Parish Support Fund– resourcing God’s mission in Southwark Diocese in 2020

The Diocese of Southwark serving the people of South London and East Surrey

The Diocese of

Southwark

Bishop Christopher writes: Thank you for your generosity. In this booklet you will find some stories and information which I hope will help you as you consider your giving to your church and your church’s giving to the Diocese through the Parish Support Fund. As we ask the parishes thoughtfully and prayerfully to begin the process through which they will decide on their pledge to the Parish Support Fund (PSF) for 2020, I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their generosity through the PSF Scheme since it was introduced. Each year our parishes pledge generously to support the mission and ministry of the Diocese of Southwark and we have a consistently high rate of contributions against pledges. Each year we ask that our parishes contribute generously to the work of the Diocese in response to God’s generosity to us. As you think about what you think your church should pledge towards the 2020 budget please take the time to read this leaflet

and watch the film as these materials tell you more about the work of our parishes as they seek to live our Vision through their mission and ministry in their local parish and community. Our work continues to help to heal and enrich our local communities and I thank you for your generous contributions through your churches to help to make this possible.

With my thanks for your partnership in the gospel.

Walking with Jesus and getting to know Jesus better as we journey on

Welcoming all, embracing our diversity and seeking new ways of being church

Growing in numbers, generosity, faith and discipleship as we grow God’s Kingdom

2 Parish Support Fund – resourcing God’s mission in Southwark Diocese in 2020 The Diocese of Southwark serving the people of South London and East Surrey

The Southwark Vision guides the work of the Diocese. The money which the parishes pledge to the Diocese to fund its mission and ministry is what allows the Diocese to make sure that there are priests and lay workers in our parishes so that the work of sharing God’s good news can continue.

Around the Diocese our parishes are engaged in exciting initiatives which help people in their communities to know more about God’s love for them and for our world.

The Revd Philippa Boardman is vicar of St Mary, Wandsworth Common. Here’s what she says about their work:

“There are three active lay volunteer teams at St Mary Magdalene. One visits two locked wards at Springfield University Hospital and also makes regular visits to Ronald Gibson House, a residential care home for those living with severe dementia, with a monthly service of Holy Communion too. Another team goes into HMP Wandsworth to hold a weekly Bible study with a group of inmates.”

Tom Roberts, who leads the Bible study, says:

“From the outset, 17 years ago, I saw this as a calling. We now have a team of eight which means each week there are at least four of us who participate. The prisoners are fabulous. Usually we have 12–15 in the group. They are all Christians: many of them are very knowledgeable about the Bible and they witness their faith in a way people in St Mary Magdalene would be reluctant to. The sessions are a joy and at times the presence of God is palpable. It’s a privilege to do this work.”

At All Saints, Peckham, they are happy to be able to help to support the work of other churches in the Diocese through their pledge to the Parish Support Fund. They are also very busy in the parish working with young people and those who find themselves financially challenged. Jonathan Mortimer the vicar there, says:

“We know that sometimes we do not get everything right but we are absolutely sure and grateful that God is at work here in the parish.”

Abie Everett works with young people and students, Racheal Mulema is the Urban Minister and Christians Against Poverty (CAP) worker and Winnie Obese-Bempong works in the community and as a CAP worker. Together, they do lots in the local area.

All Saints supports both the work of CAP and Abie’s work with young people and students financially as well as spiritually. Without that support, CAP wouldn’t be able to operate in the local community at all; Abie wouldn’t be able to run a weekly club that means young children have somewhere to go whilst they wait for their parents to finish work; and they wouldn’t be able to extend student programmes to other churches in the area that can’t afford to run them.

The Parish Support FundIs a generosity based pledge scheme which brings together the principles of:

• proportionality• informed generosity• an aspiration to, and encouragement towards, becoming self-financing.

These three principles are underpinned by a commitment to transparency and mutual accountability.

