Thank you to everyone who helped contribute to Ministry Share in 2024, the generous payments made by our churches have meant that we have been able to pay and house our clergy and continue training new clergy for the future.
For 2024 we received over £3.8 million* from churches as contributions to Ministry Share, over £30,000 more than in 2023. We also saw churches give nearly £18,000 more than they were asked, which will be redistributed as grants to churches who might struggle to pay their Ministry Share in 2025.
Alongside your Ministry Share contributions, we also gave grants of over £945,000 to help support parishes with Ministry Share. Nearly two-thirds of these grants came from the National Church’s Lowest Income Community (LInC) Fund and are restricted to helping ministry in those parishes that are in the most deprived areas of the country. The remaining grants came from funds set aside by the WDBF to support parishes during the transition to the new Ministry Share system, and the additional giving of parishes beyond their Ministry Share request.
Within our Diocese, Ministry Share is calculated to pay for the cost of ministry currently being received (such as stipends, pension contributions and housing) and for the cost of training new priests, our ordinands and curates. Other costs, such as for the Diocesan office and staff, are paid for from other sources, such as grants from the National Church and other Diocesan income, such as the renting of property, investment incomes and the Diocesan fees from occasional offices.
Andy Todd, our Diocesan Secretary said:
“It is no secret that parishes everywhere continue to face enormous challenges, and yet the commitment of congregations and PCCs to give generously and in many cases sacrificially to support the mission and ministry of the Church in their communities is a real source of hope, and something for which we should all be tremendously grateful. I am also very thankful personally to those parishes which have engaged so well with the Diocesan Office team during the year to keep the channels of communication open, and to work collaboratively and creatively towards responding to the challenges being faced.”
Certificates will be sent out to parishes in the coming weeks to say thank you to congregations for their contributions to Ministry Share.
*Figures are still in draft form and final audited figures will be published as part of the WDBF annual accounts.
