Chaplaincy redundancy
There has been talk in a number of places over recent years about the Church of England cutting Chaplaincy posts. Some institutions fund their own Chaplains – the NHS and the Prison service, for instance, along with a number of schools and colleges with private funding or endowments for the purpose. But many University Chaplains are funded by their Dioceses, either as part or full-time posts.
I have had long and vociferous arguments with several Bishops who were considering axing their Chaplaincy funding. They were thinking of it as a luxury extra, a disposable post and an easy way to save money in a shrinking budget.
I’m very sad to hear that following the warnings that it might happen, Winchester Diocese has decided to pull funding out from the Chaplain’s post at the University of Southampton. Doug Chaplin writes succinctly about why this is a very bad idea.
Mission organisations everywhere are struggling for funding, and it’s patently obvious that dioceses like Winchester are genuinely under pressure. They can’t produce money out of nowhere. It’s not that easy to knock down a building or two, and no-one wants to be made redundant.
All the same, for the Church to pull its funding out of work in and pastoral care and mission among young adults is the most shortsighted thing it could possibly do.
The Chaplaincy wasn’t the only cut in Winchester. There were more. But the saddest thing about the whole story was the fact that
…to reverse every single cut proposed today each and every member of the church in Winchester Diocese had only to give 88p per week (gift aided).
less than a pound a week? is that really too much to ask for supporting the mission of the Church? Even allowing for those who really can’t give 88p a week, it would only need everyone else to give £2 – £3. What would you do if your Diocese was this short of funds?
5 Responses to “Chaplaincy redundancy”
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Maggi has kept a blog since September 2003, writing about theology and faith, the arts and literature, and a little about life and random nonsense...
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I’d ask how we ended up in such a mess when for years it’s been obvious that a deficit budget in Winchester has eaten up all the reserves. We may be short of vision but it seems we are even more lacking in the ability to see the completely obvious. Perhaps it’s because “inward and backward” is best served by a head stuck in the ground or other place where the sun doesn’t shine, whereas “forward and outward” requires a “heads above parapets” mentality.
We’ve both been blogging at the same time – posted this http://ramtopsrac.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/winchester-cut-the-budget-but-the-buck-stops-where/ only to find your post.
What I didn’t say there, but which occurs to me now, is perhaps the system of funding is wrong? I gather that the BBC Solent reporter asked Bishop Michael why the Synod had agreed the previous budget for 2010 before they knew what the parishes would be paying. Presumably he didn’t (like many of us) understand how the system works, and he does sort of have a point. But all charities work the same way don’t they? They can’t do anything else surely by the nature of their means of existence. Could we change the system? I don’t know – I failed accounts at Uni!
I read that the diocese were only now appointing a stewardship advisor! Phrases including stable door horse bolted spring to mind!
I am a chaplain at a small university in Texas (US) and, even though my post is funded by the university, my denomination – Presbyterian Church (USA) – has done the same thing. Over the last several decades we have systematically taken all of our money and support out of ministry with young adults and I just heard last week of yet another cut. The church indeed is being short-sighted in regards to this important pastoral ministry.
Hi Maggie,
what’s really distressing is that the same thing happened to me about 5 years ago. Uni chaplain, diocesan funding; cutbacks -post pulled: redundancy.
What I’m intrigued by is the fact that when it happens in Winchester rather than in Bradford, it hits the news. Is this Southern bias?
So all these arguments have been made before, and some others by myself and others when it first happened. I’m disappointed that we’ve not learned and done something more about it.
I think that an overlooked aspect of this for the CofE is the issue of diocesan reciprocity. By cutting chaplaincy at a university, a diocese is breaking a tacit pact and freeloads off others. The tacit pact is that parents and students can have a sense of security that wherever a student ends up studying, there will be chaplaincy provision, therefore we all do our bit to make sure that such provision is comprehensive -like the parish system. By withdrawing chaplaincy provision for HE a diocese lets others down in the CofE while its own people can enjoy it elsewhere.
My preffered solution to address this would be to have a national HE chaplaincy service (perhaps taking a cue from the Services) with a pooled budget from diocesan and inherited resources; it is becoming clearer that dioceses can’t be trusted, necessarily, with a key, missional, opportunity.
That said, I actually thing the missional issue is the more important: HE chaplaincy is working with an age group which is becoming detached from church, it is often doing so innovatively and credibly.