The Parish Church of St John-at-Hampstead

Those of us who have no garden, or could bear to tear ourselves away on the balmiest of Spring evenings, met for the APCM in the Moreland Hall on Tuesday 21 April. The formal business of the three meetings was efficiently dispatched by Fr Stephen with his customary grace. We reappointed by acclamation our Churchwardens Diana and Andrew, as well as Deputy Wardens Peter and Nicki, pausing to remember Sarah Knight, who was still our Churchwarden as recently as this time last year. Filling the vacancies left by Daphne Johnson-King, Rachel Nugee and Teri Weber, we elected Elizabeth Carrington as a Trustee, adding Vanessa Fitzpatrick, Stephanie Scott-Linden and Chris Weatherhead to the PCC. The departing members were graciously thanked, with a specially honourable mention for Rachel who had served more years than she could remember or at least cared to admit. And we received the annual reports from the Vicar and the Treasurer.

Although our business is governed in part by an Act of 1827, we constantly have to respond to changing requirements. This year the diocese of London had set a new target for our carbon footprint. Happily our footprint had fallen from 439 kilowatt/hours per member in 2007 to 372 kwH in 2008, which was an excellent performance against the diocesan benchmark of 970 kwH. Following our registration as a charity, which has just been done, our reports will in future have to conform to Charity Law, so there will be further changes next year.

There is always a prize for the dispatch of the formal business, and this year it was a tour of that valley of dry bones known as the Diocesan Common Fund. Our guides were Inigo Woolf who provided us with map and compass in the form of some salient facts, and Canon David Houlding, who led us on a ramble through some of the more remarkable features of the landscape. Inigo told us that the Diocese of London has 529 stipendiary priests in a little over 400 parishes; their stipends, pension contributions and housing come to £22.6 million, out of a Diocesan budget of £28.9m. About one third of the corresponding revenue comes from investment income including rents (£3.5m), the City Parochial Foundation (£1.3m) and interest on some £10m of cash held on deposit but all these sources of income were under severe pressure in the current recession.

The diocese therefore depends on the Common Fund for the major part of its income, or something in the region of £20 million every year. A priest in the diocese of London is paid only £21,000, and Curates get less than that, but when all costs are taken into account, particularly pension contributions and housing, the overall cost of placing a priest in a parish is about £62,000, and additional clergy £30,000.

Within the North Camden Deanery, five parishes including ourselves meet the full cost of their clergy, whilst three meet less than two thirds. But richer parishes need to pay more than their share, if the mission of the diocese is to be maintained in poorer parishes, and in the past Hampstead has been more generous. As an additional benchmark, we have also tried to contribute at least 50% of our budgeted expenditure to the Common Fund.

Canon Houlding emphasised that the diocese is not some distant entity to which we have to pay taxes we are the diocese, and collectively we are responsible for the mission of the Church throughout our City. The Church Commissioners have to concentrate their limited resources where the need is greatest; London no longer receives anything. Clergy stipends in London have fallen below national and regional averages; Guildford, Rochester and St Alban’s all pay about 15% more than London. Even so, London has faced a large annual deficit, now being brought under control, and with the recession as well as growing pressure from pensions, it is not getting any easier to balance the books. Electoral rolls were rising, and costs were being cut wherever possible. Questions were now being asked about the value of high cost residential training for ordinands. He was opposed to making cuts in this area, but the cost was an important consideration for a diocese which was rich in vocations. Cutting clergy numbers was not the answer, especially if the associated buildings and parish structures survived as he knew from his own experience in respect of the closure of St Stephen’s, Pond Street. It had been intended to raise clergy pay by 4% this year, but in current circumstances it had been decided reluctantly to pay only 2% immediately; the second 2% will be paid in December provided parishes have been able to meet their Common Fund pledges for the year..

In discussion it was noted that our contribution for 2009 (£94,000) was still just about consistent with Inigo’s golden rules. We are still meeting the full cost of one priest and one curate (curates in training are not counted as a charge on parish budgets for their first three years) though in 2009 our budget shows Common Fund will fall to 41.3% of budgeted expenditure. Acknowledging that concern for the mission of the church requires us to contribute to costs beyond the borders of our own parish, and concerned also to maintain our commitment to give at least 10% of income to charities, members were uneasy about the cut which we had made, even though it had been balanced by increases from other churches in the Deanery.

At the outset of the discussion the Vicar had acknowledged with gratitude the generous response to recent appeals for capital, which had made it possible both to purchase a curate’s flat and to embark on the refurbishment of the crypt rooms. It was much harder to raise money for recurring expenditure including the Common Fund, but the presentations made by Inigo and Canon Houlding had reminded us of the need to keep up the pressure to raise the level of regular planned giving.

Our speakers were thanked for providing a useful summary of information which many of us are unaware of, and the meeting ended with further lively conversation about this topic, and refreshments.