"What is going on?" Church treasurer resigns in protest at Diocese of Truro’s MMF spending plans

John Kennaugh, Treasurer of a church in east Cornwall, has asked to be replaced. He has written this article and is happy for it to be widely shared. "I think what is happening is morally wrong," he says.  He profoundly disagrees with the Diocese of Truro’s MMF policy and spending plans.

John took on the job of Treasurer for his local church Parochial Church Council (PCC)  in 2024.  He explains:   "My local Church community is a wonderful example of what a Christian community should be and it is a privilege to be a part of it but what I discovered regarding the Mission and Ministry Fund (MMF) and the bureaucratic monstrosity the Church of England  has become has totally disillusioned me.  I have asked to be replaced having been instructed by my PCC to pay the MMF in full.

He writes:

The Church of England has a problem. Congregations are falling. It is making changes with fewer clergy and larger groups of churches. I live in Cornwall where the changes go under the title of “On the Way”.  Save The Parish (STP) in Cornwall argues that these changes are going to make things worse and is campaigning against their implementation. I for one cannot see how anyone could claim the changes will make things better for parish churches so conclude that the changes have a different aim. During his time in office the recently departed Archbishop of Canterbury presided over a 30% decline in congregations. He blamed it on God -

“I am not sure I know what else could have been done because in the end the future of the Church and its survival or otherwise does not depend on Archbishops; it depends on God and the providence of God”.

All the indications are that those at the top have concluded that the decline will continue and that in the long term, parish churches are a lost cause.

Now the Church of England has an income of around £360,000,000 from property and investment. So Archbishops and Bishops and their support staff – and a lot else besides will still be viable even when the last Parish Church is boarded up, but If it is not going to look as incongruous as an Admiralty with no ships, or the hospital in “Yes Prime Minister” with no patients it has to find a new roll for itself. Cornwall’s Bishop Hugh when talking about the ‘On The Way’ on “Politics South West” said :

“There will be slightly fewer clergy if this plan is fully implemented but there will be more people doing work on behalf of the Church, including for instance, more people working with children and young people, more people working in the kind of things we do to support people in the most deprived communities, so foodbanks, debt support...”.

Note that in the case of my Parish for “Slightly fewer” read “Half as many”. So reducing the number of clergy allows this change of direction. There is a study thinking up “new things”. https://www.cranmerhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/New-Things-Final-1.pdf

Quote “The title of this report however omits the word, ‘church', and this is deliberate. It is hard to find a comprehensive term to describe what it is that these dioceses have been starting. The language – as we shall show – is diverse and multivalent, hence the term ‘new things.’”

“Anecdotally, these ‘new things’ were seen to be growing, in perceived contrast to most inherited churches.“ - 'inherited churches' – that’s us! It is perceived that we are shrinking and ‘new things’ are a better bet.

In Cornwall, Churches pay to the diocese something called the Ministry and Mission Fund (MMF). Basically “Parish share”. This started as payment to the diocese so the diocese could employ a clergyman to serve the church. Remember when a church had its own clergyman? In the last year despite a 50% reduction in clergy in my neck of the woods the MMF has gone up. Put simply: less clergy + same MMF = more money for the Diocese to expand its activities so that it still has a mission in say 20 years time when there are few if any functioning parish churches. Note that at no time has anyone shown a rationale as to how an MMF figure was arrived at. Essentially the Diocese decided how much they could get away with - basically the same as they got prior to the change, plus an increase. It was “sold” on the basis that the increase was less than inflation so it had been reduced slightly - and obediently the churches formed a working group to work out the best way of paying it. I seemed to be the only one asking what are we paying for!


The official line is that we now live in a very complex society and Churches need a lot of support which is provided by the Diocesan support staff and it is reasonable that Churches make the necessary contributions to pay for that support – no actual figures supplied! Suggestions that the Diocese of Truro is a bureaucracy which – like the rest of the CofE - has expanded out of control are dismissed. I asked how many support staff were employed and was told it was “41 – not all full time”. The total county team listed on the Truro website is 66 people See Appendix I so maybe some are volunteers. Perhaps you are better than me at guessing what they all do based on their job description. You might, like me, conclude that the role of the Diocese has shifted from being there to support the churches and that many on the pay roll are there to develop “New Things”. One might note that the Methodist “Cornwall and Isles of Scilly team” consist of 4 ministers + 7 helpers and their churches seem to provide a very similar service to that of CofE churches. At a rough count there are 300 CofE Churches in Cornwall and about 200 Methodist Churches.

Apparently Truro Diocese gets a grant of £860,000 from the Church Commissioners and gets £2,337,000 from investments, glebe rents and fees - together a total of £3,197,000. (2018 figures from Truro website) The Bishop’s salary and cathedral upkeep are funded separately. If there are 41 people employed, that works out at £78,000 each. If all 66 are paid staff it still works out at £48,000 each. OK there are other expenses, rent for a start, but against that some of the workers are part time. In terms of ball-park economics it would seem despite the size of the workforce there is enough property and investment income without any help from the MMF. Glebe rents are rent from glebe property. This is property given or bequeathed to parish churches which used to provide income for that church. Some years back a law was passed transferring all glebe properties to the Dioceses on the grounds that some parishes were much richer than others and the Dioceses could distribute it more evenly. It is now simply a part of Diocese income.

