City Church Fund - Final Report

8/6/2019 City Church Fund - Final Report

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Te City Church Fund

A report by the Church Commissioners

on the use of the funding in 2008-10


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1 Introduction 2 Background

2 Te Central Fund

2 Te City Church Fund

3 Use of the funding by the Church Commissioners

4 Use of the funding by the Dioceses

17 Use of the funding by the City Churches

Contents


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Introduction

Six dioceses in and around London and all o the Church o Englandchurches in the City o London arethe beneciaries o the City ChurchFund. Te use o the unding is overseenby the Church Commissioners and theCity Churches Grants Committee.

Tis report, published by the ChurchCommissioners, sets out the background

to the City Church Fund. It explainshow the unding is allocated and givesan overview o the ways in which thedioceses and City Churches have usedthe unding in 2008-10 in support othe Churchs ministry and mission inLondon.

Te Church o England is very grateulor the generous support it receives

rom the City Church Fund.


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BackgroundTe City Church Fund is one o two unds managed by the rust or London

ormerly the City Parochial Foundation. Te rust was ormed in June 2010 on the

amalgamation o the City Parochial Foundation with its sister charity the rust or

London.

Te rust or London exists to reduce poverty and inequality in London and tosupport the Church o England in London.

Te rusts assets originate rom the philanthropy o the people o London. Te

parishes o London held many separate gits and bequests. Te income rom them

was or the benet o the churches or, more oten, or the poor o those parishes.

Te City developed into a world nancial centre in the 19th century and the

income rom the charitable gits and bequests increased hugely. At the same time,

the number o poor beneciaries ell some parishes had no residents at all.

Te City o London Parochial Charities Act 1883 thereore provided that thebulk o the endowments should be administered as a new charity with a corporate

trustee. Te endowments were split into two unds a Central Fund and a City

Church Fund. ogether, the two unds make up the rust or London.

Te Central FundTe rusts assets are split between the Central Fund and the City Church Fund

on a 60:40 basis. Te rust uses its Central Fund to tackle poverty in London bymaking grants to the voluntary and community sector and others, and also uses

its own expertise and knowledge to support work that tackles poverty and its root

causes.

More inormation about the Central Fund, and about the work o the rust or

London, can be ound at www.trustorlondon.org.uk or by e-mail to

[email protected]

Te City Church FundTrough the second o its unds the City Church Fund the rust provides

generous support or the Church o England in London within the area o benet

shown in the map opposite.

Te money payable rom the City Church Fund is divided into two parts.

One third is allocated to the City Churches Grants Committee or the support o

the abric and contents o the City o London Churches.

wo-thirds is shared between the Church Commissioners and the six dioceses

which are situated, wholly or in part, within the area o benet they are (in

descending order o the proportion o unds received): London, Southwark,


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Chelmsord, Rochester, St Albans

and Guildord. Te principal

objective o this unding is to

advance the ministry o the

Church o England.

Te City Church Fund is used

to support the Churchs ministryin many dierent ways. It has

played an enormously important

role in keeping the City Churches

in good repair, thus enabling

Christian communities to

continue to witness to the Gospel

in the heart o the capital. It

has helped to und a variety o

specic projects in the dioceses,ranging rom vital church

repairs to supporting the Ascension Eagles Cheerleaders which started lie as a

church outreach project to young people living in one o the most deprived areas

o Chelmsord diocese. And the Fund has helped to support the costs o clergy

stipends and training, which has in turn released the clergy and lay leaders and

congregations in their mission and ministry to the communities they serve, many

o which suer high levels o deprivation.

Use of the funding bythe Church Commissioners

At the Church Commissioners direction, a small portion o the monies available

rom the City Church Fund is paid to the Commissioners or direct use. In 2008-

10 these payments totalled 296,400. From them, the Commissioners:

made xed grants totalling 2,179 in 2008-10 to a small number o City

beneces. Tese grants date back to the terms o the City o London Parochial

Charities Act, 1883; and

met the cost o supporting the Oce o the Dean at Kings College London,

including salary costs which are in line with academic pay scales, housing etc.

Tese payments have their origin in earlier grants made rom the City Church

Fund to various theological colleges, including Kings College London. In 2008-

10, these payments totalled 294,585.

