Number of people giving regularly to parish churches in England has declined

RELIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – The Church of England’s Parish Finance Statistics 2022 shows that the number of regular givers has fallen each year over the past nine years.

According to the statistics the number standed at around 401,000 in 2022 compared with 572,000 in 2013. The largest source of income was parish giving at £586 million and the average weekly giving was £16.20, ranging from under £10 in Lincoln to £30 in London.

The total income of parishes was £1,055 million and the total expenditure was £1,019 million.

The report’s introduction says this represents a second year of modest growth in parishes’ income after the sharp downturn of 2020, but this was eroded by the effects of inflation so that in real terms income was slightly down.

Expenditure fell in real terms, reversing the modest recovery in parishes’ spending after the COVID pandemic, and was lower in 2022 than in any of the previous 20 years.

There was a reduction in expenditure on buildings and over half the increased expenditure between 2021 and 2022 went on church running costs.