{"id":135680,"date":"2025-03-17T17:25:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T21:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=135680"},"modified":"2025-03-17T17:40:51","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T21:40:51","slug":"church-times-dioceses-ready-to-take-back-purse-strings-from-centre-dr-gibbs-tells-rochester-synod","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=135680","title":{"rendered":"(Church Times) Dioceses ready to take back purse strings from centre, Dr Gibbs tells Rochester synod"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Church Commissioners<\/a>\u2019 control over dioceses has been criticised by the\u00a0Bishop of Rochester<\/a>, Dr Jonathan Gibbs, who has warned of \u201csignificant and unsustainable annual\u00a0deficits<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The announcement this weekend that his own diocese<\/a> had been awarded \u00a311 million from the Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment<\/a> (SMMI) Board did not deter Dr Gibbs from arguing that the increasing emphasis on grants \u201cexacerbates the sense of control by the centre\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEveryone accepts that the Commissioners are brilliant at investing money and generating excellent returns,\u201d he told his diocesan synod on Saturday. \u201cBut the reality is that the resources they now hold represent a significant net transfer not only of assets but also of financial control from the dioceses to the national Church, something which has become more and more evident over the last ten or so years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His comments echo those of other bishops in recent months. In the\u00a0General Synod<\/a>\u00a0last month, the\u00a0Bishop of Bath & Wells<\/a>, Dr Michael Beasley, expressed frustration after time ran out for a debate on a motion from\u00a0Hereford diocese<\/a>\u00a0calling on the Commissioners to transfer \u00a32.6 billion of\u00a0assets<\/a>\u00a0to diocesan stipend funds to support parish ministry (News, 31 January<\/a>). Gloucester, Coventry, Bath & Wells, Blackburn, Chichester, and Lincoln diocesan synods had all passed motions in identical terms to Hereford\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>

Strong words from +Rochester this weekend, who says the renewed emphasis on grants from the central Church "with resources going only to special projects approved by the Board, further exacerbates the sense of control by the centre" https:\/\/t.co\/6Q9o3320Qn<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/MM1et3BQyM<\/a><\/p>— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) March 17, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>