Te remainder o the City Church Fund monies available in 2008-10 was allocated

to the six dioceses, on the Commissioners direction, on the basis o the size o their

population within the area o benet.For urther inormation about the Church Commissioners role in relation to the

City Church Fund please contact: [email protected]

Contains Ordnance Survey

data Crown copyright and

database right 2011.


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Use of the funding by the DiocesesIn 2008-10 a total o 8,447,933 was payable to the dioceses as shown in the

table below:

Diocese % received o grant otal amount payable

payable to dioceses rom in 2008-10 ()the City Church Fund

London 44.37 3,748,348

Southwark 29.05 2,454,124

Chelmsord 15.30 1,292,534

Rochester 6.18 522,082

St Albans 2.83 239,077

Guildord 2.27 191,768OAL 100 8,447,933

Te Diocese of LondonTe diocese o London uses the resources generously given to it by the City Church

Fund to enable and strengthen the Churchs physical presence in every community,

regardless o the ability o those communities to pay. Tis is the Churchs bias to

the poor. Tese values o the Gospel are very much the values which are needed

today, and the diocese o London is investing in its clergy its community

champions to work in the most marginalised communities and help deliver

change and opportunity. Andy Brookes, the Chie Executive o London diocese, said:

Tis involves time, patience, commitment, and a spirit o being a servantleader. We live and work in our communities, experiencing the realitieso lie, and agitate or change where we can, help deliver that changewhere we can; all to better our common lie as community. Every daywe see the real value, in human and nancial terms, created by this

sustained investment and we are grateul to the rust or Londonor their generous provision to us, and our partnership with them inseeking well-being in all o Londons communities, particularly thedisadvantaged. With great respect or the pioneering work done bythe rust to alleviate poverty across London, we are encouraged todeepen our relationship, as our work clearly has many shared aims.

I am grateul to all my colleagues who work so hard to deliver change

in our communities, to proclaim our aith anew, and to ensure we allwork well together to deliver opportunity to all.For urther inormation please contact: [email protected]


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Case studies

Te Church o St Mary the Virgin, ottenhamSt Mary the Virgin in ottenham is in one o the most deprived areas in London

diocese. Te City Church Fund has helped the diocese to support the vicar and

assistant, when the community has been historically unable to do so.

Tis sustained investment has enabled the church, under the leadership o the Revd

Luke Miller (incumbent rom 1994 to January 2011), to pursue long-term projects

at two o its buildings, transorming them into hubs or the community whilst, at

the same time, generating much needed income or the church, supporting both

community and voluntary sectors as well as aith-based work.

Te rst project involved the lease o the church hall site to a housing association to

provide good quality housing. Te association agreed to erect a community centre

building in lieu o paying or the lease. A Single Regeneration Budget application

subsequently won 50,000 to install catering acilities and a stair lit. oday, the

Kemble Hall throngs with lie. It is in daily use by the community and voluntary

sectors or regular and one-o activities, generates 16,000-18,000 income p.a.,

and contributes to a greater sense o engagement and condence in the community.

Te second project was the restoration o a mission building in another part o the

parish. Te building had been leased out but had allen into disrepair. Te church

reclaimed it with a dilapidation settlement o 111,000 and restored the interior.

Te upper foor is leased to an artist or a studio and to aterschool club providers

tutoring children struggling in Key Stages 2 and 3. Te ground foor has been

converted to a chapel which, within weeks o opening in September 2010, wasattracting a congregation o around 30, o whom over hal were newcomers.

Te church engages with the community in many

other ways. Volunteers rom the congregation help sta

the Haringey Churches Winter Night Shelter which

provides beds across the borough or the homeless every

night or our months. Te churchs clergy have been

closely involved with local schools and, in 2010, Father

Luke completed his ninth year as Chair o the Board o

Governors at Mulberry Primary School. He has led theGovernors in the appointment o a new head teacher

and helped the school to drive up standards. And the

church is working to help ensure that a Christian

presence is elt at the heart o the Hale Village regeneration scheme in ottenham

as part o the dioceses strategic response to areas o large scale development change.

Te churchs service to the community is rooted in its aith over 200 people

worship there every week. And it is exemplied in the ministry o Father Luke,

whom the local ward councillors describe as a real Community Champion.

None o this service to the local community would have taken place without thesupport o the City Church Fund. Tis investment in good leadership has also

reaped material rewards the church is now close to being nancially sustainable.


