Parish story: The Story of the Six (Babcary) and and a victory for common sense 7 months later. See below.
The Six Pilgrims
The Six Pilgrims last had a stipendiary priest over thirty years ago. Since then we’ve worked very well with four “house for duty” priests who have mostly really enjoyed their time with us. In this corner of rural Somerset we have 750 souls, one Cof E school, no shops, one pub, six churches, six PCCs and a central churchwardens committee. Our common fund payments were paid each year and our medieval churches are all in a fairly reasonable state of repair. We have a parsonage house in the benefice (owned by the diocese). Our PCCs work well together (we’re all very small); we do look after the church fabric, do the fund raising and much of the admin leaving the priest to do the priestly duties. In March 2021 our last house for duty priest had to retire due to long covid and since then… nothing.
On a day to day basis we manage. We have an excellent Reader who takes non sacramental services and a valiant band of aged retired clergy who take communion etc. Our common fund payments are £20,000pa. and the current average cost of clergy housing in the diocese is £13,500pa. Our house for duty post is therefore more than self funding; we are a net contributors to church funds.
The archdeacon initially announced that there was an indefinite recruitment freeze across the diocese. A year passed and we had no response. In frustration and without diocesan approval we eventually advertised in the Church Times for anyone interested in taking us on. This ruffled a few feathers but we did have interest from several full time clergy wanting to step down from full time, but not give up, who would have liked a part time house for duty post in a rural parish. We asked/pleaded/begged for permission to recruit but were rebuffed by the diocese and eventually informed that, whereas there had been a house for duty vacancy in the Six Pilgrims, this was no longer the case. In desperation we informed the diocese that we would withhold our common fund payments for 2022 until a satisfactory solution was found. We wrote to the bishop and even the King – all to no avail. Why? We have the will, the means and the motivation to keep our benefice alive. We’re not asking for money merely permission to recruit a house for duty priest.
In parallel with this the diocese was reorganising and at deanery level was instructed to cut from 8.5 to 7 full time stipendiary priests. As a self contained unit we were outside this process but in the drive the match stipendiary priests to larger self funding benefices it suited the deanery to lump us in with neighbouring Cary & Ansford. Over the last year the deanery has “consulted” on various options and ultimately voted in July to merge us with our neighbours – an outcome which neither us nor they want. The vicar of Cary would then have 8 churches and could we, in all fairness, expect one third of her time for our tiny population when compared with the population of her town, despite us contributing about a third of the common fund share?
We (churchwardens) feel that we owe it to our communities to fight to keep their churches alive. If we merge we lose our identity and all that has been nurtured here in the last thirty years. If we lose the clergy we lose the congregation and we lose their collection. At the Deanery Synod I asked the meeting for a show of hands for anyone who felt that reducing from 8.5 to 7 stipendiary priests was a viable way forward – only one single person raised their hand.
We are continuing to withhold the 2023 share as well, in the absence of any viable solution. The common fund is a voluntary contribution but in reality there is an unwritten covenant between the parishes and the diocese – we pay the contributions and in return expect the diocese to provide our clergy and other services.
A formal complaint was sent to Bishop Michael.
Appendix 03/04/2024: Happy endings are possible & we have a victory for common sense
Having been a thorn in the side of the Diocese since the sad early retirement of our House for Duty Priest during Covid we have recently been told that the Diocese has reversed their decision to merge us with Cary and Ansford and create a larger self funding benefice.
We wrote, we pleaded, and they listened.
Our thriving community of six small churches has been saved for at least another 3 years and we have been given permission to recruit our own house for duty priest.
We urge others not to meekly accept the relentless march towards larger benefices and a loss of the unique structure of the Parish system which has served us well for so many hundreds of years.
Trust the grass roots we know our communities.
