Massive funding of poorest parishes demanded by Save the Parish
At the Save the Parish Conference in York (Thursday 6 July 2023) , its chairman, the Revd Marcus Walker, unveiled a proposal he will be presenting to the Church of England’s General Synod next week to pump £150,000,000 a year into the poorest parishes of the Church of England, revitalising them for mission and saving them from the risk of closure. An amendment to the motion on GS2314 (Note 1) will force the Synod to decide whether the Church intends to fulfil its twin promises “to be a Christian presence in every community” and “to give priority to the poor”. The amendment would have the following effects: 1) This will turn the present £50 million “Lower Income Communities Fund” into something that actually sends money to lower income communities. As the Chote Report (Note 2) specified, “Most dioceses in receipt of LInC distribute the funding to their poorest parishes by formula through the parish share system, sometimes with a top-slice to fund relevant dioces