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St. Andrews Church, Fulham FieldsSt. Andrews church, Fulham Fields, which eatured in the 2005-07 report on the

City Church Fund, continues to go rom strength to strength with the help o the

City Church Fund, illustrating the benets o the diocese o Londons policy o

sustained investment.

Te parish is in the top 10% across England or Indicators o Multiple Deprivation.North Fulham is a challenging community in which to minister, with signicant

poverty and an above average incidence o mental health issues. A previous

incumbent was tragically murdered by a caller to the vicarage. Trough these

tough times the diocese has supported ull-time ministry with the help o the

City Church Fund. Under the leadership o the present vicar, the Revd Martin

Eastwood, the congregation has more than doubled over the last three years to an

average o 140, and is well on the way to becoming nancially sel supporting.

From the rm base which the support rom the City Church Fund has helped

to provide, which has in turn helped in leveraging other unding, work has nowbegun on an exciting project to create a new multi-purpose community acility and

reordered church space expected to open in November 2011.

With the support o grants rom North Fulham NDC and the Governments

Community Builders Fund managed by the Social Investment Business, the new

acility will cater or the ever-expanding range o community services now being

delivered on site including the eeding o 120 homeless people each Saturday,

fourishing Mums and oddlers groups, Streetdance classes, a lunch club, a Fruit

and Vegetable co-operative, innovative art and music projects and much more.

Te charity IntoUniversity will also be taking a space in the new communitycentre to operate their hugely successul ater-school clubs and mentoring projects,

providing outstanding support to children o school age particularly those rom

disadvantaged backgrounds.

Te plans have taken three years

to develop and have attracted

over 1.4m in public sector

unding. Te development will

return St. Andrews to its original

proportions and will includethe construction o three large

community areas, a ca, a much-

needed new kitchen, and oce

space.

Tanks to the many years o

support rom the City Church

Fund, St. Andrews is now in

a much stronger position or

mission and ministry to the local

community o North Fulham.


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St Pauls Church, Rossmore Road, North MaryleboneSt Pauls church, Rossmore Road, is situated in a parish which has the highest

Index o Multiple Deprivation score in the Diocese o London. Te cost o ministry

at the church which comprises a worship and community centre is supported

by the diocese with the help o the City Church Fund.

Under the present vicar, the Revd Graham Buckle, the innovative use o this smallbut very fexible church centre continues to develop in response to the changing

needs o the local community. Tere are strong links with the local Church o

England primary school Christ Church Bentinck (85% Muslim). Te centre is

used by recreational groups or line dancing, keep t and

martial arts as well as by support groups such as Alcoholics

Anonymous. Tere are innovative relationships with

local community projects such as the Church Street Over

50s Drop in Centre, which was opened by the parish,

and an ongoing partnership with the local mental health

trust which stas the mental health support groups.

In response to the closure in 2008 o the Patterson

Wing at St Marys Hospital, the church welcomed the

Association or Pastoral Care in Mental Health which

now runs twice weekly Barnabas support groups. Many

o the community groups are subsidised by the church

centre, and eventually some are able to increase their

contribution towards the centres running costs.

Church members are the volunteers at the heart o

this community ministry, and out o this experience

new expressions o what it means to be a worshipping

community develop rom time to time including Pub

Church, Faith and Film nights, Sacred Space and

Experiential Worship.

Week by week the church centre provides, in the midst

o this busy part o London, an important and necessary

oasis o support and peace.


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Te Diocese of SouthwarkIn 2008-10 the diocese o Southwark channelled its City Church Fund grants

through the diocesan budget to the primary purposes o paying, housing and

training the clergy. Funding rom the City Church Fund was also used to assist

with repairs to church buildings.

Examples o the Churchs mission to the community in Southwark carried out bychurches which benet rom the support o the City Church Fund include prison

visiting, youth drop-ins, advice and support or amilies being threatened with

eviction, an ecumenical project providing nancial and volunteer support to the

homeless, a chaplaincy at Greenwich Community College and work with children

and young people.

Te diocesan secretary, Simon Parton, said:

In Southwark there are many inner city parishes in some o the highestareas o deprivation and the provision o clergy in these areas, supportedin part by the grant rom the City Church Fund, enables and empowers

parishes in their mission... Without their dedication the community o theinner city in the diocese o Southwark would be much the poorer.

