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Supporting Mission and Ministry

T A priest greeting parishoners he support of the nationwide ministry of the Church of England depends upon partnership between Church members, dioceses and the national Church institutions, including the Archbishops' Council, the Pensions Board and the Church Commissioners.

Outline details of the support the Church Commissioners provide for the Church are given below. Further information can be found in the Church Commissioners' Annual Report or from the Church Commissioners' Policy Unit - email: commissioners.enquiry@c-of-e.org.uk.

Parish ministry support

Via the Archbishops' Council the Church Commissioners contribute more than £25 million annually in support of parish ministry through selective allocations of stipend payments to areas of greatest need. The largest part of the clergy stipends bill is met through donations by parishioners. The Church Commissioners also run the national clergy payroll.

Following the Church Commissioners’ agreement to make available an extra £10 million for distribution over three years, in 2001 the Archbishops’ Council launched the Parish Mission Fund. Its aim was to help to develop new Church ministry through investment in parish mission initiatives. The money can also be used to help meet clergy stipend costs. Funding is shared between the dioceses according to wealth.

The funding has moved into a second triennium. To date, over £20 million has been put towards the support of a diverse range of projects across the Church. Each year the Archbishops’ Council and Commissioners circulate a paper to Synod members showing how the Parish Mission Fund is being used. Click here to see the most recent of these documents, the supporting schedule of projects and costs and further details of the scheme. An illustrated leaflet showing mission fund projects was published with the Commissioners' annual report for 2005.

Clergy pensions

The Church Commissioners' capital underwrites the retirement housing scheme and until 1998 they met the cost of clergy pensions in full. Pensions are their main expense and will be for some time to come. However, the rest of the Church is now contributing to a new pension fund to meet the cost of pensions on future service.

The pensions and housing schemes are run by the Pensions Board. Further information is available from the Pensions Board direct - email: pensions@c-of-e.org.uk.

Loans

The Church Commissioners help dioceses with housing costs by providing loan finance. They also have a car loan scheme, offering preferential interest rates, available to all on their clergy payroll.

Bishops and cathedrals

The Bishop of Portsmouth's house Some of the Church Commissioners' property comes originally from the estates of bishops and cathedrals. The Church Commissioners meet bishops' stipends and working costs (largely staff salaries) and maintain diocesan bishops' houses. Their aim is to do so as cost-effectively as they can.

The Church Commissioners also meet the stipends of the dean or provost and two other senior clergy at each cathedral in England. They also make grants towards the salaries of lay chapter staff, targeting these grants towards those cathedrals with least financial resources.

An overview of how the Church of England is funded is available online.

For general enquiries please contact the Church of England switchboard on (020) 7898 1000.

Further details about the work and history of the Commissioners are available from our Policy Unit. Tel. +44 (0)20 7898-1619/20/23 or e-mail commissioners.enquiry@c-of-e.org.uk.