Stewardship and
Finance |
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WHERE THE MONEY GOES
The budget for 2008
The General Assembly of 2007 agreed that the total sum
to be allocated to congregations in 2008 should be £42,970,000
plus stipend endowments, £1,000,000 less than 2007.
Ministries and Mission Allocation
Each congregation has received a Ministries and Mission
Allocation for 2008. This is calculated on the basis of
congregational income in 2004, 2005 and 2006. The allocation
is a proportion of the average congregational income in
these three years.
Congregations of all sizes make up the Church
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Where a congregation has endowments
for stipend, these are included in the allocation,
but deducted from the amount to be sent to the
Church Offices by the congregational treasurer.
Where a congregation has a ministerial vacancy,
the allocation will be reduced by an amount decided
by the Ministries Council. Ministries
Council. |
Each congregation’s allocation will be used
in the same way – 85 per cent to the Parish Ministries
Fund and 15 per cent to the Mission and Renewal Fund.
The Parish Ministries Fund
This fund is used to pay:
- The stipends, employer’s National Insurance
contributions, and Main Pension Fund contributions
for over 1,000 parish ministers.
- The salaries and related costs of ordained deacons,
associate ministers, community ministers, interim
ministers, parish assistants and specialist workers,
included in approved presbytery plans and employed
or appointed by the Ministries Council.
- A contribution to the Housing and Loan Fund.
- Allowances to vacant congregations and some removal
and disturbance allowances.
- Other aspects of the support and development of
ordained parish ministry.
- The cost of recruitment and education for ministries,
including the employment of probationers.
The actual cost of a parish minister on point 10 of
the stipend scale in 2008, i.e. stipend, national insurance,
pension contribution etc, is approximately £37,400.
The allocation for congregation (or group of congregations
in a linked charge) needs to be at least £44,000
if the 85 per cent for the Parish Ministries Fund is
to cover the cost of a parish minister with 10 years
experience.
The Mission and Renewal Fund
This fund supports the work of the following Councils:
Mission and Discipleship
– responsible for developing policy and resourcing
congregations in children’s ministry, youth work,
adult education and elder training, outreach, worship,
doctrine, church art and architecture.
Ministries
- for chaplaincies in hospitals, prisons and industry,
and for new charge development.
Church and Society
– engages with, and provides Christian comment on,
the social, moral, scientific, technological and political
issues of today.
Social Care (CrossReach)
– offers caring services to people in need and provides
specialist resources to further the caring work of the
Church.
World Mission
– encourages an understanding of the world Church
and develops partnerships with churches in some of the
poorest parts of the world
Support and Services
– acts as an ‘umbrella’ for the Assembly
Arrangements, Central Services, Ecumenical Relations,
Legal Questions, Safeguarding (formerly Child Protection),
and Stewardship and Finance committees.
The work undertaken by most of the above Councils
is only partly funded by the Mission and Renewal Fund.
Income from invested funds, many of which came from
previous generation’s gifts in their wills, is
essential to continue much of the work. The Social Care
Council only receives a very small part of its total
budget from the Mission and Renewal Fund. The Mission
and Renewal Fund also meets most of the costs of the
General Assembly and the Moderator.
The fund helps support mission and fellowship in local
communities in Scotland and internationally
The Parish Ministries Fund and the Mission and Renewal
Fund help the Church of Scotland to share the gospel
in communities throughout Scotland and in other parts
of the world.
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