For urther inormation please contact: [email protected]

Case studies

Christ Church CamberwellFunding rom the City Church Fund has helped to support the Churchs ministry

at Christ Church Camberwell (known locally as Christ Church Peckham). Tis

small parish has a population o around 2,100 households and comprises almost

entirely o three large housing estates, suering signicant levels o deprivation.

In addition to the ministry which it carries out within the church building to a

growing congregation, Christ Church oers a Healing on the Streets mission

initiative, established in 2007, which takes the church out into the community

which it serves. A team o church members

goes to a location in the parish near shops and

a ca and oers to pray with those who have

physical, emotional or nancial needs. Te team

has prayed or anything rom three to twenty

ve people in each session and has seen many

answers to prayer. Te initiative has raised the

prole o Christ Church and has also increased

the churchs condence in its ministry.


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Tis ministry o prayer is also carried into the annual summer un day which

Christ Church organises and which is attended by two to three hundred local

people. Tere is a barbecue, crats and competitions but the prayer ministry is also

a key part o this day and in 2010 the team prayed constantly or a stream o people

over a period o our hours.

Te Revd Hugh Balour says that in recent years at Christ Church:

.there has been a move in emphasis rom trying to build a church toseeking to bring the values o the Kingdom o God to Peckham. Tis hasresulted in a much greater desire to love the poor and marginalised, a shitin the ocus o ministry to healing and deliverance as well as preaching andteaching, and a more active seeking ater the presence o God.

Te Church o St John the Evangelist,

Angell own, BrixtonTe City Church Fund has helped to support ministry at St John the Evangelist,

Angell own. Tis church is situated in a parish which consists o ve large housing

estates and suers high levels o youth crime and anti-social behaviour.

Te church takes community outreach

especially to young people very seriously.

In 2008 it set up a Christian-based annual

summer scheme, open to all young people in

the community. Parents and carers attend the

summer schemes or around hal the time, gainingthe opportunity to support the children in their

learning as well as new experiences or themselves.

Te schemes encourage young people to give as

well as receive - there is a major prize at the end

and participants understand that they need to

work in a team and to plan in order to win.

Te church hosts numerous other community

activities, some in liaison with the local school,

many o which are held on the church green thusensuring that the churchs ministry is highly visible.

Te church is involved with the local Ebony Horse Club charity, which provides

aordable access to horse riding and mentoring or disadvantaged children

and young people. Te charity is based in another part o the estates and

initially struggled to reach out to Angell own. Te church was instrumental in

encouraging over 15 children rom its congregation and the local school to join the

Club, thus acting as a bridge or the community.

St John the Evangelist also participates in the Word or Weapons scheme. It has aknie bin on site to encourage those who carry weapons to give them up in exchange

or an All I Need pack which includes a Bible. In 2010, a charity cycle ride by the


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young people o the church raised 400 or the scheme. Te priest in charge, the

Revd Dr Rosemarie Mallett, says that the knie bin is having an impact on theyoung people in the church and in the community and commented:

In an area such as this, with high levels o youth crime andanti-social behaviour, such activities are very importantthe scheme is a witness to the community that the Churchstands or peace and will promote peace in any way it can.In summary, the City Church Fund is helping to support the ministry o a church

which is active in engaging with and helping to overcome the problems aced by

the community it serves.

Te Diocese of ChelmsfordWithin the City Church Funds area o benet, the ve East London boroughs o

Barking & Dagenham, Newham, Redbridge, Waltham Forest and Havering, which

together make up the Archdeaconry o West Ham in the diocese o Chelmsord,

have a combined population o 1.25 million.

Funds rom the City Church Fund are administered by the London Over the

Border Council, which comprises Area Deans and Lay Chairs rom the veboroughs and is chaired by the Archdeacon o West Ham. Te Council meets

regularly throughout the year to consider applications. Te emphasis is on

encouraging the Church to be local, outward-looking and participating as outlined

in the Faith in the City report. Grants are targeted at parishes where there is a

signicant level o deprivation. As diocesan unds become less available or lay

workers, grants have tended to shit rom capital projects to revenue support, and

oten to highly innovative and imaginative projects designed to enable and support

the mission o the church.

