A Benefice of 18 parishes failed by the Diocese of Norwich
My parish in Norwich diocese is one of the larger parishes in a benefice of 18 country parishes, with one permanent Team Rector (the current one is on extended sick leave) and one ‘pro tem’ Team Vicar. Ours is one of the larger villages in the Benefice but neither of the stipendiary priests lives in my village. The rectory is let. in addition, we are lucky that there are four retired priests living locally who regularly take services in the benefice.
When churches don’t hold weekly services, habits are broken and attendance declines. We have no services on the first and fifth Sundays of the month – there is a ‘Benefice Service’ but it is nearly always in another parish. In the average month, our church has one service of Matins taken by a churchwarden and one service of Holy Communion taken by a priest (usually non-stipendiary/retired). We are hoping to restore an evensong once a month to be taken by a churchwarden.
We learned that it was proposed that there would be only one service for the entire benefice on Easter Day. Having the entire ministry team proposing to assemble in one church on Easter Day, for a single service for the entire benefice of 18 parishes, was not impressive. Only at the insistence of our churchwardens was it then agreed that we would hold a service in our parish church, kindly taken by a retired clergyman who stands in at our church at times.
The Church was beautifully decorated for Easter and in the event we had a congregation of over thirty people of all ages. We took communion (BCP) and sang the Easter anthems and hymns. It was, as I am sure everyone felt, a most inspiring and uplifting Christian celebration and the collection was a welcome contribution to the cost of keeping the church open.
Rural parishioners want their churches to be open and used. It is widely agreed in the heritage world that the best way to preserve a historic building is to keep it in use. Unless the clergy offer regular services in country parish churches, as opposed to unrealistically expecting everyone including the elderly to travel to only one church on a Sunday when there is little public transport, the already reduced congregations will evaporate and these churches will close. The “sheep” will be scattered, which seems morally wrong in the light of the clergy’s ordination vows – and then what is the plan for the historic buildings?
Historically the Rector has averaged approximately one service per Sunday across the Benefice. The Team Vicar, more particularly during the absence of the Rector on sick leave, is averaging about two services per Sunday. We think both stipendiary priests should each average three services as our previous incumbents have done.
Retired priests are kindly propping us up, but with parish clergy jobs being deliberately cut and fewer candidates now seeking ordination nationally over the last three years, how long will this be sustainable?
The Churchwardens and PCC Secretary do all the admin involved in the running of the church, although the Benefice also employs a part-time admin assistant who works with the two incumbents. There is little evidence of pastoral care.
We feel that the Diocese of Norwich is not serving the parishes in this benefice properly.
