St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

You get what you pay for

On 6th March at Scargill House near Kettlewell, Diocesan Synod argued about whether there should be an Anglican Chaplain at the University? (Synod is the body that organises the C of E in Bradford, and I am chairman of the House of Clergy, and was chairing this debate so did not make a speech in it.)

Here's the background. The post of Chaplain comes to an end this summer, and there is no money in the 2004 budget to pay for a Chaplain in the autumn term. So Bowling and Horton Deanery sent up a motion calling on the diocese to set a budget in 2005 which would allow for a Chaplain, and if possible to find extra money this year so that there would be as small a gap as possible. It also called for another "review" of the post, believing that the last one hadn't looked at the whole picture.

Three years ago, under the "Deanery Devolution" package, the Synod had decided to move money from centrally-funded diocesan work to deaneries which would decide their own spending. So we have lost Diocesan Youth Officers and Overseas Link Officers etc, but instead we have people like Andy Milne in Idle running a youth project "Sorted" (see Nov 2003's Link, p2).

About the details people's memories disagree. Some say Synod agreed that chaplaincy posts at the university (and, next year, among deaf people) would cease when the postholders' 5-year contracts came to an end. Others say that whether or not they were to cease would depend on "reviews" to be conducted for each post.

In the debate, it was pointed out that there was no money, and it was daft to ask the diocese to "find extra" because the only place such extra could come from is the Parish Share. Would parishes accept being told: "We're going to charge you some extra this year"? It was claimed that the "reviews" weren't about whether to continue the post, nor about re-appointing the postholder. Instead they were about how to make the best of the fact that the post was ceasing, and see if some of the work could be done in other ways (by volunteers or by other serving clergy). Nobody disagreed that chaplains were a good thing, but the choice was to keep them or to keep parish clergy.

Eventually, after 80 minutes of argument (including a few dicey moments which the chairman had to sort out) the motion was lost. The moral was fairly clear. We live in a market economy. If we don't pay our Share, and if the Parish Share doesn't rise, then there won't be university chaplains.

I became a Christian at university. Maybe people like me won't become followers of Jesus?

John Hartley

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. May 2004, Page 8.
Home Page. Index of articles: by subject, by date. In this issue: (May 2004) 'Passion' film, Univ Chaplain, Chorltons, Narthex Heat. Other articles on church organisation and government.	You get what you pay for On 6th March at Scargill House near Kettlewell, Diocesan Synod argued about whether there should be an Anglican Chaplain at the University? (Synod is the body that organises the C of E in Bradford, and I am chairman of the House of Clergy, and was chairing this debate so did not make a speech in it.) Here's the background. The post of Chaplain comes to an end this summer, and there is no money in the 2004 budget to pay for a Chaplain in the autumn term. So Bowling and Horton Deanery sent up a motion calling on the diocese to set a budget in 2005 which would allow for a Chaplain, and if possible to find extra money this year so that there would be as small a gap as possible. It also called for another "review" of the post, believing that the last one hadn't looked at the whole picture. Three years ago, under the "Deanery Devolution" package, the Synod had decided to move money from centrally-funded diocesan work to deaneries which would decide their own spending. So we have lost Diocesan Youth Officers and Overseas Link Officers etc, but instead we have people like Andy Milne in Idle running a youth project "Sorted" (see Nov 2003's Link, p2). About the details people's memories disagree. Some say Synod agreed that chaplaincy posts at the university (and, next year, among deaf people) would cease when the postholders' 5-year contracts came to an end. Others say that whether or not they were to cease would depend on "reviews" to be conducted for each post. In the debate, it was pointed out that there was no money, and it was daft to ask the diocese to "find extra" because the only place such extra could come from is the Parish Share. Would parishes accept being told: "We're going to charge you some extra this year"? It was claimed that the "reviews" weren't about whether to continue the post, nor about re-appointing the postholder. Instead they were about how to make the best of the fact that the post was ceasing, and see if some of the work could be done in other ways (by volunteers or by other serving clergy). Nobody disagreed that chaplains were a good thing, but the choice was to keep them or to keep parish clergy. Eventually, after 80 minutes of argument (including a few dicey moments which the chairman had to sort out) the motion was lost. The moral was fairly clear. We live in a market economy. If we don't pay our Share, and if the Parish Share doesn't rise, then there won't be university chaplains. I became a Christian at university. Maybe people like me won't become followers of Jesus? John Hartley
Top of page.	This web page was last updated on 1st May 2004.