3Parish Support Fund – resourcing God’s mission in Southwark Diocese in 2020The Diocese of Southwark serving the people of South London and East Surrey

Rachel sums it up by saying:

“It makes me sad when people say the church is in decline when it is doing such wonderful work in the community.”

Then, in South Roundshaw and Beddington, the Revd Canon Angela Gbebikan says:

“We have a lunch club for the over-60s from the local area. This not only means that they have a good meal but it gives them the opportunity to spend time with others; for some this is their only outing of the week. We want to better enable our work with children and young people, and so we are currently advertising for a part time Children’s and Young People’s Worker. We have a good relationship with Wilsons School who come to us for their annual Founder’s Day service and engage with the numerous primary schools in our area as part of our Mission Action Plan. We work closely with the Roundshaw Community Network on the Roundshaw Estate and had a joint outdoor Carol Service this past Christmas for the first time; we also take part in the Roundshaw Festival. We want to show the community that the church cares for them and wants to work with them to ensure that this is the best community possible. We are grateful to the other churches who help to support us at present and are working towards being able to be self-financing.”

These are just some examples of the really exciting work that is happening across the Diocese. Here’s how the Parish Support Fund helps to support this work.

Funding316 stipendiary clergy, 194 NSMs and Chaplains, serving 293 parishes and 356 places of worship in South London and East Surrey

SafeguardingMore than 1,758 individuals attended one of the 77 safeguarding courses delivered across the Diocese in 2018

What ministry costs2020 Indicative Costs

Stipend, NI and pension £40,200

Ministry housing £8,800

Training and other ministry support £15,500• Diocesan and national training

• Curates’ stipends

• Wider support for our parishes £16,700• Contributions to the National Church

• Episcopal Area Teams

• Parish support, HR, DAC and Governance

• Board of Education and Welcare

• Communications

• Safeguarding

• Public Policy and MEAC

Total ministry cost £81,200

Stipend, NI and pension

49%

Wider support for our parishes

21%

Training and other ministry

support19%

Ministry housing

11%

The Diocese of

Southwark

Published by Communications and Resources for the Diocese of Southwark April 2019

For more information please contact:

Head of GivingTrinity House, 4 Chapel Court, Borough High Street, London SE1 1HW

020 7939 9400psf@southwark.anglican.orgwww.southwark.anglican.org

The pledges given to the Parish Support Fund go towards paying for the mission and ministry in our parishes, schools and deaneries. We share the money from the PSF across the Diocesan family, and parishes who have more give generously so that those who have less can have a vicar whether or not they can afford it.

Firstly, the money you give through the PSF goes towards paying, training, housing and supporting our clergy. In addition, parishes receive a wide range of support services such as buildings advice from the DAC, safeguarding expertise, HR support, Mission Action Planning advice and development of vocations and training of curates, SPAs, Readers or our Area Conferences. Please watch the stories on our DVD, including how we support people training for ordination and work with Fresh Expressions.

There are many areas of work supported by your pledges; and each year the Diocesan budget, which underpins all these costs, is approved by the Diocesan Synod drawn from people across the Diocese. In 2020 the average cost of providing, maintaining and supporting a full-time priest in a parish in Southwark Diocese will be £81,200.

Each parish is invited to make a pledge each year — this is the commitment that they make to pay a certain amount towards the mission and ministry of all the churches in the Diocese. We ask that your parish pledges are generous, realistic and challenging.

What can you do?• Give thanks for God’s generosity to us and our Diocese• Pray for your PCC as they decide what pledge to offer for 2020 • Pray for our Diocese as we seek to be a people who are “Walking, Welcoming, and Growing”

and a Church of England presence in every community • Share in the Bible studies on generosity included in our resources pack and encourage each

other in generosity

‘As I move around the Diocese of Southwark and meet people in our parishes I am profoundly moved and humbled by people’s willingness to give sacrificially of their time, talents and resources to God’s work here among us. Thank you for all that you do. My prayer is that God will bless our work here and be with you as you prayerfully seek to know what it is right to pledge for 2020.’

Bishop Christopher