For urther inormation please contact the Archdeacon o West Ham at:[email protected]


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Case studies

Ascension Eagles CheerleadersFunding rom the City Church Fund is meeting part o the salary costs o the

Director o the Ascension Eagles Cheerleaders, via a three-year grant o 15,000

p.a. beginning in 2009 awarded by the London Over the Border Council.

Te Ascension Eagles Cheerleaders was ounded in 1996 by its Director, SharaBrice, wie o the then vicar o Ascension Church, Victoria Dock, as part o the

churchs outreach into the community. Shocked by the high levels o violence in the

community, and believing the problem to be exacerbated by a lack o acilities or

young people, Shara Brice oered to teach local youths to dance and to cheerlead.

Her aim was to give young people in one o Chelmsord dioceses most deprived

parishes the chance to participate in an activity that would improve their tness,

social skills and sel-esteem. Te young people took up her invitation and the

Ascension Eagles were born. Despite being placed last in their rst competition in

1997 they persevered. Fiteen years on, the Ascension Eagles have rmly establishedthemselves as the best o British cheerleading, consistently coming top in this ast

growing sporting activity.

Ascension Eagles have entertained over 300 million people, and have won over

400 trophies. In 2010, they represented England at the Cheerleading World

Championships, in which only the worlds top 1% are invited to compete. Tey

ranked third overall in the Nations Cup World Final.

Shara Brice and her team are recognised as having created one o the UKs most

ethnically diverse and eective youth programmes. As the young people grew up

in the AEC program, they wanted to give back to their community. In January

2010, Ascension Eagles opened Londons rst cheer

gym, alent Central, at Gallions Reach Shopping Park.

Within a month o opening, the Ascension Eagles

leaders were serving 1000 young people weekly.

In June 2010, Big alk announced that the Ascension

Eagles story will be made into a worldwide cinema

release lm in the summer o 2012.

Shara Brice, who won a Woman o the Year awardin 2010, commented that the unding rom the City

Church Fund, via the London Over the Border Council,

not only made the work o the Ascension Eagles

possible but:

[the unding] came at a key timein our development, and providedthe condence-boosting endorsement

that the Church is proud o our youngpeople.


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Te Church o St John the Baptist, LeytonstoneIn 2005 a storm punched ve holes in the roo o the church o St John the

Baptist in Leytonstone. Inspection revealed that the roo was in a very poor state

and needed to be replaced. Repairs to the tower were also needed. Five years o

undraising ollowed. A grant o 50,000 awarded in 2009 rom the City Church

Fund via the London Over the Border Council was o great encouragement to

the church. owards the end o the repair programme, the need or urther work

essential to meet health and saety standards was identied, costing an additional

65,000. At this stage a second grant, this time o 25,000, awarded rom City

Church Fund monies was deeply appreciated by the church.

St John the Baptist has been

pursuing a community engagement

programme or the last eleven

years. It is very supportive o the

local business community, which

is predominantly Muslim. For

example, with the help o the Chie

Executive o Waltham Forest

Borough Council, the church

helped to set up the Leytonstone

Business Forum which provides a

voice or local businesses. From the

success o the Forum, the E11 Bid

(Business Improvement District)

company emerged. Te companyhas been successul in leveraging

Government unding and its work is described by the vicar o St John the Baptist,

the Revd Raymond Draper, as a blessing to our community.

Other examples o St John the Baptists outreach to the community include an Arts

Ministry Group which oers ree concerts; a nature trail in the churchyard which

is used by local schools to support Key Stage 1 and 2 projects; and a club or older

people. Te church has also developed strong links with the local mosque (which

occupies the churchs ormer church hall) and has helped to set up a local Churches

ogether group.

Te Revd Raymond Draper commented:

Tis is a town centre church with a wide vision and seeingit restored at a time o cutbacks is a vote o condence in thiscommunity which everyone can see and is grateul or andis a sign that the Church o England is committed to all

people here in good times and in bad. Tis investment

through the City Church Fund is a major investmentin community cohesion, in our witness here and in ourcommitment to people o all aiths and none.


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St Pauls Church, East HamTe Fit and Healthy Elders project, run by the Bonny Downs Community

Association (ounded by the Bonny Downs Baptist Church), coordinates activities

or elderly people at Te Well Community Centre and at three local churches,

including St. Pauls church in East Ham.

