- 57 -
the Diocesan Secretary who commented "the one thing the Church always
fights shy of doing, is doing anything for financial reasons"
(C4)
although he also thought there was "undoubtedly" a case for better
financial control. Even willingness to face the problem however is
not the same thing as having the wherewithal to actually do anything.
Much of the effective management occurs at parochial not diocesan level,
and the Diocese has no authority over parochial church councils, though
it does have, and does exercise, considerable influence. (One of the
odder incongruities of ecclesiastical law is that, whilst parochial
church councils, via deanery synods, have representation on the
Diocesan Synod, they carry no corollary of liability to taxation.)
3.3
'By-Products' in Demand
The actual form of this influence would merit a study in its
own right - if indeed all the subtleties ever could be fully unravelled -
but the need for it is, to a rational approach, clearly evident. The
Church is in a declining market for its principal product - regular
Anglican church attendance now involves only 2%
(C7)
and perhaps less(C1)
,
of the total population - although demand for some 'by-products' is
not only high but increasing "50% of all weddings are still in Church
of England churches...it's gone up again, it used to be 49%, this is
in [the] diocese...and the other 50% are shared between the register
offices, the Free Churches and the Romans...
(C4)
- and is facing
moderate cash flow problems. Both of these are features of an
organisation in the declining stages of the financial life cycle.
Not that there is a complete unawareness of a problem existing,
King et al detected "evidence of a slow awakening in dioceses to need
for management techniques"
(P5)
, and Rudge thought there would be
benefits in providing for clergy "...courses in parish administration...it
may also be important to provide such courses on a more advanced level
