Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Parish Ministry

Thursday 27 April 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Church of England will distribute 1.2 billion between 2023 and 2025 to revitalise parish ministry.
  • There has been an increase in the number of ordinands from 2016 to 2020, with 591 starting training, the largest in a generation.
  • Church of England is committed to continuing to train more priests despite a slight dip during the pandemic.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Martin Vickers Con Brigg and Immingham
Religion & Faith
Context

The Church of England is facing concerns about the sustainability of its parish ministry.

Question

What steps the Church of England is taking to strengthen its parish ministry?

Answer from Andrew Selous

Parish ministry is at the heart of everything we do in the Church of England. Between 2023 and 2025, to support our mission to tell people the good news about Jesus Christ, we will distribute £1.2 billion—a 30% increase. The largest part of that funding will be used to revitalise parish ministry.

Answered
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Q2 Martin Vickers Con Brigg and Immingham
Religion & Faith
Context

Concerns exist within congregations regarding the declining number of priests, affecting stipendiary ministries.

Question

My hon. Friend will be well aware of concerns in congregations up and down the country about the diminishing number of priests. Will he assure the House that the Church will continue to do all it can to provide funds for the stipendiary ministries?

Answer from Andrew Selous

There has been an increase in the number of ordinands between 2016 and 2020, when we had 1,373 in total, including 591 starting training, which was the largest in a generation. There was a slight dip during the pandemic, but we are committed to continuing to train more priests; that is absolutely essential and is exactly what the Church of England wants to see.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The question specifically asked about providing funds for stipendiary ministries, but the answer did not mention any financial commitments. Instead, it focused on training numbers without addressing funding directly.

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