Church of England needs a Plan B
THE Right Rev. Trevor Willmott was upbeat in speaking to this newspaper as he prepared to step back from his diocesan responsibilities for the Channel Islands. Change was inevitable, he said, but life and energy remained very discernible in the Church of England nevertheless.
In an increasingly secular world, that is good news. But the financial difficulties facing the Church locally are serious and getting worse.
Its work here is largely funded by its congregations and total Deanery collections in 2020 were rather short of £600,000 – 8% below what was actually required. Alderney, for example, where massive repairs are required for St Anne’s Church, managed to raise 85% of its share – £32,000 – but its budget for this year has been increased to £38,490.
This is of more than academic interest to islanders. By virtue of being the established Church locally, it commands rights and privileges and access to public funds.
Parish ratepayers maintain ancient structures and, where there are still incumbents, accommodation for rectors. A whole, now anachronistic, system is under threat and parochial inconsistencies are spreading across the island.
This newspaper retains the Christian ideals of its founding fathers more than 120 years ago, but the point of raising this now is to prevent the inevitable evolution facing the church and its customary law position in the island from becoming a crisis.
Most parish churches are now too big for the congregations they have on a Sunday – a particular issue for the Castel.
Services could easily be held elsewhere, meaning the cost of maintaining these ancient monuments will fall entirely on the parish. Some may wish to sell rather than do that – or open them for other, non-religious, uses.
Parish leaders are understood to be trying to raise these issues with Church and Policy & Resources and are right to do so. The tide of secularism will not be turned, and religion is a diminishing part of island life.
That may be regrettable but at least provides time for reflection. Church, the States and the parishes urgently need an ecclesiastical ‘Plan B’.