Report from the Chair of the Diocesan Board of Finance, Alastair Findlay
Writing this report gives me an opportunity to stand back from the challenging financial issues that we face and ponder upon what our accounts are telling us. I am thrilled by what is being achieved both collectively and individually, sensing that the Spirit really is moving within our finances and work of the diocese.
I invite you to read this report in detail; in it you will find accounts of God’s faithful people responding to all sorts of needs in the world and the church. We should be immensely proud and thankful that such stories and countless others like them can be lived and told, not only because of responsive love, but also because we have the finances to enable them to happen.
Our finances are fundamentally sound with £55.8 million of debt free assets which mainly comprise clergy houses and income generating investments.
Parish Share rose in 2007 to £4.6 million and is crucial to the Board’s work. This very impressive figure underscores what I hear about faithful but at times painful giving. We also generated £2.2m of sustainable other income. With expenditure of £7.1m, however the accounts show a deficit of £0.2m.
So the task for the Board and the diocese as a whole for 2008 and beyond will be to work within sound, fair and yet challenging finances which are capable of enabling sustainable mission. If we cannot eliminate deficits by generating additional income, particularly reducing Parish Share shortfalls, then collectively we will need to reduce our expenditure and curtail our work. Even relatively small changes will be significant.
I hear and understand that there is concern about the state of our finances and that talk of cutting work can only add to a sense of unease. I would however urge you to read and reflect upon the story of £55.8m of assets, of £4.6m of Parish Share and of £7.1m of expenditure which aids the telling of The Good News. We may indeed be anxious about our future financial journey, but as with all things the Risen Christ has promised to walk with us on the road ahead.
Alistair Findlay
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