PARISH FINANCE
What it costs to run our church
What is the average cost of a church?
The cost of running our church comes to £450 per day. This includes the running costs such as heating, lighting, insurance, repairs, services etc. On top of this, we have to pay for a full time priest, and the costs associated with that. This is paid into the London Diocese Common Fund, which pays for our priest's wages, pension, housing, and training.
A breakdown of the costs for a parish priest for 2025:
Stipend, Pension & NI, Retirement Housing, Council Tax £45,181 (45%)
Clergy Housing £28,820 (24%)
Training & Support £30,922 (31%)
We of course are blessed in our parish in that we have also been selected to be a training parish which means we benefit from having an Assistant Curate. Whilst the Diocese pays the stipend of the Assistant Curate, we have to house the curate and cover many of the associated running costs. There we have additional costs to those detailed above which we have to cover.
Who decides how much a parish contributes?
The PCC, as the trustees of Hornsey Parish Church, decides for our church in conversation with the London Diocese.
Each parish is told the costs of keeping its clergy and its share of other costs. The PCC makes an offer based on its knowledge of its own finances and diocesan finances. The generous offer reflects the parish’s ability to give as well as how much it costs to run the parish.
Not all parishes can give this full amount, so the generosity of past generations supports parishes that cannot meet their full costs. However, this inheritance is limited, so for the Church to continue to be present in poor and deprived areas of London, as well as in rich areas, the less well-off, poor parishes depend on their own generous, committed and sacrificial as well as some giving by better-off parishes.
For more information visit the Diocese of London website:
Common Fund | Diocese of London
