Our grateful thanks for your church gift of Parish Share in 2019
Here are some resources and links that we hope will help you to pass on thanks to your parish for their contribution to Parish Share in 2019. Parish Share goes towards the work in your own parish, by contributing to ministry costs, and also goes towards the cost of support to all parishes. By pooling our resources, we are able together to provide ministry where it wouldn't otherwise be possible, and our parishes can receive much-needed advice and support in topics such as child protection, youth work, funding and mission.
For your church service
The Diocese of York have produced a selection of readings and prayers on thankfulness and generosity which they have kindly given us permission to use.
Two Stories to Share
In Acts 20:35 we read "The Lord Jesus himself said, 'There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.' These two lovely stories show the impact of Parish Share, and reflect the happiness of giving and receiving! You can share them in your church newsletter or read them out.
You may wish to include this short statement in your APCM about Parish Share and what it achieves. This is taken from the longer document which was sent out by email by the Diocesan Secretary Oliver Home, to incumbents, church wardens and PCC Secretaries on 25th March. The thank you image can be downloaded here.
Giving and finance
The bulk of Parish Share goes towards the costs of support, housing and training for clergy, both today and in the future. In total, 201 clergy were licensed across the Diocese’s 200 churches and various chaplaincies and institutions, an increase of 10%. There was a 4% increase in incumbent (vicar equivalent) posts. 180 people were in post as Licensed Lay Ministers, and 14 candidates were sponsored for ordination.
Parish Share also supports the Diocese’s family of 70 church schools, offering an authentically Christian education to 17,000 children.
And it also goes towards funding your Diocesan Support Services team, who serve parishes, ministers and schools. 4,600 people received training, a 7.5% increase, on average rating it 8 ¾ out of 10.
However there are challenges ahead:
While the Diocesan Board of Finance increased significantly its investment in ministry and support, from £8.6m to £9m, largely supported by increased grant income, and endorsed by Diocesan Synod, Parish Share reduced slightly and, despite overall increases in parish income remains a challenge if the Diocese is to continue to invest in new ministries.
Parish Share means that support is provided across the Diocese where needed most.
How To Guide on Running on Annual Giving Review
This short document explains why an annual giving review is so important, points towards resources, and gives some ideas about how you can make this part of your annual church calendar.
Rev Raymond Adams from St John's Haydon Wick also warmly recommends the annual giving review resources on the Giving in Grace website. "Just to let you know that I used the leaflet that I found on the Giving in Grace website for our Annual Renewal of Giving. It was a bit shorter than my normal brochure, but writing it took about a sixth of the time. The response has been good - 86% of the packs we distributed have been responded to (even better than last year), and 10 new households have joined the giving scheme."