Save the Parish report: Church of England clergy feel undervalued, under-resourced and overworked

Save the Parish has produced a major report on pastoral ministry in the Church of England after a March consultation involving clergy, theologians, theological educators, church officials and other stakeholders. The report calls attention to long-term decline in stipendiary clergy and to widespread low morale among active ministers.

The report notes that stipendiary clergy numbers have dropped for decades. In May the Church of England recorded 6,682 stipendiary clergy alongside 2,440 self-supporting ministers. The report also highlights that a majority of active clergy are retired ministers holding a Permission to Officiate (PTO), rather than full-time stipendiary priests.

Vocations: Potential ordinands often lack basic knowledge of traditional Church of England beliefs and practices. The report links declining confidence in ordained ministry with weaker recruitment and calls for clearer formation around Anglican identity.

Training: Current training is described as "functional and managerial," with limited theological content and a noticeable shortfall in Anglican theology. The report flags a specific gap in early-years training for newly ordained clergy.

Retention and support: Many serving clergy report being "deeply unhappy." They say they feel undervalued, under-resourced, overworked, frustrated and vulnerable. Beyond resourcing and training gaps, there is reported mistrust of central leadership and resistance to managerial leadership styles that can pit parishes against each other for funding.

Recommendations and calls to action

The report offers concrete remedies aimed at reversing decline and improving clergy wellbeing:

• Strengthen teaching on "Anglican basics" for new clergy so ordinands have clearer grounding in doctrine and practice.
• Provide greater support for new and prospective ministers, with improved early-career training and mentoring.
• Increase financial resourcing where needed to reduce competition between parishes for central funds.
• Introduce a "covenant of care" for clergy to formalise obligations around wellbeing and support.
• Convene a conference on the priesthood to gather leaders and practitioners to plan practical steps.

Marcus Walker, Chair of Save the Parish, said that joyful, hopeful clergy are crucial to recruitment: "If clergy are loving their job, they will be the greatest recruitment sergeant for new priests the Church has ever known. A joyful, hopeful clergy lifts parishes, people, and vocations like nothing else." He described the report as a starting point for using available resources—money, talent and passion—to revive priestly ministry within the Church.

Declining stipendiary numbers, reliance on retired clergy with PTOs, and low morale among serving ministers combine to weaken frontline pastoral care. The report links formation, training, and retention: gaps in any one area make the others harder to fix. The recommendations aim to address those interconnected problems with concrete training, financial and pastoral measures.

For clergy and parish leaders: review local training and mentoring arrangements for newly ordained colleagues and consider practical steps to reduce managerial competition for funds.

For diocesan and national leaders: consider adopting the report's proposals on teaching, resourcing and a covenant of care and plan a focused conference on priesthood to set measurable follow-up actions.

For church members: understand how recruitment and retention pressures affect parish life and where congregational support could make a difference.