Last updated 5th November 2025

Parish Share: How it works and what it pays for

Thank you to each and every parish for your ongoing contributions to Parish Share.

Parish Share is the sum of money contributed by parishes every year to the diocese which mainly supports local ministry.

We have produced a video to help to explain what parish share pays for and how it is made up.

You can watch the video by clicking the embedded file above. Please share it far and wide on social media and show it locally at PCC meetings and other gatherings in your parish as appropriate to help understanding of what Parish Share pays for. 

Parish Share is essential to the mission of the church in our diocese as, without it, clergy could not be supported.

Parish Share Support

Many parishes have valued the ability to request financial support from the Diocesan Board of Finance (DBF) towards their parish share. Over recent years, the DBF team has met with many parishes to discuss mission, ministry, and financial support, and we are grateful for the openness and collaboration shown throughout these conversations.

As we enter a new phase of working, we are updating the way parishes request support. From now on, we are asking parishes to apply for parish share support using an online form, available by scanning the QR code on this page or by clicking the link HERE

Decisions will be made primarily via correspondence, which we hope will make the process more efficient and accessible for many parishes. However, we understand that some situations may benefit from a conversation, and meetings will still be arranged where needed. If your parish would prefer to discuss your application in a meeting, please do let us know when submitting the form.

We remain committed to supporting you in your ministry and mission, and we thank you for your continued faithfulness and partnership.

• If you have any questions or difficulties with the form please email parishshare@blackburn.anglican.org 
• If you have any questions about the Diocesan Budget or your Parish Share calculation, please contact our Finance Team via the Diocesan Office main switchboard number 01254 503070.

Why should we pay parish share?

Resourcing the work of the church this way follows some principles we find in Scripture. 

God is our Heavenly Father whose nature as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is to invite us be in a relationship with Him, and with one another. Parish Share is one way we act, as Christians, to fulfil our calling and even reflect God’s own relational nature.

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." (Romans 12:4-5, NIV) 

As Christians, we are bound together as members of the Body of Christ, called to live as generous disciples extending the love of God to the whole world.

By ensuring that the church may offer ministry beyond those communities which could readily afford it, Parish Share is a means of justice, of true, Christ-centred generosity and even sharing the very love of God, no less.