Parish Support

Support for Clergy and Readers

This section offers practical resources and guidance to help ordained and lay ministers thrive in their roles. It covers administrative support, wellbeing initiatives, financial assistance, and training opportunities, all aimed at sustaining healthy, resilient ministry within parish life.

Finance

In this section you will find financial guidance to parishes, including help with annual accounts, reserves policies, and ethical investments. The Finance Team offers templates and advice to support treasurers and PCCs in managing funds responsibly and fulfilling legal duties.

Church Buildings

This section offers comprehensive support for the care, management, and development of nearly 300 historic church buildings. It provides guidance on maintenance, legal permissions (Faculty Jurisdiction), quinquennial inspections, funding opportunities, and training sessions, helping parishes preserve these vital community and architectural landmarks.

Support for Treasurers

This section equips church treasurers with resources for managing parish finances, finding successors, and accessing training and guidance. It includes practical tools like role descriptions, handover plans, and links to national services such as Parish Buying and ACAT, helping ensure financial sustainability and smooth transitions.

Healing ministry

This page explores how Christian healing, rooted in the ministry of Jesus, can bring emotional, spiritual, and physical restoration through prayer, forgiveness, and encounter with God. It offers guidance, resources, and support for developing healing prayer ministries in churches, with help from the Bishop’s Adviser for Healing, Christine Holzapfel.

Communications

This section supports parishes in sharing their message effectively through media, websites, social platforms, and printed materials. It offers guidance on press releases, branding, crisis communication, and social media use, while encouraging churches to engage with their communities both online and offline.

Making churches accessible to all

This section outlines its commitment to making churches inclusive for all, emphasizing the rights of disabled and neurodivergent people to fully participate in worship and church life. It encourages reasonable adjustments under the Equalities Act, offers resources for dementia-friendly churches, and promotes the use of BSL interpreters to ensure access to key services.

Managing our Human Resources

The HR support page helps parishes navigate the complexities of employing staff and managing volunteers, offering guidance on recruitment, contracts, safer practices, and legal compliance. It provides templates, training, and direct access to the HR team, ensuring churches can be confident and principled employers within their unique context.

Enabling Giving and Encouraging Generosity

This section provides tools and inspiration to help churches foster a culture of generosity and offers practical resources such as the Parish Giving Scheme, Generosity Week materials, and advice on planned giving strategies to encourage and enable the giving to your church.

Mission Accompaniers

This page introduces a scheme where trained individuals work alongside clergy and laity to help parishes become healthier and more sustainable. Funded by the Healthier Churches initiative, these accompaniers offer tailored support, helping churches clarify their vision, strengthen leadership, and engage more effectively with their communities.

Growing Volunteers

This page celebrates the vital role of volunteering in church life and offers resources to help parishes recruit, support, and manage volunteers effectively. It includes best practice guidance, policy templates, training opportunities, and current volunteer openings, all aimed at fostering a culture of service rooted in Christian values.

Parishes in Vacancy

This section provides guidance for churchwardens and PCCs on managing parish responsibilities, especially safeguarding, services, and finances, during the period between clergy appointments.

Churchwarden & PCC

This section provides essential resources and guidance for churchwardens and PCCs, including support for meetings, minute-taking, and governance policies. Information about Archdeacon's Visitations and Articles of Enquiry can also be found here.