Focus on finance, as Synod votes for 1% parish share rise
Diocesan Synod round-up
Ripon Cathedral, July 4th, 2009
Synod makes children a priority
A team of three people will be appointed to develop children and youth work across the diocese following the unanimous backing of Diocesan Synod meeting last month at Ripon Cathedral.
Speakers including Director of Mission Resourcing, Adrian Alker, and the Bishop of Knaresborough, James Bell, emphasised the importance of children both in the gospels and for the life of the church. The immediate plan will be to appoint a two-thirds time children’s work adviser for the northern archdeaconry to join Youth Advisor Captain Nic Shepherd and Leeds children’s work advisor, Revd Clare MacLaren.
"This is a modest proposal in these financially difficult times”, Adrian Alker (pictured above) told the Synod with the aim of “inspiring, supporting and developing work with young people and children across the diocese.” Training volunteer youth and children’s workers in parishes and co-ordinating events and initiatives would be key priorities for the new appointment and he emphasised the importance of a team approach.
Share rise kept to 1% for 2010
The overall parish share will rise by just 1% next year following backing by Synod members for a detailed 2010 budget, presented by Chair of the Board of Finance, Alistair Thompson (pictured below). A 97% collection rate would be required for a 'break-even' budget - in 2008 only 93% of Share came in from parishes. In answer to a question from the Revd Ian Black, Mr Thompson said that the question of clergy pay levels would not be decided until guidance had been issued from the Archbishops' Council and a final decision would be made in September.
One of the biggest cost increases will be a rise in the diocesan contribution to clergy pensions from 39.7% to 45%. At the same time, the diocese, said Mr Thompson, is determined to maintain its full national allocation of clergy and will be employing the equivalent of 149 full time posts.
Pray for Sri Lanka – bishop’s plea
In a presentation on the diocesan link with Sri Lanka, Link officer Barbara Belsham brought Synod up to date with the latest situation and said that several individuals and groups have been exchanging visits this year.
A group from the Allerton Deanery(pictured), recently returned, told of their experiences – some had reached outlying Tamil areas and even visited refugee camps in the north. They met Bishop Duleep and Bishop Kumara who has set up a fund to help all those displaced by the fighting, and said that while Sinhalese community were hopeful for the future, Tamil Christians are still very frightened and fear violence may not be finally over. “Bishop’s Kumara and Duleep need our prayers in a very delicate and difficult political climate”, said the Revd Paul Ainsworth, one of those on the visit.
Council for Mission unpacked
Recent work by the Diocesan Council for Mission (DCM) had resulted in a new children’s work post, the appointment of a Director for Mission Resourcing, a part-time Chaplain to the Deaf, and the commissioning of important external reports. Chair of the DCM, the Revd Dr Chris Swift, presented Synod with an overview of the Council’s work which includes several Task Groups focussing on particular areas of church mission – a tourism group and an environment group, were, he said, in the process of being established. But he said good contacts between the DCM and deaneries were essential and appealed for more representatives with particular areas of mission experience or interest to come forward as needs arose.