Who pays vicars?

Answer 1

Vicars are paid by the Church Commissioners - an organisation that 'employs' clergy among other things they do. Vicars are not paid a 'wage' or 'salary' but a stipend. This is a sum of money, payable monthly, that is meant to enable the vicar to live so that he or she can be released from other employment carry out the duties of a parish priest. The Commissioners receive their money for clergy stipends partly from investment, but a great deal of it is paid by the dioceses - areas of the country roughly as large as a county under the direction and care of a bishop. The dioceses in turn receive their payment from the individual parishes by the 'Parish Share'. Each parish is assessed to determine its ability to pay so that affluent parishes in affluent areas pay far more for their parish share than less affluent parishes. This is the fairest method, as poor parishes in depived areas are often those in greatest need of a parish priest or even two not only to lead worship, but also for the greater need of pastoral care in those areas. The Parish Share is paid from an individual parish's funds - raised through the collection plate and by fundraising. Hence churches receive no payment except that which is donated by their members and friends or through fundraising, or occasionally from weddings or church hall lettings. As an example, in my own diocese, a deprived church in a poor area might be expected to pay anything from £5,000 - £12,000 per year for their parish share. A large, affluent church might be expected to pay over £50,000 per year, therefore helping subsidise the poorer church. In my own church which is jointly Anglican and Methodist, in a deprived area, we have to find around £22,000 per year just to pay our parish share and the equivalent to the Methodist Church to help pay for a part time Methodist minister - before we even consider other expenses like service costs, photocopying, heat/light/maintenance and our tithe (10%) to charity etc. Nowadays, many more are seeking ordination later in life, sometimes becoming voluntary priests whilst working at a normal job in the week, or by living on a retirement pension and being a voluntary priest if they retire early. These 'non-stipendary ministers' (NSMs) help free more funds for the church in general to help poorer parishes and to aid mission overseas in the porest areas of the world. Another trend is that sometimes an income can be generated by a priest ordained late in life renting out their home if they have one, to provide an income. They are then allowed to live in a vicarage free of charge in return for which they do some of the duties of a parish priest. These 'house-for-duty' priests are becoming more common in small parishes where not enough work is available for a full time minister. The big advantage of the Anglican system is that the vicar has the 'cure of souls' of a parish. This means that anyone in the parish, whether churchgoer or not, has a legal right to pastoral care by their vicar, as the Anglican Church is the established church in England. Therefore, when your local church holds out the begging bowl for funds, please remember that the position of the vicar can only be provided if the parish can afford to pay at least something towards his or her stipend. Yu may not need his or her services (no pun intended) at the moment, but someone else will.