Serving God's people
Sir: Damian Thompson bases his vision of the future Church of England (`Many mort- gaged mansions', 7 August) on a number of false assumptions.
'Appeals to present generosity,' he says, 'rarely have much effect.' Yet the Diocese of Bath and Wells, for example, saw a third of parishes raise their pledged giving by 29 per cent in the last year. He also asks why anyone should entrust their money to the Church Commissioners. They do not. Money from the parishes goes straight into clergy stipends.
Financial support from the Commission- ers to parishes, he mistakenly says, will no longer be distributed irrespective of merit. The Commissioners already target their grants. The whole system, established by Sir Robert Peel, is aimed at redistributing money from richer parishes to pay for cler- gy in poorer ones. As for clergy pensions, the Church is committed to maintaining their real value.
A future Synod report is rumoured, by Mr Thompson, to recommend the scrap- ping of the clergy freehold. As he was told on 2 August, the report will be a discussion document setting out the various options and making no recommendations.
Consequently, Mr Thompson's assertion that the closure of hundreds of rural parish- es is inevitable can be seen to be based on little evidence. It also ignores the House of Bishops' affirmation on 29 January last year of the Church's commitment to providing a ministry available to the whole nation. They rejected any suggestion that the Church might withdraw from inner city or remote rural areas. Present events involving the Commissioners will not alter our commit- ment to continue to serve all God's people wherever they may be.
Philip Mawer
The General Synod of the Church of England, Church House, Great Smith Street, London SW1
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