WE should budget for the growth of the Church – and trust God that the money will come in.

Bishop Ian Brackley, our commissary bishop

That was the message our diocese was given as a 4.92 per cent increase in parish share was agreed for 2010. Diocesan synod members voted for the rise, but said that we should be ambitious for future mission.

They passed a motion urging that mission, not the ‘status quo’ should be the starting point for thinking about the 2011 budget. Speakers also urged parishes to raise more than 100 per cent of parish share during 2009 – to ensure there is money in the pot to pay for expansion in future years.

Bishop Ian Brackley, our commissary bishop, set the tone for the day by saying in his presidential address: "Our giving should be a response of gratitude to God for all that God has given us. God gave. That is what God does. It is his nature. He is the giver of all good gifts. We are the recipients. 

"I expect many of you here, like me, were brought up to know by heart the splendid Prayer of General Thanksgiving from the Prayer Book that contains the phrase, “…give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful”.  What limits are prepared to put on our response? How “unfeigned” are we prepared to be? 

"I am convinced that until we in the Church of England develop a greater sense of gratitude to God for all that God has given us, rather than continuing to indulge in the continuing English Pelagian heresy that believes we have done things through our own efforts and not by God’s grace, then we shall always be struggling to cope financially.  We are not poor.  We are not giving the widow’s mite, but actually out of our abundance.  Where is our gratitude? Where is our faith?"

In the debate about our diocesan budget for 2010, the Rev Philip Cochrane, vicar of Holy Trinity and St Columba, Fareham, said: “The starting point for our budget should not be what we did last year.

“I question that, as our ministry and mission will change. One of the key features is training. We need to invest in training and development and that needs to happen now.”

Hugh Mason, from St Simon’s Church, Southsea, said: “I do not think it’s impossible to raise this money. It’s possible to increase the number of people coming to church. And we are way down the list of how much people give per head.

“Some of the poorest parishes in our diocese, in the inner-city of Portsmouth, voted in favour of spending more than this because they know we will either grow or die.”

And the Rev Alex Hughes, vicar of St Peter’s and St Luke’s in Somers Town, said: “We would rather sink on the ship of mission and growth than swim with an aimless will to survive.”

Our commissary bishop, the Rt Rev Ian Brackley, said: “I am astounded and delighted that those who are critical of the budget are saying that we haven’t been ambitious enough.”

The £6.57m budget for 2010 had to balance unavoidable increases such as higher pension contributions for clergy and lay staff against the current economic situation.

Our Bishop’s Council had suggested three different options to deaneries, which included rises of 7.79 per cent, 3.43 per cent or 4.02 per cent in parish share.

There was no clear steer from deaneries, each of which responded differently – one wanted the full 7.79 per cent increase, and one wanted no increase at all. So the Bishop’s Council recommended a 4.92 per cent rise to Diocesan Synod. This included a pay freeze for clergy and lay staff, but the retention of ‘Kairos’ posts created since 2005 in response to the bishop’s Kairos initiative. These include administrators, those who work with families and young people, and clergy in ‘House for Duty’ posts.

The 4.92 per cent option also included spending all – or virtually all – of our diocese’s Transition Fund, which was created in the mid-1990s to help alleviate the growing cost of clergy pensions. This means next year’s parish share rise could be as much as eight per cent before any expansion in our activity is added to the budget.

Two-thirds of the 2010 budget will pay for the ministry of our clergy – including their stipends, housing, council tax and pensions. Two per cent is spent on supporting our church schools, and two per cent on social justice.

Of the £6.57m budget, £4.43m will need to be collected in parish share – the voluntary contributions from each parish. Those contributions are calculated using a formula that takes into account the size of congregations and the socio-economic make-up of each parish.

For the past 15 years, payment has been at or near 100 per cent – a feat unrivalled by almost any other Church of England diocese.