Rev Marcus Walker, founder of Save the Parish, has praised the leadership of the Church of England for putting more funding into the saving of souls and into some of the poorest parishes in the country.
Save the Parish bills itself as a grassroots organisation within the Church of England. Its primary aims are the preservation of the parish system, keeping churches open and increased funding for local, particularly poorer parishes.
Writing for The Critic, Rev Walker praised the General Synod for “finally” listening after “years of shouting from the margins”. Walker gave particular credit to the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, who is in charge of the church budget for the next three years.
“[She asked] what we thought should happen, actually listened to us — and more than doubled the money going to the Lowest Income Communities Fund. This would have been unthinkable three years ago," he said.
Walker also noted that the Archbishop of York’s opening address to the Synod was centred around the importance of the parish and recognised the “quiet revival” that appears to be taking place in English Christianity.
Research by groups such as the Bible Society has suggested an increasing number of people are going to church, particularly among Generation Z, those currently aged in their 20s.
From 2018 to 2024 the percentage of 18-24-year-olds attending church at least once a month surged from just eight per cent to 12 per cent. Among men of that age bracket the change was even more pronounced, going from four per cent to more than 20 per cent.
Walker also touched on this apparent change, “If the mood shift that I am sensing here in York is real, it might reveal itself in a new Archbishop who combines a manifest love for God, a recommitment to our Anglican identity, an openness to real debate, a love of the local and a reinvestment in the poorest parishes.”
