Radical moves by the Church of England may see cafés and nightclubs opened up in parish buildings to pay for church planting, and historic bishop’s houses and palaces sold if they do not meet strict financial targets.
Both the commercial leases of parishes and the transfer of the cost of bishops to individual dioceses will free up funds for mission-minded ventures such as church plants, a review body commissioned by the Church of England believes.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has signaled greater financial stringency to aid church plant efforts.
Auckland Palace, the 800-year-old seat of the bishop of Durham in northern England, is among several Episcopal residences that are already hired out for conferences and social occasions. The eight-bedroom residence of the Bishop of Bristol recently went for sale for £1.75 million.
“Each house will be assessed to determine its development and income potential,” the Church Commissioners report revealed. “This might mean that houses which are too expensive to maintain will be replaced.”
However, the General Synod recently postponed further debate on the report indefinitely, following condemnation by several senior clergy. The Rt Rev Christopher Herbert, Bishop of St Albans, told The Scotsman the report treats bishops with disdain, calling it “a degrading and humiliating exercise, brutality with a smirk.”
But the situation in England has little consequence for Sydney, believes the Chief Executive Officer of Sydney Diocese, Rodney Dredge. “In Sydney we have twelve Episcopal properties, ranging from modest suburban houses to typical older style Eastern Suburbs properties. Only one is equivalent to a UK’s Bishop’s palace and that is Bishopscourt, our Archbishop’s residence.”
Mr Dredge says there are no plans to sell Bishopscourt.
“We are very proud of Bishopscourt. It is a heritage building with fine, irreplaceable grounds from which considerable ministry flows. From an asset management point of view, we have no plans to sell it,” he said. “Because we do not have any other heritage properties in the Episcopal portfolio, we intentionally replace these properties as the ministry and location needs of a bishop or an archdeacon change. The fact that we can turn our properties over and the English church cannot means that we are in a position to buy investment grade residences.
“The outcome of this is that the Sydney Diocese is much better positioned to directly support bishops and archdeacons in their ministry,”  he said.