“More clergy in the front line is the most fundamental step to “overcome this discrepancy between our ambitious aspirations that require stipendiary clergy and our current short-term situation in relation to finance”.”
“There is fine architecture: stained glass, sublime wood carvings, roofs adorned by angels, and handsome tombs and monuments. But a church is not merely an education in aesthetics; it is an education in history. It helps furnish a picture of society as it was.”
Jonathan Baird writes about clergy occupying administrative roles rather than being frontline vicars. Read the original article here
“Pressed by Mr Lunn about whether the Archbishops’ Council recognised that dioceses were not “trying to undermine the mission of the Church”, but had policies “dictated by their finance or lack thereof”, Bishop Seeley agreed: “One of the things that is going on here is we have got a long-term Vision and Strategy and short-term pressures around finance, and those two timetables don’t meet. . .
“We need to try to find a way to mitigate the current situation that is prompting dioceses to consider cutting posts . . . through some form of financial provision.” It remained unclear exactly how many posts dioceses were cutting, he said.”
We need ministry, not management. Localised priests working on the principle of subsidiarity are essential. Read the original article here
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