Archbishops switch focus of funding to rural parishes

THE Church of England archbishops have admitted that they “got it wrong” by not prioritising rural parishes over city churches, as they announced new funding worth £3.6billion.

The Church yesterday revealed plans for a multimillion-pound increase in spending over the next three years with the aim of growing new worshipping communities. However, crucially, officials said “the core of the extra funding will be channelled into the revitalisation of parish and local ministry”.

In an online press conference the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, and the Archbishop of York, the Most Rev Stephen Cottrell, announced the plans and reiterated their commitment to rural church communities, saying that rural parishes “really matter”.

Their comments come as the Church faces a crisis regarding safeguarding the future of the institution amid dwindling congregation numbers.

In December, figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed that the number of Christians in England is close to falling below 50 per cent for the first time, as atheists now account for more than a third of “faith” groups in an increasingly secular society.

The Archbishop of York said that when allocating money in the past, the Church “was, perhaps, if we’re being honest, a bit too driven from the centre” and now, with this cash injection, it is “trusting the dioceses much more and working in collaboration with them”.

The Archbishop of Canterbury added that “over the last few years, the priority has been very much for the more heavily-populated areas”. However, “having listened carefully to what people were saying, this [the £3.6billion announcement] is for everyone, including the rural areas especially”.

Church officials intend to distribute £1.2billion over 2023-25 (up from £930million in 2020-22). They hope to be able to maintain funding over the following two triennia, enabling a longterm investment in the ministry and mission of the Church of England of £3.6 billion over nine years.

The Most Rev Cottrell said: “I don’t think we need to be embarrassed by saying we’ve learnt, we’ve listened. We’ve changed our mind. It’s not that what was done in the past was bad and this is now good. It’s: that was good and we think this is better.”

Last year, The Telegraph revealed that multiple clergy and laypeople had voiced fears over the “collapse” of the Church in rural communities.

Admiral Sir James Burnell-nugent, of the Save the Parish campaign group, said: “It is pleasing that rural and small parishes will be able to apply for the new funding, having been deliberately excluded from the previous three-year round. The proof of the pudding will be whether these new funds are genuinely accessible.”

‘I don’t think we need to be embarrassed by saying we’ve learnt, we’ve listened. We’ve changed our mind’