Primarily clergy stipends and National Insurance, pensions, council tax and housing, plus shared diocesan support such as safeguarding, training, governance, finance, HR, buildings advice and support for new ministry (including ordinands and curates).

If you can’t find answers to your questions on the website or through the documents provided, the following teams may be able to help or to point you in the right direction, or you can explore the Support for Churches pages on this website:

• The Generous Giving Team is here to support parishes as they grow in discipleship of generosity and gratitude as a response to God’s loving kindness through bespoke programmes of generosity, providing resources, preaching, looking at contactless giving, legacy campaigns and vision planning. To contact the team, please email – generous.giving@yorkdiocese.org
• Our self-reflection tool (coming soon) – contact Kate.Cameron@yorkdiocese.org
• Church Buildings team – dac@yorkdiocese.org
• Your deanery financial adviser (DFA) – contact your treasurer for their information
• Your Archdeacon:
  • Cleveland – adcl@yorkdiocese.org
  • East Riding – ader@yorkdiocese.org
  • York – adyk@yorkdiocese.org
• The national Parish Buying service may also be useful in helping your parish to reduce its costs.

Yes. Each PCC prayerfully discerns what it can offer.

As with any exercise of freedom, decisions have consequences for the whole diocesan body. Free Will Offer is not a fixed charge — it is a shared commitment to sustaining ministry together.

Please still submit an offer that is prayerfully and realistically agreed upon by your PCC. If you cannot meet the suggested minimum amount, it is helpful for you to include a short explanation in the survey (for example, significant repairs, a temporary dip in income, or a change in local circumstances).

A reduction may sometimes be unavoidable, even after careful efforts to increase income and manage costs. However, when contributions across the diocese reduce, the overall level of ministry we can sustain is also affected.

If a ministry unit enters a vacancy and is not meeting the cost of ministry, we cannot automatically assume that a like-for-like appointment will follow. These are difficult realities, and we approach them with care and conversation.

Yes. We encourage monthly payments where possible. They help the diocesan team plan responsibly and manage cash flow throughout the year, while also making contributions more manageable for parishes.

If your circumstances change significantly, please get in touch as soon as you can. We know parish finances can shift during the year, and an early conversation gives us the best chance of understanding the situation and exploring what may be possible together.

Conversations about money can be difficult, but they are ultimately conversations about mission, discipleship and how we resource the ministry God has entrusted to us.

Start with the bigger picture. Help your PCC connect generosity with worship, welcome, pastoral care, discipleship and service to the wider community. Make space for honest questions and concerns, and recognise that people may bring different experiences and viewpoints to the conversation.

You do not need to have all the answers. Use the available resources, draw on the support of diocesan colleagues as needed, and encourage shared ownership of the discussion within the PCC. Support on offer includes:

• Generous Giving Team – generous.giving@yorkdiocese.org
• Our self-reflection tool (coming soon) – contact Kate.Cameron@yorkdiocese.org
• Church Buildings team – dac@yorkdiocese.org
• Your deanery financial adviser (DFA) – contact your treasurer for their information
• Your Archdeacon:
  • Cleveland – adcl@yorkdiocese.org
  • East Riding – ader@yorkdiocese.org
  • York – adyk@yorkdiocese.org
• The national Parish Buying service may also be useful in helping your parish to reduce its costs.

Above all, approach the conversation prayerfully. Free Will Offer is not simply a financial decision; it is part of discerning how your parish contributes to the life and mission of the whole Body of Christ.

A core part of diocesan expenditure is the direct cost of ministry. This includes clergy stipends, National Insurance, pension contributions, training, and housing-related support. Free Will Offer helps fund these costs so that we can sustain ministry in every community, including parishes with fewer resources.

Alongside direct costs, there are shared costs: services and support that help parishes operate safely, legally, and effectively, and that enable mission and growth. These include:

• safeguarding support and training
• buildings and faculty support
• governance and compliance
• finance, HR, and legal support
• advice and resources for children’s and youth work
• schools’ support and educational resources
• support for new ministry, including training for lay ministers and curates

Nearly 600 churches are supported by teams that provide expertise in safeguarding, property, communications, housing, payroll, formation, and governance.

An independent review of shared support functions found that most of this work is mandatory (such as safeguarding), essential (such as legal and governance), or key to achieving our Living Christ’s Story priorities (such as lay training). In several areas, the diocese is already under-resourced rather than over-resourced.