Te City Church Fund is helping to support the project at St Pauls church via theLondon Over the Border Council which has made a grant o 7,500 spread over

three years, beginning in 2009. Te grant is currently being used or line dancing

and a ballroom dancing class.

Te vicar at St Pauls church, the Revd Merrin

Playle, said:

Newham is a very youngborough where older people

can easily become isolated. Arelatively little money has gonea long way in providing a rangeo activities that aid the physical,

social and mental wellbeing o an oten-neglected sector othe community.

Te Diocese of Rochester

Te diocese o Rochester allocates its unding rom the City Church Fund through

a group comprising the Bishop o Rochester, the Archdeacon o Bromley and

Bexley and the diocesan secretary.

In 2008-10, grants were made towards the cost o clergy stipends, or training,

or parish grants and mission projects and towards discretionary unds or the

Archdeacon o Bromley and Bexley.

Te discretionary unding has been used to enable clergy to go on retreats,

sabbaticals and courses that were beyond the remit o the diocesan training

department. It has also supported a number o clergy in need o medical treatmentor counselling in order to deal with health problems that they were acing. Te

unding has enabled clergy amilies to get away or holidays or short breaks,

sometimes or strong pastoral reasons as well as nancial. Improvements to vicarage

security have also played a key part in the use o the unding.

Commenting on the discretionary unding in 2010, the Archdeacon said:

Te over-riding principle was to improve the quality o support or parishclergy. All the unding was used or this endeavour and ranged rom the

practical to the pastoral, thus ensuring that those working at the coalacewere given as much support as was possible, depending on their particularcircumstances. We believe that this unding has made a huge diference to the


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morale o many o the clergy who received grants, and weare very grateul to the City Church Fund or making this

possible.For urther inormation please contact the diocesan secretary, Louise Gilbert, at:

[email protected]

Case study

Te Church o St John the Evangelist, PengeA grant o 3,000 awarded in 2010 rom the City Church Fund has been used to

create a new oce space or a Princes rust team worker based at the church o St

John the Evangelist in Penge.

Te church is situated on the High Street o Penge in the midst o a very diverse

community. Te relatively new incumbent has been working hard to develop

community engagement. Since September 2009, a Princes rust eam Programmehas been based at the church. Te Programme is or young people aged between 16

and 25 who are unemployed. It is ree and does not aect the Jobseekers Allowance.

Participants have the opportunity to take on community projects o their choosing,

spend a week away and have two weeks work experience.

Te eam Programme at St John the Evangelist has been very successul. Te church

has been closely involved in supporting the work o the rust not only through the

development o its building but also through the provision o work placements.

Te Archdeacon o Bromley and Bexley commented that:

[Te City Church Fund grant]has helped to provide a warmer, saer, betterlit and hence more productive work space in which the Princes rust team canwork and perorm its daily administrative unctions.

Te Diocese of St AlbansTe diocese o St Albans distributes the monies rom the City Church Fund

in grants. Decisions on applications or unding are considered by the relevant

Archdeacon and the diocesan secretary who then make recommendations to theBishop o St Albans. In 2008-10, the diocese has used the City Church Fund to

support clergy stipends, help und repairs to churches, make provision or disabled

acilities in churches, carry out organ repairs and or work to parsonage houses.

Te diocesan secretary, Susan Pope, said:

Te City Church Fund has been invaluable in supportingmission and ministry by contributing towards the cost o

posts in parishes as well as enabling buildings to be betterequipped or worship and community use.For urther inormation please contact Susan Pope at: [email protected]


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Case studies

Te Church o St Mary the Virgin & All Saints,Potters BarHaving embarked on a period o undraising or the renovation o the church

hall, St Mary the Virgin and All Saints in Potters Bar was greatly encouraged

by a generous grant o 25,000 rom the City Church Fund which boosted the

renovation und to 58,000 at the end o 2008.

Te improvements to the hall ocused on the areas in most urgent need o

attention. As the work progressed, additional costs arose and a urther grant o

25,000 rom the City Church Fund awarded in 2010 was welcomed.

Te unding has been used or a range o essential improvements, including new

gas, electric and water services, reurbishment o the toilets, re-wiring and exterior

building works.

Te hall is regularly used by a variety o local community groups as well asor parish unctions and the improved acilities have enabled the church to

accommodate the uniormed guide, brownies and rainbow groups.

