Germanicus
07-12-2009, 09:07 PM
Church of England asks its flock for £1,000 a year
By Steve Doughty
Last updated at 11:51 PM on 10th July 200
The Church of England yesterday asked its faithful to chip in £1,000 a year each to help it survive a deepening financial crisis.
Church leaders are already laying off bureaucrats to save money and asking clergy to work until the age of 70 to cut down on pension payments.
The General Synod, the church's governing council, is also considering reducing the number of bishops by a quarter.
The church says its members should give it 5 per cent of their disposable income - a sum that would reach £1,000 a year in wealthy areas.
The current rate is about 3 per cent, Colin Slater of the CofE's National Stewardship Committee told the synod's meeting in York.
'We have not in any diocese achieved the 5 per cent target. That is indeed a massive disappointment,' he said.
However he added: 'We should rejoice that compared to secular standards our Church experiences very generous giving.
'We need to develop this spirit of generosity as a springboard for resourcing our future ministry.'
Mr Slater said that reaching the target would raise an extra £300 million a year for the Church.
The Right Reverend John Packer, Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, said that results of attempts to raise money this spring had been disappointing.
'We are in a period of selfishness which has crept up unnoticed on Christians and others,' he said.
Worshippers should give a further 5 per cent to good causes, according to the church.
It has seen the number of regulars at Sunday services drop below a million over the past decade while investment income has been hit by the credit crunch
By Steve Doughty
Last updated at 11:51 PM on 10th July 200
The Church of England yesterday asked its faithful to chip in £1,000 a year each to help it survive a deepening financial crisis.
Church leaders are already laying off bureaucrats to save money and asking clergy to work until the age of 70 to cut down on pension payments.
The General Synod, the church's governing council, is also considering reducing the number of bishops by a quarter.
The church says its members should give it 5 per cent of their disposable income - a sum that would reach £1,000 a year in wealthy areas.
The current rate is about 3 per cent, Colin Slater of the CofE's National Stewardship Committee told the synod's meeting in York.
'We have not in any diocese achieved the 5 per cent target. That is indeed a massive disappointment,' he said.
However he added: 'We should rejoice that compared to secular standards our Church experiences very generous giving.
'We need to develop this spirit of generosity as a springboard for resourcing our future ministry.'
Mr Slater said that reaching the target would raise an extra £300 million a year for the Church.
The Right Reverend John Packer, Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, said that results of attempts to raise money this spring had been disappointing.
'We are in a period of selfishness which has crept up unnoticed on Christians and others,' he said.
Worshippers should give a further 5 per cent to good causes, according to the church.
It has seen the number of regulars at Sunday services drop below a million over the past decade while investment income has been hit by the credit crunch