Church in crisis (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Church in crisis

Canon Alastair StevensonDwindling congregations and soaring maintenance costs have been blamed for a serious financial crisis in the church across the UK. EMMA-KATE LIDBURY reports on the situation locally, where ministers are preparing to cut costs and take on more work to stop the decline into debt.

AS CONGREGATIONS gather in churches across Swindon this Easter, the Church is praying for a solution to one of its greatest financial headaches yet.

Along with every other diocese in the country, the Diocese of Bristol, which oversees all Swindon churches, now has to seriously consider how it will cut costs.

If action isn't taken soon, it will rack up debts of £625,000 by 2010.

This means the face of the Church as we know it is going to have to undergo some serious changes some of them radical.

The Rev Canon Alastair Stevenson of All Saints and St Barnabas churches in Gorse Hill, said: "We cannot go on as we are. Costs are rising much faster than giving.

"Dioceses across the country are finding that the income and expenditure are not matching up."

The financial problems are largely being attributed to the expensive costs of maintaining historic church buildings; the increased costs of wages and pensions of clergy and dwindling donations from congregations.

The Rev Stephen Oram of Cricklade's St Sampson's Church believes there are tough times ahead for the Church of England.

He said: "Unless we act now we could face a deficit of millions of pounds.

"There are some difficult decisions to be made."

Last month, the Bishop of Manchester warned that the church could disappear within a generation or two without an immediate change of direction.

The Diocese of Bristol is among one of the more affluent dioceses in the country because, Mr Stevenson believes, the accounts have been looked after carefully in anticipation of the financial troubles ahead.

Nevertheless, cost-cutting initiatives must now begin in earnest and changes are set to take place from the bottom up.

The Rev Michael Johnson, vicar of Wroughton and area dean of Swindon, will oversee all the changes occurring on the town's religious scene.

"While this is initially a response to financial pressures the important thing to remember is that this is an opportunity to respond better to people.

"But we will have to respond better with fewer paid staff. Employing people is an expensive business.

"Churches already do a fantastic job with the limited resources they have. There is certainly no fat on any of the churches I know of.

"We are trying to see where there are posts that could be merged. Parishes will have to start working more closely together so that we can pool resources. There will be job losses but no redundancies."

There are currently 27 vicars in the town but this will be decreased to 20 in the next five years.

As vicars retire they are unlikely to be replaced and, in some places, this is already happening.

The vicar at St Augustine's church in Rodbourne, who retired last October, has yet to be replaced, and Mr Stevenson may have to take on the additional responsibilities.

"With 50 people regularly attending each of these three churches, it would make my job a much busier one," he said.

In the North Wiltshire deanery, Mr Oram explained that many of the smaller parishes will have to be amalgamated.

"Cricklade will join together with Ashton Keynes, Leigh and Latton, and where there are currently two vicars covering those parishes we have been asked to lose one," he said.

"This isn't as drastic as in other parts of Wiltshire where there will be one priest covering 10 churches."

The days of the vicar being visibly involved in all church services and activities may be numbered.

Lay people will be asked to take on more responsibilities within parishes to lessen the burden on the increasingly busy and overworked clergy.

Mr Oram said: "The focus will be on lay people taking on more within the church. There are great people who have a lot to give.

"There will be a shift towards releasing the energies of the congregation.

"Smaller churches will continue because the congregation want them to, but they might not have as much guidance from, or see a priest, as often as they used to."

Mr Stevenson echoed this view.

He said: "You do not have to be a practising minister to be involved in a lot of the work the church does such as working with youth clubs, the elderly and the bereaved.

"Assistance from the congregation with this kind of work would greatly help lessen our workload."

Other more radical suggestions to help save the church from plummeting even further into the red include establishing one central Christian church in the town with a handful of satellite worship centres.

It costs the Church of England £800 million a year to run its churches nationwide, but £200 million of this is spent on building maintenance.

Mr Oram said: "If churches did not have the responsibility of their buildings they could afford to have a vicar in every parish in the land.

"In Cricklade, the responsibility for the upkeep of the huge medieval St Sampson's church lies largely with its congregation of 100 people. This is a great financial burden."

And the situation is the same in Swindon. Mr Stevenson added: "We have to spend so much of parishioners' donations on paying for the upkeep of bricks and mortar. In theory, it would make sense to have just one building.

"But in reality, people are emotionally attached to their churches and would be reluctant to see these changes.

"We will have to take our time to decide what is right for us and plans will be discussed with clergy as well as parishioners.

"But there is no doubt that we will now have to look for other ways in which we can 'do church' in modern times.

"The church as we currently know it is set to be very different in the future."

elidbury@newswilts.co.uk