Question

To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to (a) address the challenges faced by rural communities and (b) ensure their access to religious services.

The General Synod will be holding a debate on 'Revitalising the Parish' at its meeting in York in July 2023. GS2314, the paper produced for the debate can be found here: https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/gs-2314-revitalising-the-parish.pdf

The paper mentions the recent Independent Review, which identified that more than half of Strategic Development Funding support has gone to working with existing churches - £94.9m over 2014-2021- and that examples of where that funding has gone include into rural sustainability.

An example is in Salisbury diocese, where there has been investment in providing opportunities for ministry experience scheme participants, ordinands, and clergy to experience rural ministry. It also highlights ministry statistics that show there has been no change in the absolute number of stipendiary clergy in rural areas between 2016 (37% of stipendiary clergy) and 2020 (38%).

The National Church Institutions have distributed £390 million to support strategic mission and ministry in parishes over 2023-25, increasing to £1.3 billion by 2031. The Church Commissioners have made a further £5.8 million available to ensure that all curates in training can find a first incumbency post. Discerning vocations are being invested in, and dioceses are well on the way to doubling the number of people presenting for training compared to a decade ago. In 2020 a record number was presented for ordination compared to the same figures a decade earlier.

The Bishop of Exeter, as the Church of England's lead bishop for rural affairs, has produced extensive resources and published a book about the pressure facing rural parishes, 'How village churches thrive: a practical guide' and the Diocese of Exeter has developed specific resources to support parishes, which are available on the website 'Growing the Rural Church': https://www.growingtheruralchurch.org/