In 2025 alone:

• The Generous Giving Team helped churches secure an additional £58,118, with participating churches increasing their Free Will Offer by an average of 7.2%.
• The DAC considered 128 applications for alterations, repairs and additions to church buildings, their contents and churchyards.
• The Church Buildings Adviser made 112 parish visits, providing advice on site.
• The Safeguarding Team processed 2,029 DBS checks and delivered 4,950 training courses to individuals, both online and in person.
• Around 170 people took part in Revitalise, representing one in four churches across the diocese.
• The Education Team supported 122 schools across eight local authorities, with 121 judged good or outstanding in SIAMS inspections.
• The Communications Team provided around 250 hours of direct support to parishes.
• The Property Team managed 260 houses used for ministry or rented to tenants, alongside 3,100 acres of glebe land.
• During the 2025–26 academic year, 17 candidates continued in training and 13 began training: nine ordinands and four on the Elizabeth Pathway. A further four people were ordained deacons.

You can read more in ‘Resourcing our Diocese’.

The Bible describes the Church as the Body of Christ. Just as a body is made up of many different parts, each with a role to play, so we are part of something greater than our own parish.

Across the Diocese of York, churches serve very different communities. Some can contribute more financially; others face greater financial obstacles. Through Free Will Offer, we share responsibility for sustaining ministry, mission, and support across the whole body, ensuring that every community can benefit from the Church’s presence and witness.

When one part of the body flourishes, the whole body is strengthened. When one part struggles, the whole body shares the burden. Free Will Offer is one way we live out that mutual care and interdependence, enabling ministry to be sustained across the diocese, not only in places where it is easiest to fund.

In 2027, the stipend (living allowance) and National Insurance contributions for full-time clergy are expected to be around £39,853.

In addition:

• Housing is provided (approximately £13,163 value)
• Pension contributions are paid (around £7,161)
• Annual training costs around £749

This brings the direct cost of employing a full-time priest to around £60,926.

In addition, there are associated shared diocesan costs — essential parish support and new ministry costs — of £29,121 per full-time post (net of other diocesan income such as investment income and parochial fees). This includes £10,204 for new ministry and £18,917 for other shared costs. This is reduced to £20,374 when offset against other diocesan income. Free Will Offer reflects the full cost of sustaining ministry, not simply the stipend received.

You can read more in ‘Resourcing our Diocese’.

The Church looks not only at financial viability, but at missional potential and pastoral need.

Some communities are economically fragile but spiritually vital. Our commitment to shared ministry reflects our belief that the Church should be present wherever people live.

Lowest Income Communities Funding (LICF) supports ministry in deprived communities. It is part of the national church’s commitment to ensuring the Church remains present where resources are lowest. But we can only afford to do this if churches continue to give generously.

Yes. All parishes experience vacancy at times, and over time, the savings tend to balance out.

Cost-of-ministry calculations assume contributions are not reduced during a vacancy. If contributions were routinely reduced, expectations on other parishes would need to increase.

If a vacancy creates genuine financial strain, please speak with your Archdeacon, who is there to help and provide support.

The Church of England holds historic endowments through the Church Commissioners. These are invested to generate income and are legally restricted. In reality, the money available to spend is a very small proportion of their apparent wealth.

The Church Commissioners must:

• meet historic clergy pension commitments
• fund bishops’ stipends
• resource certain legal and parliamentary responsibilities

They also provide significant grants to dioceses, including mission funding and support for Lowest Income Communities.

For 2026–2028, changes in national funding arrangements are benefitting dioceses in some areas and providing short-term support to help manage deficits.

You can read more in ‘Resourcing our Diocese’ or on the Church Commissioners’ website.

Every ordained minister was once a curate. Curates are still in training and do not yet carry the full responsibilities of an incumbent. Once trained, they are available to serve wherever needed. In that sense, the whole diocese benefits.

Where curates are placed in larger churches and contribute significantly to ministry, those churches are encouraged to make an additional contribution where possible.

Reserves should be considered prayerfully and responsibly when determining your Free Will Offer. Guidance for PCCs on managing reserves is available at parishresources.org.uk/the-pcc-as-a-charity/managing-reserves.

You can also read about diocesan reserves in ‘Resourcing our Diocese‘ and our statutory accounts. Much of the diocesan reserves are restricted or endowed, meaning capital cannot be released to support general funds.