The Church of England has released Finance Statistics 2013, containing information provided by parishes in their annual finance returns. They can be downloaded as a 25 page pdf document.
There is an accompanying press release.
Almost £1billion sets new record for Church of England parish giving
30 July 2015Parish Churches across the country raised a record £953 million in 2013 to fund the mission and ministry of the Church of England according to statistics published today. Parishes raised these important funds from a combination of regular and one-off donations as well as investments and legacies.
Parishes have seen a combined increase in income of £24m over figures from 2012, and after total expenditure, which also decreased on 2012, saw a £33m surplus.
In addition to supporting the work of the Church at parish, diocesan and national level, Parishes have continued to give more than £46m to other organisations working around the world, from foodbanks and local children’s charities to international aid appeals.
Dr John Preston, the Church of England’s national stewardship adviser, said:
“With the latest financial statistics, we’ve seen average weekly giving rise in 2013 to our highest ever level. We rely on the generosity of our committed church members to support the mission and ministry of the Church. Post-downturn, people have really looked at what is important to them and found a sense of community and belonging within the Church.”
Average weekly giving per tax-efficient subscriber has continued to rise year on year with members giving on average £11.60 in 2013. Average weekly giving per church member rose to £7 in 2013, matching the peak level seen in 2009.The average ‘Church member’ contributed 3.3% of their income to the Church. with 2.9% to general funds, and a further 0.4% to special purpose funds.
The information in the Finance statistics document is collated from the annual parish returns, and is available here.
You can read a blog by John Preston on the latest statistics here.
The press release also includes some case studies.
Some earlier parish finance statistics are available here.
The Church of England is to be congratulated as to its perspicuity. I only wish the Vatican and the local hierarchy were the same on issues of finance.
“mission and ministry” – they missed off of an “m” – maintenance – which accounts for quite a substantial percentage of both expenditure and energy.
Well, Robert, there’s always ‘Peter’s Pence’. However I sincerely doubt that Pope Francis is as conerned about the financial health of his Church as some of his lay and clerical underlings. He appears to be more concerned for the welfare and survival of ‘God’s Little Poor Ones’ – in the path of his illustrious namesake – than the likes of Cardinal Pell and the custodians of the Vatican Bank