DIOCESE ASKING FOR LESS MONEY AND MOST GOES ON PRIESTS' PAY

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Diocese asking for less money and most goes on priests' pay

The Church of England in Leicestershire continues to serve the whole community through 365 local congregations that witness through worship and action.

Last year, 1,606 people joined or returned to our congregations, well in excess of those who left.

We have opened St Martins House at the heart of the city; refurbished Launde Abbey as a place of retreat, and only recently ordained deacons and priests who have entered their ministry with confidence and hope.This is a very different story to that depicted by John Burrows in his first person column (Mercury, July 15).

It is not about a diocesan bureaucracy seeking more and more money, but a family of Christian congregations mutually supporting this common commitment to all people in all places, not least the poor.

In fact, the diocese has been asking for less in real terms and most of that money is used to pay priests.

It is a remarkable story of generosity and vision on the part of many thousands of people, often those from the wider community who value their local church.

There are challenges, not least in places such as Humberstone, where the local church has been supported by the wider diocese so that the church can be sustained and in time once again take full responsibility for the costs of its ministry.

Venerable Richard Atkinson – Archdeacon of Leicester; Jonathan Kerry – Chief Executive and Diocesan Secretary