On 25th April 2024, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:
Church of England: Slavery
Dr Matthew Offord MP (Con, Hendon): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church plans to publicly acknowledge historic links with the chattel slave trade.
Andrew Selous MP (Con, South West Bedfordshire): The Archbishop of Canterbury has been unequivocal on the theology of this issue, noting on his visit to Cape Coast Castle in Ghana in February 2023:
“It was a reminder that the abomination of African chattel enslavement was blasphemy: those who imprisoned men and women in those dungeons saw them as less than human. It is to the Church of England’s eternal shame that it did not always follow Christ’s teaching to give life. It is a stain on the wider church that some Christians did not see their brothers and sisters as created in the image of God, but as objects to be exploited.”
The Church Commissioners has been investigating its historic links to the chattel slave trade since 2019 and published a full, transparent report of the findings in January 2023. More information about the whole project is available here:
Church Commissioners Links to Historic Transatlantic Slavery | The Church of England(opens in a new tab)
The Church Commissioners seek, through the research it has done and its response, to acknowledge the truth of the past, apologise for the wrongs that this research has highlighted, and to address these wrongs through repentance, remembrance, reconciliation, and renewal. The Church Commissioners believe that by addressing its past transparently, particularly this part of our past, the Church and its teachings will be more relevant to more people. The response is an important missional activity that will support the work and ministry of the Church of England in England.
The Church Commissioners are committed to setting up an Impact Investment Fund as part of its response to invest in a better and fairer future for all, particularly for communities affected by historic enslavement. It is hoped this fund will grow over time, reinvesting returns to enable it to have a positive and lasting legacy that will exist in perpetuity and with the potential for other institutions to participate, further enabling growth in the size and impact of the fund. This Fund will be seeded with a £100 million commitment from the Church Commissioners.
Despite recent press speculation, the Church Commissioners has no plans to increase its contribution to the Fund over the planned funding period. It is hoped that growth in the impact fund will also enable grant funding for projects focused on improving opportunities for communities impacted by historic African chattel enslavement.
The Church Commissioners have also committed to undertake further research, including into the Church Commissioners’ history, supporting dioceses and parishes to research and address their historic links with African chattel enslavement, and sharing best practices with other organisations researching their enslavement legacies.
Church of England: Tree Planting
Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church plans to take steps to plant trees on diocese lands.
Andrew Selous: Diocesan land is managed by individual dioceses at a local level and, as such, the Church Commissioners are unable to plant trees on diocesan property. However, the Church Commissioners work with diocesan teams and other church bodies to encourage the responsible use of land, reducing carbon emissions and increasing biodiversity where appropriate, including incorporating environmental improvement into food production.
The Church Commissioners’ rural estates team has assisted with the creation of a guidance note for diocesan officers on ‘managing land for climate and nature’, attended net zero meetings, and engaged with local diocesan environmental officers. Staff from the Rural Estates team have also met with the Rural Bishops Group to illustrate their work managing the rural estates and share experiences that apply to dioceses. They will continue to share details of tree-planting undertaken by the Commissioners with our diocesan partners and are keen to work together on further improving and implementing good practice.
In 2023, the Church Commissioners planted over 1.5million trees on their Forestry and Farmland holdings, 700,000 of which were in the UK.
Churches: Cumbria
Dr Neil Hudson MP (Con, Penrith and the Border): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to support churches in (a) Penrith and The Border constituency and (b) Cumbria.
Andrew Selous: The Church Commissioners and National Church Institutions provide support for the mission and ministry of all dioceses in the Church of England.
The Church Commissioners have made £340 million available to support a Diocesan Investment Programme overseen by the Strategic Mission and Ministry Board, which includes additional funding and resources for lowest-income communities.
In Carlisle Diocese, the Lowest Income Communities Fund has provided £560,000 a year to support a range of projects in Barrow, South and West Carlisle, Workington, Whitehaven, and Maryport. Additional grants from the Strategic Development Fund totalling £ 1.6 million over five years have been awarded. The project funds five new pioneer enabler roles, which in addition to training and support, will help the Diocese reach those groups who are not typically represented in congregations in Carlisle.
Support is available to all churches in Penrith and The Border and across the Diocese with maintenance and management of church buildings via the Buildings for Mission fund, which will provide small grants for repairs and restoration and a dedicated support officer to advise parishes.
Other grants are available from the Diocese supported by the National Church Institutions to enable parishes to move towards Net Zero and increase capacity building at a parish level with youth work, internships, and vocations, and to support better stewardship of church buildings, to upgrade facilities and technology, and enable easier donation and giving.
To find out more about the work underway across Cumbria, Carlisle and Penrith, please contact the Acting Bishop, The Rt Rev Rob Saner-Haigh, Bishop of Penrith, whose details are here: https://www.carlislediocese.org.uk/bishops-and-senior-clergy/
Redundant Churches
Neil O’Brien MP (Con, Harborough): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, how many churches were deconsecrated in each year since 1994.
Andrew Selous: The Church of England law around church buildings is complex, but there are two main types; a consecrated church building where the bishop has performed a rite of consecration, setting the church building (and font and altar) aside for public worship, and a place of worship that has been licensed for that purpose by the bishop (not consecrated).
The Church of England does not have a rite of “deconsecration” as such – it is more usual to refer to the ‘closure’ of a church that is consecrated. The process of closure is a legal one, set out in the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011 and its predecessor legislation. The bishop’s consecration of a church building for worship cannot be removed. However, the legal effects of consecration can be withdrawn in order to allow the disposal of the building and a new use to be found for the building.
Since 1994 there have been around 650 closure schemes for consecrated church buildings brought forward under the Mission and Pastoral Measure. In some of those cases, the closed church building will have been sold to other Christian denominations for worship use, and in some cases some occasional worship continues, even if the closed church building is being used for community activities, for example.
Churches: Lincolnshire
Sir John Hayes MP (Con, South Holland and the Deepings): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to support churches in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
Andrew Selous: The Church Commissioners and National Church Institutions provide support for the mission and ministry of all dioceses in the Church of England.
The Church Commissioners have made £340 million available to support a Diocesan Investment Programme overseen by the Strategic Mission and Ministry Board, which includes additional funding and resources for lowest-income communities. The Diocese of Lincoln benefits from the Lowest Income Communities Fund, which is directly supporting the stipendiary ministry of clergy in many areas such as Grimsby, Scunthorpe, Lincoln and Boston.
The Diocese of Lincoln has recently launched ‘Time to Change Together’, which is its shared vision for the future of the diocese and its presence in Greater Lincolnshire. You can find out more about the project here: https://www.lincoln.anglican.org/parish-support/a-time-to-change-together/(opens in a new tab) The Diocese bid for and received a grant from the Strategic Development Fund for a project called ‘Resourcing the Urban Church’ designed to revitalise churches of all traditions across the urban centres in the diocese.
Lincolnshire has one of the highest ratios of churches per head of the population in England, and the Diocese is committed to the stewardship of its historic churches and to supporting new worshipping communities. A new giving scheme has been developed to encourage congregations to support the flourishing of mission and ministry in the Diocese, and plans are being developed for an ‘Open Churches Trust’ to support smaller churches with maintenance and insurance advice.
The Diocese is developing new strategies to support clergy well-being. Preventing long-term vacancies and illness is a priority alongside finding sustainable solutions for parishes.
For further information about the work underway in Lincolnshire, please contact the area bishop The Rt Revd Dr Nicholas Chamberlain, Bishop of Grantham, whose details are here: https://www.lincoln.anglican.org/contact/directory/
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