Te main project is now completed although there is some work still to do and

undraising events are continuing. Te churchwarden, Geo Foster, commented:

We already have a much improved hall which is availableor hire by local people and is helping to urther the work othe parish church in our town.


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Parish o Elstree and BorehamwoodTe City Church Fund has been helping to support the Churchs ministry in the

parish o Elstree and Borehamwood. Te parish has a population o around 34,000

which is showing an increasing diversity, both with regard to ethnic origin and to

aith. Tere are some notable pockets o deprivation.

Te parish contains our districts, each with its own church St Nicholas inElstree, and All Saints, Holy Cross, and St Michael in Borehamwood. Finding

the resources to meet the cost o the diocesan parish share presents an ongoing

challenge. Even though the diocese has been providing support in this, and two o

the clergy are no longer ull-time, it has only been possible to pay the parish share in

ull as a result o grants rom the City Church Fund amounting to 10,000 (2008),

15,000 (2009) and 15,000 (2010).

Tree grants made rom the City Church Fund between October 2009 and May

2010 have also helped to maintain the church building at Holy Cross by providing

3,000 or a new hall foor; 5,862 or repairs to the East End window; and 6,000to replace a fat roo above the meeting room, vestry and toilets.

Examples o the parishs community engagement include its involvement with

a Forum o Faiths, chaired by one o the team vicars, which brings together

representatives o local churches, synagogues, the two Muslim groups in the town

and the Bhaktivedanta Manor Hindu community.

Another initiative is the Messy Mass oered at St Nicholas church.

Messy Mass grew out o a request rom several amilies who ound

it impossible to attend church on Sundays but who wanted to have

an experience o church. Around 25-45 people gather or each Mass(held weekly during term time) to sing, play, celebrate communion,

engage in crat activities and eat and drink and talk together. It is a

noisy, happy, riendly and spiritual experience.

Te grants rom the City Church Fund have been vital in supporting

a team committed to the spiritual and pastoral needs o the

community it serves and the challenge o relating aith to lie today.

Te Diocese of GuildfordTe diocese o Guildord receives the smallest proportion o the City Church Fund

monies available or dioceses 2.27%.

In 2008-10, the diocese allocated the City Church Fund unding to clergy stipends.

A revised parish share system, introduced in 2007, enables the diocese to target the

City Church Fund grants to the needier parishes.

For urther inormation please contact: [email protected]


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Use of the fundingby the City Churches

In 2008-10, 4,278,746 was paid rom the City Church Fund or the benet o

the 38 Church o England churches in the City o London. Te unding was used

or essential repairs and maintenance o the buildings and or other items suchas insurance. Without this very signicant support many o the churches all o

which are listed Grade 1 could not have been kept open.

A small portion o the unding totalling 93,420 in 2008-10 is paid annually

in small sums to 30 City Churches. Te remainder is applied by the Bishop o

London, on the advice o the City Churches Grants Committee (CCGC). Te

CCGC is chaired by the Archdeacon o London and its members are the Area

Dean o the City, the lay Chair o the City deanery synod, the Chie Executive o

London diocese and the Chairman o the London Diocesan Finance Committee.

When looking at how to recommend to the Bishop which grants to award, theCCGC is mindul not just o need but also o the extent to which the church is

used (outcomes and impact), and o the opportunities or the building to generate

income that supports its wider objectives o mission and charitable endeavour. Te

CCGC tries to ensure that, in awarding its unding, it promotes good business

planning that leads to sustainability.

Te City Churches are well used buildings, both or aith-based activity and or

a wide range o secular activity by third sector partner organisations. Tey are

the only real community venues in the City and they host or provide counselling

services, blood donor sessions, twelve-step groups, social enterprise projects withthe homeless, police surgeries and much else. Over 40,000 people visit a City

Church each week or a non aith reason.

With the growth o the Big Society agenda the City Churches are looking to

urther strengthen their partnerships and the work they already do in educational

attainment, debt and housing advice and mentoring o excluded young people.

Tey are proud that their work with the City o London Corporation enabled

the Corporation to become one o the rst accredited Fairtrade local authorities.

In addition the work o JustShare based at St Mary-le-Bow has directly led to,

amongst many other things, the creation o a micronance initiative (Arcubus) inSub-Saharan Arica.

