A number of churches across the Diocese overpay their Ministry Share as a way of supporting other parishes, with these extra contributions forming part of the Ministry Support Fund.
Some churches include the overpayment into their initial budget and others look at whether they might be able to contribute a little bit more at the end of each financial year.
St Laurence’s Church in Alvechurch, just outside Redditch have overpaid for the last two years. They look at their finances each year to see if they can pay a little more.
Vicar of Alvechurch and Beoley, Gail Rogers said: “When Ministry Share was introduced, our allocation reduced slightly from what we were paying previously. The PCC unanimously decided that if we could afford to give a little extra then we would. Many of our PCC members remember what it was like not being able to pay our Share in full and we want to support other churches who might be struggling. We’re not a rich parish, but if we have any surplus at the end of the year we will commit to overpaying as part of our charitable giving.”
In Pershore benefice, the Abbey tries to pay a bit extra each month which they review each year to see if they can contribute further. The village churches in the benefice also look at their contributions annually. Treasurer at Pershore Abbey, Edward Denley said: “I was a member of the DBF Finance and Resources Committee before I became Treasurer so have an understanding of the wider context and the fact that some parishes struggle to pay. We are very fortunate that we have an active Friends of Pershore Abbey and are also able to generate income through tourism. It’s important to support churches in our wider benefice and others across the Diocese when we can.”
Vicar Claire Lording said: “Our Ministry Share comes to us as a benefice and some of our smaller churches struggle financially. We’ve definitely found though that generosity breeds generosity, for example, one of our churches had a number of legacies last year so decided to contribute extra. It’s a way of caring for each other and an acknowledgment that we belong to a bigger family. We understand the stress that other parishes are under as they try to find the money for their Ministry Share and we want to play our part in helping to ease that and enabling more churches to grow.”
