Stewardship
We believe in the work of our parish and our diocese, and we have to pay for it, as Christian in the past had to, too. What they gave – our historic assts – plus some money from the Church Commissioners nationally, only supplies a small proportion of Diocesan income. The fast bulk (80%) of Diocesan income needs to come from current giving. And the same fast bulk is spent on Parish Ministry costs.The Diocese, centrally, can calculate how much money is needed each year. The main item is the cost of the clergy (staff costs are the biggest item for most organisations), their housing, pensions etc. The previous system of figuring out how much each parish had to pay evolved into feeling like a tax on parishes. The Diocese of Carlisle is changing its offering system towards a “generosity” scheme that asks the deaneries to be both generous and realistic regarding how much money they can offer to support ministry in their area. At the Priory we have historically helped poorer parishes in supporting their ministry, and this will continue. In order for ministry to increase and for parishes to grow in this part of west Cumbria all of us need to consider our financial support for the work and mission of the church, and commit ourselves to generous giving.