If everyone pays what is asked, the amount of money raised via the MMF from my benefice would be £127,580 (2024). It has one oversight minister and according to the CofE a minister costs £50,000 p.a, – a figure which includes £21,500 housing costs? (see appendix 2) leaving £77,580. Again in terms of ball-park economics when the 300 churches in the county are in the same boat it means that after cutting the number of clergy, Truro has an additional income from MMF over and above what is needed for ministers of maybe £2,000,000 to spend on diversifying its activities – or as it would describe it “expanding the mission of the church”. Note also that reducing the number of clergy means that some houses which were vicarages are no longer needed and can be sold. Guess who gets the money – I’ll give you a clue - not the parish? Note that while the Diocese employs the oversight minister, and although the MMF payment grossly exceeds what is needed for his salary, the Diocese does not pay his expenses. Parish churches are given the difficult job of dividing his expenses fairly between them.

There is surely a question as to whether PCCs are doing the right thing in paying the MMF – which is described as “voluntary”. People (like me) give some money, from their pension or income, to support various good causes of their choice and I used to believe that what I gave my local church benefited my local church. If I had wanted to support the wider work of the CofE I would have given to that cause. The PCC are not only trustees of a charity who’s first duty is to “make sure the charity’s assets are only used to support or carry out its purposes” (Gov. website) it is also entrusted by donors with their money. How can the PCC assume it has the donors approval to give away their money when it has no idea what it will be spent on and when the amount requested is based purely on what the Diocese thinks it can get away with, rather than specified needs? In the case of my own church I very much doubt those who give to the church by standing order or via the collection plate realise that 59% of everything they give goes to pay the MMF. I didn’t and I was horrified when I found out. It all seems far removed from what is important to me: worshipping God with others, maintaining an old building to worship in and trying to make a difference to our community.

APPENDIX I

The Diocesan Team

Operations (Reception)
Operations Manager
Operations Assistant (Creation Care)
Operations Assistant (Safeguarding)
Operations Assistant (PtO & Database Administrator)

Buildings, Environment & Land
 DAC Secretary
Diocesan Environment Officer
Operations Assistant (Creation Care)
Cut Carbon Support Officer (Churches)
Church Buildings Support Officer

Change & Renewal
Director of Change and Renewal
Programme Manager
Project Support Officer (Carnmarth North, Trigg Minor & Bodmin, St A)
Project Support Officer (East Wivelshire, West Wivelshire, Pydar)
Project Support Officer (Kerrier, Stratton, Trigg Major)
Project Support Officer (Carnmarth South, Powder, Penwith)
Data Analyst
Project Support for Change & Renewal

Communications
Head of Communications
Out of hours Communications support (urgent only)

Deanery Liaison Advisors d be and it is a privalidge to be a part of it but
East Wivelshire & Stratton DLA
St Austell DLA
Trigg Major & Trigg Minor & Bodmin DLA
Carnmarth North & Kerrier DLA
Carnmarth South, Penwith, DLA
Powder DLA
West Wivelshire Deanery DLA
Pydar Deanery DLA

Governance
Diocesan Secretary
Head of Operations & Governance (Deputy Diocesan Secretary)
Information & Governance Officer
Information & Governance Assistant

Education
Director of Education
Education Governance Lead
Education Support Officer
Schools' Creation Care Officer
Cut Carbon Support Officer for Schools

Finance
Director of Finance & Assets
Finance Manager
Finance Assistant

Human Resources
Director of HR

Ministry
Head of Ministry
Ministry Programme Co-ordinator
Ministry and Parish Development Officer
Pioneer Network Facilitator
Lay Ministries Development Officer
Lay Ministries Development Officer
Licensed Ministry Officer

Ordinands
Diocesan Director of Ordinands

Parish Facing Support
Ministry & Parish Development Officer
Generous Giving Advisor (Carnmarth South, Powder, Pydar) 

Generous Giving Advisor (Stratton, St Austell, Trigg Major, Trigg Minor & Bodmin, East Wivelshire, West Wivelshire)

Reader Ministry
Reader Chaplain
Administrator for Readers
Events co-ordinator to the Readers
Minuting secretary to Reader Committees

Safeguarding
Head of Safeguarding - Diocesan Safeguarding Officer
Deputy Diocesan Safeguarding Officer &
Cathedral Safeguarding Officer
Safeguarding Trainer
Operations Assistant (Safeguarding)
Safeguarding Governance Officer

Bishop's Advisors
Ecumenical Officer
Bishop's Advisor for Spiritual Direction
Rural Affairs Advisor

Diocesan Records
Historic Collections Manager, Diocesan Records

Diocesan Registrar & Chancellor
Diocesan Registrar
Diocesan Chancellor

APPENDIX II