Q uantum E lectro D ynamics

1. QuantumElectroDynamics • Electrons (tiny things moving from place to place and doing amazing jobs) • BLACK HOLES! • Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principal

2. Funding of Ministry in the United Reformed Church Contains: - Comparatively small quantities (the contributions of each member)moving and doing incredible things - BLACK HOLES! - An ‘Uncertainty Principal’ (it’s called ‘going forward together in faith’)

3. Maintenance of the Ministry(MoM) • A subcommittee of the URC Ministries Committee • Advises on the level of stipend and ministers’ conditions of service • Also concerned with ministerial pensions

4. Ministry and Mission Fund(M&M or MMF) • Provides, in partnership with local churches and Synods, financial resources needed to: • Train, equip and remunerate ministry • Support central services • Support the world-wide work of the Church • 86% of the URC’s unrestricted income is from M&M Fund

5. Plan for Partnershipin Ministerial Remuneration • First adopted by General Assembly 1980 • ‘The whole ministry of the URC is to be made available to the whole of the Church, and the financial responsibility for this ministry is to be shared throughout the whole of the Church …this payment is the first charge on the local church’s income.’ • Contributions do not relate to the amount of ministerial time received; we give that all may receive.

6. A Tale of Pots (part 1) The URC ‘Pot’

7. A Tale of Pots (part 2) 13 1 2 4 5 3 7 6 12 10 9 8 11 C

8. ‘So what’s in the pot?’ ‘Pot 12’ provides the funds for the stipends and ‘employment’ costs for a specified number of ministerial posts in the Synod of Wales – our ‘Deployment Figure’. 12 At present, our deployment figure – the number of posts our ‘pot’ pays for - is 23. Black Hole number 1: At present, we have 23.08 stipendiary ministers (the URC still pays for these posts)

9. …but there’s more… The pot marked ‘C’ (for ‘Central’) is used by all 13 Synods. It provides the funding for: C - Moderators - Special Category Ministry posts - Church Related Community Workers (26; 2 per Synod) - Other centrally funded ministerial posts We have: 1 Moderator 2 S C Ms 2 CRCWs + 1 declared vacancy ½ Ecumenical Officer = 6.5 posts funded from the ‘Central Pot’

10. …so the URC Ministry and Mission Fund pays for: 29.58 ministerial posts in Wales. The churches in Wales contribute to M&M. Our contributions in 2011 paid for: 20.52 ministerial posts. Black Hole number 2! Through the M&M system, we receive funding for 9 ministerial posts that we don’t pay for! Food for thought:URC Wales Has 4.0% of the total URC membership Contributes 3.2% of the total URC M&M Fund Receives 5.6% of the total URC stipendiary ministry

11. - To re-iterate: • ‘The whole ministry of the URC is to be made available to the whole of the Church, and the financial responsibility for this ministry is to be shared throughout the whole of the Church’ • Contributions do not relate to the amount of ministerial time received; we give that all may receive.

12. How have M&M ‘Targets’ been calculated? • ‘The total cost of URC ministry is shared by all the members of the URC.’ • Total cost of ministry • £23.2 million • Total number of URC members • 68,882 • Cost per member: £332

13. What does MoM pay for? • Ministerial stipends and ‘employment’ costs: £268 • ‘Mission’ element £64 • Education and learning • Youth & children’s work • Mission work • Editorial & governance

14. MoM does NOT pay for • Costs of running Synod offices • Pastorate expenses • Manses • All the money that churches give to the Ministry and Mission Fund is used to: • Train, equip and remunerate ministry • Support central services • Support the world-wide work of the Church

15. So how have targets been calculated?Step 1: • An ‘assessment’ has been made for each church based on the number of members it has. • For churches that receive ministry from another denomination this is £64 x number of URC members shown on latest annual returns submitted. • For all other churches it is £332 x number of members shown on latest annual returns submitted.

16. Step 2: • The Pledge made by the church last year (ie the amount of M&M the church pledged to pay for 2012) was looked at as a percentage of the ‘assessment’ for last year. • The ‘assessment’ for 2013 was multiplied by this percentage to produce a Target Figure for the church (unless % was more than 100%).

17. Step 3: • Some churches have paid less than 75% of the ‘assessment’. • To encourage these churches to try to increase their giving, the Target has been raised by 5%. • If such a church is in an area in top 25% of the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation, this additional 5% has not been included.

18. Step 4: • A letter showing the final Target figure was sent to each church treasurer. • Church treasurers are asked to agree, with the church, a figure that the church will PLEDGE to M&M.

19. The letter to treasurers • Is NOT a bill, or invoice. • It is NOT a demand for a ‘membership fee’. • It is NOT a levy.

20. The letter to treasurers • IS an indication to churches of the real costs of ministry in the URC. • IS an invitation to local churches to share financially in the Church’s work of ministry, both within the church and the wider community. • IS a request for local churches to consider prayerfully the level of financial support they are able to contribute to continue the ministry and mission of the whole church.

21. The Ministry and Mission Fund affirms that: • We are who we are because of God: • We have what we have because of God: • We do what we do because of God. • We are a people in covenant with one another, offering out of the riches we have been given for the work of the body of Christ of which we are all part.