Parish Share Calculations
Principles
These have been established to ensure that:
- All parishes contribute to the direct cost of clergy ministry in the parish,
- The scheme allows for some support for less affluent parishes by more affluent parishes,
- A small budget within the Common Fund is available to support parishes with particular needs.
Basis of Calculation
There are two key elements assessed within Parish Share – Stipend Contribution and Ministry Support Contribution – these have been established to reflect the principles as above:
1. A contribution for the clergy (excluding curates) deployed in the parish, (i.e. Stipend Contribution)
2. A contribution linked to church membership (CMF) within the parish and their potential ability to give, (ie. Ministry Support Contribution).
Stipend Calculation
This is set on the basis of:
- The level of stipend, annualised.
- National Insurance and pension contributions associated with that stipend
- Housing for clergy (except curates housing)
- Training of incumbents
Offset by amounts available from
a. Investment and Glebe Income, and
b. Fees / Chaplaincy income.
Where clergy are shared between parishes, the stipend contribution is shared by mutual agreement, between those parishes.
Where vacancies occur, a reduction in stipend contribution of 25% is made throughout the vacancy period.
Ministry Support Calculation (MSC)
The majority of the Parish Share paid under this heading still provides direct support for parish clergy: archdeacons, safeguarding, training of curates, support with fundraising, mission action plans and growing churches. Other areas covered include:
- Diocesan staff supporting parish mission and ministry
- Contribution to the National Church including training of ordinands
The calculation is based on:
Church Membership Figure (CMF)
- Electoral Roll (ER) averaged over 3 years
- Usual Sunday Attendance (USA) averaged over 3 years
We take 40% of the ER figure and 60% of the USA figure. That gives us the CMF
Share Factor (SF)
This is determined at Deanery level. It is a factor between 0.25 and 3.0 used to derive number of ‘shares’ for the parish. SF seeks to recognise variations between parishes in ‘ability to pay’, with discussions held initially at deanery level. Factors including socio-economic indicators and other financial commitments may be relevant.
Share factors are reviewed every three years.
Number of Shares
This is the CMF multiplied by the SF
Value per share
This is determined from the Total Ministry Support budget divided by the total number of shares in the Diocese.
MSC for an individual share
The MSC for an individual parish is then determined by the parishes number of shares multiplied by the value per share
Moderation
Moderation needs to be seen in the context of the overall calculation for the MSC. It was introduced five years ago as an extra measure to ensure that no parish sees too high a fluctuation between parish share request each year.
The CMF calculation is designed to smooth out any sudden fluctuations and enable a parish and the Diocese (in the sense of all other parishes) time to adjust to a new level of membership. However, as total membership numbers have fallen across the Diocese as a whole then we have seen further fluctuations impacting parishes. So if a parish’s membership falls at a slower rate than the Diocese as a whole then that parish will still see an increase in parish share. If a parish sees their numbers increase, then the impact on the MSC is amplified. The moderation was introduced to provide a further smoothing measure.
It is in effect a final redistribution, which means that we narrow both the range in the increase and decrease for all parishes in the Diocese from year to year and so avoid too much of a surprise or change in parish share year-on-year.
