Parish Returns
Every year your church is asked to complete returns about membership, attendance, church finances and their energy footprint.
The mission and finance statistics paint a picture of our common church life across the country and help to identify trends and spot mission opportunities.
They make it possible to plan in terms of clergy deployment. The financial figures indicate the church’s finances at the grassroots.
The Diocesan and National Picture
One practical example of where this information has been useful is where this information has helped the church to lobby the government. This is only possible if we have an accurate picture of the pressures at the local level.
As a diocese, the returns from parishes are vital for planning for our shared mission and ministry. Robust data is essential if our Deanery Partnerships to make good decisions about how the church uses its resources.
The data gathered in the Energy Footprint Tool is used nationally to establish the Church’s carbon baseline and monitor progress. Locally, it can be used to track the impact of the steps you are taking to reduce your own church’s emissions.
At diocesan level it helps us to:
- Spot churches which have issues with thier heating systems
- identify which churches would particularly benefit from an energy audit
- Discover examples of good practice to share
Complete The Energy Footprint Tool (EFT) Form
You can find a simple guide to help you in this process by clicking or tapping here.
The Local Benefits
Have you seen your benefice or parish dashboard? Every year, the national team take your data and produce dashboards for mission and finance.
These dashboards help you to answer important questions about your parish or benefice: who lives here, who comes to church and who are we missing or not meeting?
The dashboard gives an important snapshot and so can inform your mission and outreach opportunities. This enables church growth.
If you need assistance setting up access to the Parish Returns Poral or have any further questions, please be in touch.