Question

To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to support churches in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

The Church Commissioners and National Church Institutions provide support for the mission and ministry of all dioceses in the Church of England.

The Church Commissioners have made £340 million available to support a Diocesan Investment Programme overseen by the Strategic Mission and Ministry Board, which includes additional funding and resources for lowest-income communities. The Diocese of Lincoln benefits from the Lowest Income Communities Fund, which is directly supporting the stipendiary ministry of clergy in many areas such as Grimsby, Scunthorpe, Lincoln and Boston.

The Diocese of Lincoln has recently launched ‘Time to Change Together’, which is its shared vision for the future of the diocese and its presence in Greater Lincolnshire. You can find out more about the project here: https://www.lincoln.anglican.org/parish-support/a-time-to-change-together/ The Diocese bid for and received a grant from the Strategic Development Fund for a project called 'Resourcing the Urban Church' designed to revitalise churches of all traditions across the urban centres in the diocese.

Lincolnshire has one of the highest ratios of churches per head of the population in England, and the Diocese is committed to the stewardship of its historic churches and to supporting new worshipping communities. A new giving scheme has been developed to encourage congregations to support the flourishing of mission and ministry in the Diocese, and plans are being developed for an ‘Open Churches Trust’ to support smaller churches with maintenance and insurance advice.

The Diocese is developing new strategies to support clergy well-being. Preventing long-term vacancies and illness is a priority alongside finding sustainable solutions for parishes.

For further information about the work underway in Lincolnshire, please contact the area bishop The Rt Revd Dr Nicholas Chamberlain, Bishop of Grantham, whose details are here: https://www.lincoln.anglican.org/contact/directory/