A LONDON diocesan motion to redirect from diocesan boards of finance (DBFs) to PCCs the £34 fee for funeral services at crematoria or cemeteries when there was no service in church was approved by the General Synod on Friday afternoon.
That was the practice before 2020, when the Synod amended the Parochial Fees Order in favour of the DBF, on the grounds that parishes should retain monies only when costs were incurred through use of the church constructing. But it was also argued that, while the sum was small, it reflected the effort and time of clergy, lay ministers and volunteers in a vital ministry.
The motion had originated within the Hillingdon deanery synod, which had noted that Derby diocese had already redirected the fee.
Introducing the controversy, the Revd Christopher Trundle (London) said that redirecting the fee can be a tangible way of supporting funeral ministry, and would reflect the “considerable effort and time” involved in ministering to bereaved people. The fee can be extra welcome for reimbursement of ministers’ expenses by the PCC.
The annual sum involved across the entire of the Church of England was estimated to be £1.7 million; lack of income to the DBF in London had been £10,000 in 2023, Fr Trundle said. Decisions about which PCC should receive the fee were a neighborhood matter, which the motion didn’t seek to dictate; also, this was not a call for a trial scheme. It was simply a call to return to the pre-2019 position.
In favour, the Revd Mae Christie (Southwark) described the funds in her parish as “slim and trim”: small amounts did matter, and this fee can be an uplift for parishes. But more administrative support would also help.
The Revd Marcus Walker (London) strongly supported the principle of paying staff their dues: quite a lot of pastoral care went into funerals ministry, he said. The motion also acknowledged the impact on parishes of the 2020 decision. One priest had revealed himself to be the one member of the deanery prepared to take funerals of non-churchgoers. If he was unable to, the duty went to the funeral directors, and the families were without pastoral support. The C of E was attempting to encourage funeral directors to return to using priests: “It’s a core ministry, and it’s very vital we put this right.”
The Revd Julian Hollywell (Derby) regarded this as “a great opportunity to rectify our own mistakes”. Derby had been returning the fees to parishes since 2020. “It’s a centralist view to contemplate that if a church isn’t getting used, there isn’t a price to the parish,” he said.
The Revd Liz Hassall (York) wanted the Synod to look more widely on the finance behind this. PCCs didn’t exist in isolation: the administration time needed to be sure that the fee was directed to the right PCC was considerable. “I need to support the motion, but I can’t condone allowing PCCs to feel richer while being obliged to contribute more,” she said.
Canon Andrew Dotchin (St Edmundsbury & Ipswich) said that his parish was never in a position to pay its full parish share and had “in gladness” paid the fee to the DBF. “If the DBF feels the parish need it, they’ll return it with love and joy,” he suggested.
The Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, who chairs the UK Bereavement Commission, said: “Never underestimate the importance of fine pastoral look after people at vulnerable times of their lives. Churches can provide this care. The motion affirms the worth of funerals ministry generally, and the role of parish ministry.” The Church mustn’t ignore the implications of the decline in church funerals, she said. “We cannot underestimate the worth to people and society of this ministry.”
Carl Hughes (Archbishops’ Council) said that, ultimately, each diocese needed enough funds to pay clergy and to supply other ministries. If this motion was carried, among the money that had reverted to the parishes is perhaps passed on within the parish share, to assist to plug the gap in diocesan funds.
The Bishop of Derby, the Rt Revd Libby Lane, said that her diocese was pleased to act as a pilot project for the Church of England. “We need to affirm and encourage the very best bereavement ministry.” She suggested that essentially the most effective technique to encourage generosity by parishes was to speculate in resilient parish funds, in order that they might, in turn, be generous through the common fund. She assured the Synod that, regardless of the end result, Derby would proceed to redirect the fee.
The Revd Graham Kirk-Spriggs (Norwich) urged caution. If the Synod allowed this, he said, “we are going to inevitably in some places see parish share go up. The elephant within the room is parish share generally and the way much it’s.” He suggested: “We must support parish ministry if we’re to see our funeral ministry grow. We need proper, well-funded secretarial support.”
The Revd Chantal Noppen (Durham) said that funerals were an important a part of parish ministry. “In Durham, we train authorised local lay ministers — a special calling, and to do it well is an actual skill,” she said. “Funeral ministry is now all in-house. I would really like to see our ministries valued more: not all parishes can afford to waive a fee and assign it to a minister. We need administrative support, which may very well be at deanery level. We may be bolder and braver.”
The motion was carried. It read:
That this Synod request the Archbishops’ Council to put a draft order before the Synod to amend the Parochial Fees and Scheduled Matters Amending Order 2019 in order that a fee payable to the parochial church council is prescribed in respect of funeral services that happen at crematoria and cemeteries to reflect the contribution made by parishes in support of such services.
