Save The Parish - Cornwall

You may be forgiven for not having caught up with the Diocese of Truro's draft budget report for 2025. It has only just been posted up on the Diocesan website, in sharp contrast with previous years when Diocesan Secretary Simon Cade has circulated draft budgets several months in advance, asking for comment.  It's no surprise that Church House will have wanted to keep this under wraps - it's their own 'Halloween' budget.  This isn't a budget for radical change. Rather a budget to manage a Diocese in chaos. A budget with a worryingly large deficit and a plan to plug ever increasing holes with fast-diminishing reserves. To read the details - due to be discussed at the Diocesan Synod on 23 November 2024 - click here. In the budget, the Diocese reneges on a public promise to Save The Parish Cornwall to stop a decline in clergy numbers: numbers are set to fall still further in 2025. Yet again, Church House costs will increase (despite pledges to cut them). And for the

 The Diocese of Truro's 2024 budget deficit will be 'closer to £5 million', significantly higher than the £3 million budgeted for, Director of Finance and Assets Sophie Eddy has reported to the Bishop's Diocesan Council. In a report to be discussed at the next Diocesan Synod (Saturday 23 November 2024), Eddy says 'This is almost entirely due to the significant increase in major works on parsonages to get them ready for the increased number of new clergy.' It is unclear when and where the 'increased number' will be appointed, as the draft budget envisages no rise in clergy numbers - click here to read . Eddy also reports a fall in the level of MMF (Mission and Ministry Fund) payment rates by churches,  which dipped to 95 per cent of budget in September 2024.  She reminded BDC members of 'the importance of achieving 100% rate to enable delivery of the Deanery plans'. As the controversial On The Way deanery plans have been rolled out, there has been

The Diocese of Truro has published the draft of its 2025 budget. There is no planned rise in the critically low number of clergy in Cornwall, promised by the acting Bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson. The figures will disappoint those who are hoping for more clergy provision: just one example comes from the Parochial Church Council (PCC) of King Charles Church, Falmouth, which has written to Bishop Hugh with a plea for action. They simply cannot find clergy to take services, they say. The papers listed below will be discussed at the next Diocesan Synod on Saturday 23 November 2024. 2025 Diocesan Budget    Appendix 1 - budget summary Appendix 2  - 2025 changes compared with 2024 budget Appendix 3  Bishop's Diocesan Council report to 2024 Synod

Parochial Church Council (PCC) members at King Charles Church in Falmouth have issued a plea for help to Cornwall's church leaders. They have written a letter to Archdeacon Clive Hogger and the acting Bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson, stating that they do not believe their church's needs are being considered properly. There are - quite simply - not enough clergy in the deanery.  As yet there has been no response to the letter, dated 30 September 2024.   PCC members report that as things stand, the church has no one to take its Christmas Carol Service, nor Midnight Mass. The churchwarden finds it increasingly hard to find a vicar for services. This letter throws a question mark over Bishop Hugh Nelson's pledge to Save The Parish Cornwall that he was committed to increasing clergy numbers.    The letter below, forwarded by the PCC to Save The Parish Cornwall,  explains the situation. Dear Archdeacon Clive King Charles the Martyr Falmouth At our last Paro

 Pressed by Save The Parish Cornwall for clarification on clergy numbers, the acting Bishop of Truro the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson has send the following response. STPC presented a plan to fund 100 clergy from existing Diocesan finances to him, and colleagues, at a meeting on 30 September 2024. At that meeting STPC asked for clarification on current full time stipendiary priests in Cornwall: neither Bishop Hugh, nor Diocesan Secretary Simon Cade were prepared to provide them at that meeting. This response, received on 22 October 2024, similarly does not clarify the exact number of clergy planned for 2025. Bishop Hugh also includes Archdeacons and curates in the 'clergy count'. Bishop Hugh writes: As we described when we met, the measure that we use to count clergy is  headcount stipends paid . That gives us a consistent and clear number that we can count and compare every month. As they do not receive a stipend, this does not include House for Duty clergy.   At the end of Septembe

The acting Bishop of Truro  is  committed to ‘halting the decline’ in numbers of stipendiary parish priests  in Cornwall ,  he pledged to  a campaign group pushing for 100  such positions in Cornwall. Save the Parish Cornwall (STPC) had presented the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson and his senior aides with detailed costed plans demonstrating how the Diocese can significantly increase clergy numbers, currently at an all-time low.  However,  Bishop Hugh , tipped by his supporters to be the next Bis h op of Truro, declined to say how many priests in parishes he envisaged, saying it would be in line with what was planned in the controversial On The Way restructuring plans in the county .  T h ese plans  – rolled out over the past two years  –   however  place  an emphasis on lay ministry, rather than parish priests.  At a meeting with STPC at St John’s Church, Truro,  when pressed  n either he, nor Diocesan Secretary Canon  Simon Cade ,   were  prepared  to reveal an exact number   but  said

At various times, the Diocese of Truro has claimed that it has to reduce the number of stipendiary parish priests because it cannot afford the numbers of stipendiary priests that Save The Parish Cornwall believes should be in place in parishes. It has used this argument as partial justification of its 'Oversight Minister' model. All figures in Save The Parish Cornwall's paper have been extracted from Diocesan budgets or published accounts. It should be noted that the Diocesan budget and accounts are extremely complicated and very difficult to understand. However, we are confident that the figures are directionally correct, having explained their basis to the Diocesan Secretary, Archdeacon of Cornwall and Acting Bishop of Truro. They raised minor challenges but could not refute the principal figures.  Click here to download a copy of the paper for printing, and circulation.

A message from Save The Parish national steering committee member Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent It has been a while since our 3 rd  birthday newsletter in August and there are a number of things on which I would like to update you.   A word of thanks Save The Parish is not a charity because charities are not allowed to have political campaigning as their primary purpose.  Because of the Established status of the Church of England our campaign could be construed to be political.  We are a limited company with a Board and annual accounts, all visible on the Companies House website.  Your Steering Committee are all volunteers but we do ask for and receive generous donations, for such things as research, printing and conferences.  But I thought you would all like to know that donations have been steadily increasing month by month over the last couple of years.  This is very heartening and a strong indicator of the growing support for saving parishes.  Thank you.   STP