Vicar's Bit For October
Parish Share and Harvest Thanksgiving
One feels it is a tad improper to pray for one’s well-being, yet the Harvest Collect does just that, suitably so, after we pray ‘for the relief of those in need’.
‘Eternal God,
you crown the year with your goodness
and you give us the fruits of the earth in their season:
grant that we may use them to your glory,
for the relief of those in need
and for our own well-being…’
Our seven church Harvest Festivals come at the time we make our 2027 Parish Share commitment. Anglicans have their own particular way to meet the cost of ministry. Two alternative ways are a community tax and a congregationalist levy.
The German church member, whether Catholic or Lutheran pays a church tax, towards their cost of church ministry; a tax administered by the state, in the same way income tax is levied. It gives the tax payer the right to be married and buried at their local church. Contrast that with most free churches across the world: Church members are told each year by their church treasurer how much a minister costs, and unless the church members collectively cannot afford a minister that year, each church member contributes a proportion of the cost of the ministry.
As a vicar, my family’s well-being is dependent on the Parish Share. Each church contributes what can be afforded, with on-going church building costs being a factor here, and the rest of the cost of ministry is met by other churches. In our case about 30% of the cost of ministry of our Benefice is met by other Anglican churches in Gloucestershire. In 2027 we have been asked to increase our Parish share by 3.3%. So next year the suggested commitments are…
Ashleworth Church £14,462
Corse Church £8,262
Hartpury Church £12,396
Hasfield Church £3,512
Maisemore Church £9,814
Staunton Church £8,471
Tirley Church £3,616
Benefice Funds £7,231
Total £66,629
There is an element of mutual share in the Parish Share system which feels biblical, similar to the mutual support system encouraged by the early church. Its downside is that the system feels administered, calculated, by administrators elsewhere in Church House Gloucester, a bit like a quota being levied or a church tax. I think the Parish Share system can be improved upon by having an element of community support, such as a ‘Friends of the Church’ group. This would feel a bit more like the German community based system. Perhaps in turn the church building will be rethought as a community resource on top of its community use for wedding and funerals.
I am grateful to our generous God of the harvest, for the tithe garnered towards the cost of ministry by the Parish Share system. It keeps me gainful employed, a vicarage with a roof on, and further priests trained; even when currently the number of those being trained is well below the replacement level. Sadly Church Times writers are debating whether the well-being of a minister’s family can be met by the current level of stipend.
Please contact your church treasurer to support your church on a regular basis. Thank you for every bit of your support and your generosity and your prayers.