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Action to halt fall in clergy
change: Fr Timothy Lipscomb
Falling numbers of clergy in Lancashire have prompted a county-wide debate on the future of the Church of England.
The region has lost more than a third of its paid parish priests in the past 12 years and retirement will see a further reduction in numbers by 2019.
Now the Bishop’s Council has commended a report to the diocese that could see radical changes in the provision of clergy.
More lay people would be brought in to take on parish duties, some replacing many of the roles currently undertaken by priests.
This would relieve the church of some of the huge financial burden, which is a contributing factor in the need to change.
Father Timothy Lipscomb, vicar of Preston, said he recognised there was a need for a re-think.
He said: “There isn’t much money about and paying for the clergy is quite expensive when you consider the training and the fact that they are provided with a home
“We simply can’t sustain parish ministries in the same way any more.
“In the next five years 40% of the paid clergy will retire. Replacing them with lay people, or self supporting ministers, is cheaper.”
In 2000 there were 250 paid parish priests throughout Lancashire. That figure is now 156 and is expected to fall to 106 within seven years.
In contrast, the number of unpaid clergy rose from 44 to 59 between 2006 and 2011.
But the Bishop of Burnley, the Rt Rev John Goddard, said continued growth of lay clergy could not be guaranteed.
He said: “We cannot have fewer clergy and continue as we are. This will mean burn-out for clergy.”
The Bishop, who chaired the year-long, 15-member task force that drafted a report on the Church’s future, said: “Unless there is a real sharing of ministry, we will not be able to tackle the issues outlined in the report.
“This impacts not just on pastoral reorganisation, but also the sharing of financial and ministerial resources.
“The drivers are not simply financial, despite reducing budgets. Our main concern has been to contemplate how the considerable resources at our disposal, both lay people and ordained clergy, may be responsive to the challenges which face us.”
The report, called The Shape of Things to Come, is set for further debate by the diocesan synod on March 24.
It proposes changes over the next five years that will mean the Church is ‘fit for purpose’ by 2020.
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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