ALMOST £10 million was given last yr towards parish share through the Ephesian Fund, set as much as enable individuals and PCCs to limit their giving to other churches “which can be holding on to the biblical and Anglican position on sexual ethics”, the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) reports.
The sum is the whole across 32 dioceses and “continues to grow, month by month”, a spokeswoman said this month. “We expect this growth to speed up if the trajectory within the Church of England continues towards clergy same-sex marriage and standalone services.”
The fund was established in 2023 (News, 24 November 2023) and may be utilized by PCCs to pay parish share. In passing the cash on to the relevant diocese, the Fund requires that or not it’s used to support only churches that endorse the Ephesian Fund Basis of Faith.
Last month, the CEEC released 4 short movies during which clergy whose PCCs had agreed to make use of the fund describe their rationale and the method. The Revd Dr Ian Somasundram, Priest-in-Charge of Christ Church, Jarrow Grange, and St John’s, Hepburn, in Durham diocese, described how the church had been concerned about “what has been discussed within the Church nationally regarding” Living in Love and Faith and Prayers of Love and Faith.
“Some have left the church over that direction; so we felt we desired to take motion at the least to safeguarding the integrity of the individuals who give towards our church.” There was a desire to “express that concern” and “be sure that that the cash that we pass to the diocese isn’t funding something that we predict God doesn’t agree with”.
A spokesman for Durham diocese said that, out of 209 parishes, two paid their share through the Ephesian Fund and had done so for the reason that end of 2024.
The total was £34,718 in 2025, “helping towards the price of providing their ministry, and we’re grateful for his or her contribution. As their contribution is lower than the price of ministry in these parishes, the rest is made up from mutuality and Lower Income Communities funding.”
The Revd Madi Simpson, Rector of St Mary with Holy Trinity and St Jude, Ulverston, within the diocese of Carlisle, said that the choice to make use of the fund had enabled many individuals who would otherwise not give to the Church of England to proceed to accomplish that.
“Conversations haven’t all the time been easy,” she said. “It may be complex, understandably, and we’re all invested in our own relationships and friendships, but . . . we’d like to have these conversations in today.
“The consequences of shifting away from our inherited beliefs on core things like sex, marriage, relationships, or the lifetime of the Trinity — and, funnily enough, I think those two things are connected — has consequences we are able to’t even begin to assume.” She told clergy to not be afraid to bring it to their PCCs: “Do it for yourself. Do it for your individual conscience. Do it for the Lord.”
The “overwhelming majority” of churches in Carlisle diocese paid their ministry offer on to the diocesan board of finance (DBF), a spokesperson said. The diocese “continues to be in constructive dialogue with representatives of the Ephesian Fund and a handful of churches who pay their Ministry Offer through the fund”.
The DBF “draws on other sources of income to take a position in mission and ministry in churches whose costs of ministry are higher than their Ministry Offer, including churches that pay through the Ephesian Fund”.
The Revd Sally Baily, Vicar of Holy Trinity, Hounslow, within the diocese of London, said that she had assumed that the fund was for those churches that might pay greater than their parish share, but had learned that it was possible to pay what they may to the diocese and likewise receive from other churches within the fund which could pay more and be generous.
The diocese had received a “top-up” from one other church within the fund to assist to pay for ministry at Holy Trinity. The fund meant that it was possible to support those churches that were “really serious about spreading the gospel, the true gospel, and never selling it short”.
The 2024 annual report for the diocese of London states that £260,000 (down from £750,000 in 2023) was “withheld by parishes to register their disquiet regarding General Synod decisions over the blessing for same sex relationships”.
A spokesman said that the diocese had “chosen to prioritise the needs of every donor parish on a case-by-case basis in relation to the Ephesian Fund”, and that “this process is working well.”
The Vicar of St Andrew’s, South Wimbledon, within the diocese of Southwark, the Revd Santhosh Thomas, said that each clergy and “senior church members” were “becoming increasingly concerned with the national direction of travel . . . particularly on problems with sexuality and marriage. . .
“Therefore, finding a way for us to specific our clear commitment to the orthodox gospel . . . was something we wanted the possibility to speak truthfully about.”
It was “a terrific way for everybody’s consciences to be put comfortable and for a clarity that we wish to be a part of the diocese, we wish to present, we wish to contribute, as we’ve had a superb working relationship as God has renewed this parish, but we couldn’t thoughtlessly just give money right into a system which has now sadly turn into very compromised and divided on what we imagine to be a primary issue.”
Mr Thomas was licensed at St Andrew’s in 2024, having served as an honorary associate minister within the parish while he was Senior Assistant Pastor at Dundonald Church, in Raynes Park. This church is a component of Co-Mission, a church-planting network established in 2005.
In 2024, the diocese of Southwark reported that the whole money expected to are available in from parishes that had opted to pay their contributions and pledges through the Ephesian Fund, or similar organisations, was expected to amount to £316,000. Parish share in total was £16.4 million.
