. Read more…
“The parish system is extraordinary: how many other professionals live alongside those with whom they work? The demands are many. My husband is expected to run a small business, manage a minimal staff team and volunteers, look after a building – these are usually old and often listed – take Read more…
“SIR – The Church of England’s director of communications says the Church is “doing everything it can to support its parishes”. How I wish that were true. In the dioceses of Truro, Leicester, Lincoln, Liverpool, Sheffield and others, bishops are planning to merge up to 20 parishes into a single new parish Read more…
“But, actually, Judeo-Christian assumptions have underpinned every aspect of life in the West for roughly the past thousand years, shaping the way we think about everything – from art to law, morality to freedom. Our constitution makes no sense without it; our intellectual traditions are incomprehensible without it; even the very idea Read more…
“The bureaucracies of the 42 dioceses have grown commensurately. In 2018 the Diocese of Leicester had 108 employees. In 1926, it had only one: the bishop’s driver.” View Original.
“There’s also something extremely counter cultural in the fact of finding what we need on our doorstep. While our bodies can be fed in vast, soulless out of town shopping centres, our souls not only can be fed locally but are often best fed there. Even when we’re a guest Read more…
“However, in a letter to the Archbishop, the Revd Marcus Walker, the chairman of the Save the Parish campaign group, said that clergy and lay people are concerned that not enough money is being sent to the Church’s “frontline”. In the letter, seen by The Telegraph, the rector at Great Read more…
“However, responding to the £100 million fund, Rev Marcus Walker, founder of the Save The Parish (STP) campaign group, said: “Suddenly, the Church has money. After decades of telling us that there is no money to fund the churches and priests who keep the Church alive on the front line, Read more…