What would you do when your expenditure is more than your income? Try
to cut costs and attempt to increase income probably. This is the situation
our Diocese of London is in. The Diocese has been asking each of the
parishes what they think should happen. The Bishop of Kensington visited
us in June to explain the situation, and the
PCC
has been asked to return a questionnaire to the Diocese giving our views.
To understand what is happening, I need to explain
some background:
The stipends (salaries) and housing costs of the parish clergy are
paid by the Diocese of London, rather than directly by each parish.
To meet these costs, each parish is asked to contribute to a Common
Fund according to what it can afford. At St. James's, we will be paying
£51,000 into the Common Fund during 2003. The effect of this
is that poorer parishes are subsidised by the richer ones, which allows
the Diocese to keep a presence in all the parishes of the Diocese
(there are over 400). Unfortunately, even with rising contributions
to the Common Fund, the Diocese's costs have risen even faster (think
pensions, investment income, and Council Tax). For the last few years,
expenses have been greater than income by about £500,000 each
year, and the Diocese has been selling off assets to meet the deficit.
This situation can't go on for much longer. So the
main options for the way forward are to cut costs, or to increase
income, or both. The main cost of the diocese (70%) is its parish
clergy and their housing, so, if there is to be any effective cost
cutting, it will mean reducing the number of clergy. The main income
of the diocese (75%) is Common Fund contributions from the parishes;
every parish would need to increase its giving by 25% in order to
solve the problem without any cuts.
So what has the PCC said in its reply to the questionnaire?
We decided that:
• There will have to be a mixture of cutting costs (i.e. numbers
of parish clergy) and increasing income.
• We know that cutting clergy numbers needs a complete rethink
of how parish ministry happens, and we would like to see the thinking
about this progress rapidly.
• We are concerned that our parish stewardship income is near
its limit, but we would make an increase in our Common Fund contributions
if good plans for parish ministry are forthcoming.
All the parishes' views will be brought together for the Diocesan
Synod in November, which will be the real "Time for Decision".
I would welcome any ideas or questions that readers
have on this. And of course, any new or increased giving to St. James's
will help us to be more generous in our support of the London Diocese;
please contact Pip Rowett (020 88924736).
Source: Paul Peterken, PCC Treasurer,
The Spire Magazine - 2003 September
