Church of England vicars are becoming an “endangered species” according to Save the Parish, which has just produced a major report into the current state of pastoral ministry within the Church.
The report follows a consultation in March attended by clergy, theologians, theological educators, church officials and other stakeholders.
Stipendiary clergy numbers within the Church have been declining since the 1960s. In May of this year the number of stipendiary clergy was 6,682, compared to 2,440 self-supporting ministers. The report also stated that the majority of active clergy are actually retired ministers who hold a PTO (Permission to Officiate).
The report highlighted three main issues in the wellbeing of clergy centred on the issues of vocations, training, and ongoing support and retention.
On the vocational front many potential clergy have little understanding of the traditional beliefs and practices of the Church of England. The Church itself was also criticised for failing to properly resource clergy, for failing the value of the priestly ministry, and for saying it wants more ordained ministers while in some places cutting clergy numbers.
Training for clergy was also criticised for being “functional and managerial”, with a noticeable lack of theological content in general and Anglican theology in particular. Additionally, the lack of resourcing was also raised and a lack of training in the early years of ministry.
On retention and support, many clergy were described as being “deeply unhappy”. The report continues, “They feel undervalued, under-resourced, overworked, frustrated and vulnerable.”
Lack of training was again highlighted as an issue, but on a deeper level many reported feelings of mistrust towards the central leadership and disliked “managerial modes of leadership”, which sometimes puts them in competition with other parishes for central funding.
The report called for a strengthening of teaching on “Anglican basics” for new clergy, greater support for new and prospective ministers, additional financial support, the introduction of a “covenant of care” for clergy and a conference on the priesthood.
Marcus Walker, Chair of Save the Parish, said, “If clergy are loving their job, they will be the greatest recruitment sergeant for new priests the Church has ever known. A joyful, hopeful clergy lifts parishes, people, and vocations like nothing else.
"This report isn’t the answer to everything, but it has got all the right people into the room to start working out how we can use the money, talent, passion, and grace we have been gifted to revive the spirit of the priesthood in the Church of England.”
