This web page provides support and information for parishes about Parish Share.
On this page
An introduction by Bishop Guli
Thank you!
I want to start by saying thank you for your parish’s contribution to Parish Share and to all those who make this possible by giving generously in your church community.
People are sometimes surprised to learn that the vast majority of the funds contributed in parish share go back to our parishes to help keep the ministries of our local churches running, in particular by funding the stipends and housing costs of our parish clergy. Without such generosity, we simply would not be able to fund ministry in our parish churches in Chelmsford Diocese
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I know these continue to be financially challenging times and that your generosity often comes with considerable personal sacrifice. I want to reiterate our continued commitment to making the most of our assets and investments, and to attracting grant funding. This will mean that once again this year we can budget to spend more on supporting the direct costs of local parish ministry than we request in parish share.
This web page and the associated resources have been written to explain how the Parish Share Scheme works in our diocese and to help you share that information with others in your church community. There are also resources to help you raise funds, encourage generosity and manage parish finances, which I hope you will find helpful.
Finally, I want to thank all those who serve on our PCCs and are good stewards of all that God provides to our churches. Thank you to our Area Deans, Deanery Lay Chairs and Deanery Treasurers and many others who play such an important role in bringing people together to enable generosity and mutual support between parishes which helps us to resource mission and ministry across the great variety of communities we serve in Essex and East London.
The Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani
Bishop of Chelmsford
Further guidance and information
Parish Share
- How to read your detailed deanery assessment
- Diocesan Synod Paper, June 2026 Diocesan Budget and Parish Share Scheme
- Detailed explanations:
Finance and giving resources for your parish
Good practice and materials from deaneries and parishes
In this section we will be sharing materials and ideas that have been used in deaneries to support the implementation of the parish share scheme and in particular to encourage and enable mutual support between parishes. If you have materials or ideas that you would like to share, please email web@chelmsford.anglican.org
Colchester Deanery Materials
Thank you to colleagues in Colchester Deanery for sharing a Powerpoint presentation and leaflet that was used to support their initial deanery meeting about the new parish share scheme in 2023. They are happy for other deaneries to adapt these resources for their own use.
- Deanery Meeting Powerpoint Presentation (including agenda)
- Deanery Meeting Power Point Presentation (including agenda) as PDF. *
- Deanery Parish Share leaflet
*This PDF version of the presentation may be useful for those without Powerpoint or where the Powerpoint presentation isn't displaying as it should.
Parish share leaflets
This leaflet has been produced for parishes to share in their church community. The leaflet briefly explains the parish share scheme, its underpinning values and how essential it is to supporting local parish mission and ministry in our diocese. The leaflet also contains links to the online resources.
The deadline for ordering leaflets for the 2026 parish share has now passed, but we have a small quantity at the diocesan office. If you would like us to send you some leaflets for use in your church community, please email internalcomms@chelmfsord.anglican.org
New Parish Share Video
A new short explainer video about our Parish Share scheme and how churches are funded in Chelmsford Diocese has been published. It explains how the diocesan Parish Share, a contribution from every parish across the diocese, funds local parish ministry as part of our shared life together.
This new video resource will help parishes explain how parish share works – where the money goes; how it is spent and the impact it makes. The video also thanks everyone in our church communities, whose generosity helps fund local parish ministry in churches across Essex and East London.
Watch the video below:
