clergy numbers
Whilst I am aware that at a local level there are dioceses which are struggling, I am not convinced that the way to deal with this is to cut back on clergy numbers.
There are big questions for us around inclusion, finance, clergy numbers, safeguarding, lay ministers and around what we believe and practice as a Church.
Three major concerns remain for us as a Church and Diocese – safeguarding, sexuality, and finance (with the linked concerns over projected clergy numbers).
Looking ahead, the projections on clergy numbers are not good, given the age profile of our clergy and expected retirements without enough replacements coming in.
Safeguarding, both historic and ongoing will also continue to be a key concern Declining numbers and income, and hence a decline in paid clergy numbers, challenge us about what the Church of England is for and how to maintain and develop its role in the future.
Strong leadership comes in many forms and as we face a decline in clergy numbers, a strengthening of leadership is required at all levels, both ordained and lay.
Over the coming quinquennium, I believe Synod needs to commit to a root-and-branch rethink of how we resource sustainable parish ministry: through renewed investment in vocations and frontline clergy numbers, but also through creative local partnerships and confident lay leadership.
This is a false economy and a contradictory strategy; it deters would-be priests and undermines ambitious growth plans, which require keeping up clergy numbers.
I strongly believe we should continue and encourage more lay involvement to support our Clergy, particularly considering the falling Clergy numbers, different models from BMOs to traditional single/team parishes and the financial pressures/wellbeing faced by the clergy.
With full-time clergy numbers in decline, a ‘retirement bulge’ (an ageing profile), and fewer candidates training for ordained ministry, there’s an urgent need to focus efforts on creative and effective ways of resourcing gospel-centred ministry and ensuring clergy wellbeing.
That means investing in our buildings, our people and, urgently, in training new priests as clergy numbers decline.
For that reason, Synod should remain attentive to the practical issues affecting parishes every day, including clergy numbers, parish offer commitments and funding for ministry.
from a very different era in terms of both clergy numbers and congregation sizes.
If we want to be brave and do things differently – increase clergy numbers, secure better funding for parishes, address injustices and inequalities in our church - we need to build trust, and risk trust.
faces many different challenges; ensuring proper safeguarding practices and training especially after the Makin Review, maintaining and growing both congregations and clergy numbers in an increasingly secular nation, stewarding our environment carefully while avoiding unnecessary burdens on smaller struggling parishes, and the list could go on.
The Church of England faces important decisions around its response to issues of racism, clergy remuneration and pensions, the reduction in stipendiary clergy numbers, and the ongoing challenges of financial sustainability, particularly in dioceses such as Leeds.
I have seen first-hand the struggle in our Diocese to support clergy numbers.
I serve on this Project's Synodical Reference Group and am working directly and in depth with the project team to help ensure the mandate secured through those motions is fulfilled and that the funding needed to sustain and revitalise parish ministry, including sustainable growth in clergy numbers, is properly identified.
Direct the parish share itself toward mission and the cure of souls, not toward servicing a diocesan centre that keeps growing while parish clergy numbers keep falling.
It makes no sense to be a church where congregations and clergy numbers have declined—but we still have the same number of senior leaders.
Crisis in Stipendiary Clergy Numbers
General Synod must address the crisis in stipendiary clergy numbers in the Church of England.
Clergy wellbeing – work has been done around clergy discipline, stipends and pensions but the predicted drop in clergy numbers and those coming forward for ordination puts increasing pressure on parish priests as well as lay people.
The reason I am standing for election to Synod can be summed up in three themes: mission; the fall in stipendiary clergy numbers; and unity.
I am so often encouraged and humbled by the imaginative, joyful and sacrificial ministry I see in areas of multiple deprivation within the Diocese of Blackburn; but one risk of continuing falls in clergy numbers must surely be that such areas across the country will find it even more challenging to recruit clergy.
With clergy numbers falling and many dioceses facing financial challenges, many of us are anxious that pressures on clergy, both stipendiary and SSM, will increase.
We face a catastrophic reduction in clergy numbers through projected retirement, exacerbated by burnout and disillusionment.
Declining clergy numbers mean that increasingly even if parishes are able to appoint a new incumbent, they cannot find candidates to appoint.
A diocese carrying a deficit, falling share, ageing congregations and a great many roofs is asked to plan clergy numbers years ahead on figures nobody can rely upon.
The C of E’s potential for good, in its 16,000 parishes across the whole of England is awesome, but its reach is frequently constrained by the many challenges churches face (declining and ageing congregations; declining clergy numbers; burnt out clergy; buildings now not fit for purpose; safeguarding concerns; volunteer recruitment; perceived loss of relevance in society and unresolved ongoing disagreements about core issues (doctrine) such as on the nature of human identity, marriage and sexuality.
I am positive we can make a difference to the mission and ministry of our church as lay people, especially with declining clergy numbers.
A critical part of that has, of course, been the leadership of a motivated and inspiring vicar, leading regular eucharistic worship and being a visible presence locally – something which all too many parishes currently lack, often because of reduced clergy numbers and resourcing issues I am standing for Synod in the hope that, if elected, I can bring these qualities to governance of the wider Church.
The Church of England faces some key challenges at the present time, including the need for clear theological direction, the lack of recognition of our historic position in our country, and the practical hurdles of dwindling clergy numbers and changing patterns of parish ministry.
I am also part of a team looking at Self-Supporting Ministry in our Diocese, which accounts for 32% of our clergy numbers.
I want to add my voice to the support and encouragement of those on the ground, not simply through kind words but by contributing to shaping the processes and structures that will undoubtedly be changing around them as we approach the upcoming retirement cliff and the drastic reduction in clergy numbers.
This includes reversing the recent decline in clergy numbers and working to increase them, ensuring visible ministers are no longer a thing of the past.
Blackburn is blessed with bishops, senior clergy and a DBF committed to parishes and maintaining clergy numbers; nationally, the picture is less encouraging.
At a time when clergy numbers are falling, I want to encourage theological education which is ordinand-centred.
Restoring parish ministry The Save the Parish manifesto points out how diocesan and national headquarters have ballooned in numbers in recent years, while stipendiary clergy numbers have shrunk, by 28 %.
I feel that General Synod needs to work to ensure that any present or future legislation does not have a detrimental effect on parishes, both on clergy numbers and Church buildings.
I have also asked several questions on projected future clergy numbers – an issue that has been on my radar for the last five years, and has now been taken up by Save the Parish.
The reduction in clergy numbers across the church (failure to recruit enough new clergy) is now having an impact even here in our Diocese, which has been insulated in the past by local factors.
If elected, I will do my utmost to promote the parochial system and its ministry, whilst recognising the constraints faced by falling stipendiary clergy numbers and the financial challenges faced by all parishes and diocese.
Decreasing parochial clergy numbers means we now face increasing reliance on voluntary lay and PTO ministry to keep many parishes alive Financial constraints have increased in many dioceses.
• Reducing clergy numbers and declining attendances.