April 11, 2003

DIOCESE OF RIPON AND LEEDS - An innovative video showing churchgoers what happens to the money they put on the collection plate will be launched on Saturday 12 April by the Church of England in Ripon and Leeds. Delegates to the Synod (or 'parliament') of the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds, meeting in Harrogate, will be given the first public showing of the film Shareholders in Mission', an in-house production which aims to encourage giving and dispel misunderstandings about the 'Parish Share' paid by churches to the diocese.

Copies of the 22-minute film, together with discussion material, will be distributed to each of the 160 parishes that make up the 1,359 square mile diocese covering Leeds and the central third of North Yorkshire. Filmed at more than 20 different locations throughout the area, the video, written and produced by Diocesan Communications Officer, the Revd John Carter, and narrated by BBC Religious Correspondent, Richard Staples, shows a variety of projects and pastoral work both in urban and rural areas which are dependent on the giving of wealthier parishes for them to continue.

The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, the Rt Revd John Packer, who will introduce the film at the Diocesan Synod on Saturday, said he hoped that the video would do much to help people understand the importance of mutual support and the Parish Share. "There remains much misunderstanding of the purpose of parish share and how it works," he said. "The title for the project has been chosen to emphasise that everyone who gives money through the church is 'investing' not just in the work of their own parishes but in ministry and mission throughout the diocese.'

In 2003 the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds will need to collect more than 4 million pounds from parishes in order to pay for clergy and ministry support which currently costs more than 5 million pounds per annum. Next year, further rises will be required if cuts are not to be made in clergy numbers. Speaking on the video, Bishop Packer says he believes it is a price worth paying. "The work, the projects, the examples of mission on this video are just the tip of the iceberg of all that is done in Christ's name day by day, week by week," he said. ."..Believe it or not, if on average everyone in our churches was prepared to increase their weekly giving by about a pound, then we would be able to plan for growth, retain our clergy and see the work of God increase. I believe that is a price worth paying to invest in the work of God's kingdom as Shareholders in his mission."

Anglican Communion News Service