All o the work o the City Churches is enabled through their own undraising

and there is no Government support. Te City Churches spend over 1m on their

buildings annually over and above the unding provided by the City Church Fund

and it remains a constant challenge to maintain them. Te Churches are ortunate

that a proportion o the necessary repairs can be unded by the City Church Fund,

thus helping to ree up their clergy, lay leaders and congregations in their mission

and outreach in the City.

For urther inormation please contact the Clerk to the City Churches Grants

Committee, Martin Sargeant, at: [email protected]


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Case studies

Te Church o St Sepulchre, HolbornIn recent years over 500,000 has been awarded rom the City Church Fund via

the CCGC to the church o St Sepulchre Holborn, and this has enabled a complete

transormation o the building.

Te development work has included installing a new heating system, adding new

oce space in the north-west corner o the church to complement the existing

meeting room, undertaking some re-ordering o the altar, choir stalls and pulpits to

their pre-1932 positions and creating a larger usable space in the main body o the

church or concerts and recitals and a more intimate space or smaller services, and

adding additional toilet acilities.

A second phase o development, planned or 2011/12, will include a complete

internal redecoration o the building and re-ordering the north-east corner to

provide urther acilities.

Much work has been done to develop the ministry and outreach o the church. Te

church council has been revitalised and, hand in hand with the repair programme,

there has been a business plan to ensure adequate income streams to maintain

the building and achieve long term sustainability. Tis church now operates at

about the break even level in nancial terms, is regularly open to the public and is

expanding its community outreach.

Tere is still work to do to nish the necessary building works but what was, ten

years ago, a locked and almost derelict church is now a much in demand central

location which is used or worship and by charities and community groups. Techurch is recognised today as a centre o musical excellence with its own teaching

programme and is known as the National Musicians Church.


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Te Church o St Mary-le-BowGenerous grants rom the City Church Fund via the CCGC to the church o

St Mary-le-Bow have, over the last three years, helped ensure the stability o the

building and the saety and comort o the congregation and the many others who

use the church acilities.

Grants o 35,000 in 2008 and 48,000 in 2009 completed a programme undedby the City Church Fund to secure and then replace all o the wooden louvre

boards (which had begun to all in 2004 and were a danger to the public) on the

our aces o the church tower.

A urther generous grant in 2010 enabled the installation o a lit allowing the

disabled and wheelchair bound access to the body o St Mary-le-Bow or the

rst time.

Tese, and other, vital grants rom the City Church Fund have secured the abric

o this church or the oreseeable uture and ensured sae access or all. Tis has in

turn enabled the ministry at St Mary-le-Bow to fourish.

Te churchs outreach work includes support or the work o JustShare a

coalition o churches and charities committed to global development and social

justice. JustShare is based at St Mary-le-Bow which hosts many o its events. In

2010 JustShare established Arcubus, a new charity which encourages the City to

support and und micronance projects in Arica. Te PCC o St Mary-le-Bow

employs a JustShare Co-ordinator or two days a week and gives the

Co-ordinator oce space and equipment ree o charge and has seconded the

Co-ordinator to Arcubus or one o those days.

Another charity to emerge rom the support o the PCC is the St Mary-le-Bow

Homeless Project which takes up to ten homeless people, aged 18-24, rom

Londons hostels and the streets into large and

sae fats owned by the Peabody rust. Te

Project provides a range o support services to

the young people with the aim o helping them

to lead an independent lie. None o the young

people whom the Project has helped in the

twelve years o its lie has reverted to the streets

and homelessness.

St Mary-le-Bow remains grateul or the

support o the City Church Fund.


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For more copies of this report, please contact:

Te (Resource) Strategy and Development Unit

Church Commissioners

Church House

Great Smith Street

London SW1P 3AZ

elephone: 020 7898 1620

E-mail: [email protected]

www.churchoengland.org/about-us/structure/

churchcommissioners.aspxTe Church Commissioners are a

registered charity number 1140097

For further information about the work of the

rust for London, please contact the rust at:

6 Middle Street

London EC1A 7PH

elephone: 020 7606 6145E-mail: [email protected]

www.trustorlondon.org.uk

Charity Registration Number: 205629

Designed and produced

b L Ch L d

Tis report is printed on

elemental chlorine ree paper

taken rom sustainable orests

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City Church Fund - Final Report

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