Sunday church services under threat due to shortage of chaplains

Sep 12, 2021 by

by Phoebe Southworth, Telegraph:

Celebrating the eucharist in the ‘golden slot’ may not be possible every week due to staff shortages, says Bishop of Sheffield.

Earlier this year, a leaked report which had been sent to the Church of England’s 42 diocesan secretaries warned clergy to prepare for “radical” changes and cuts as officials prepare to overhaul the system to remain financially viable.

Entitled “Money, People and Buildings”, it said: “Many diocesan leaders believe that the financial challenges being exposed by the pandemic mean this is the moment to embark on radical changes to re-shape existing resource patterns and ministry structures, and to invest in developing a more missionally healthy and financially sustainable church.

“There has been some horror expressed at the clergy number reductions announced by a few dioceses, although they are in the context of the consistent decline in clergy numbers over recent decades and the unsustainability of ministry in many parishes.”

Attendance at services has been falling for years, but this was also exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic as worshippers were no longer permitted to gather in churches.

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