Healing Soil

Wednesday evening I (with others) visited Top Barn Farm. Along with "ordinary" agriculture they have an established training centre for people with learning difficulties. Trainees work with horticulture & agriculture. They vary in age from teenage to 70s.
Also on the farm is the "Good Soil" project, working with some of Worcester's most prolific offenders - many of whom are dealing with serious drug habits. A typical drug habit will cost around £100 per day in heroin. Mostly that is funded by crime and, because stolen goods usually realise about 1/10th of their face value a "typical" drug user will steal around £1,000 worth of goods per day. It costs significantly less than that to keep someone on the project, and a lot less than prison so even if the project made no difference to any of them in the long run, it still represents excellent value for money.
The most recent innovation on the farm is a unit for excluded pupils.
For all these different people working with God's creation helps bring healing.

That concept of contact with the earth bringing healing is the idea behind Care Farming. More information about Care Farming here. This lunch time saw the launch of the West Midlands Care Farm Network. Money from Advantage West Midlands is being used to try and develop another 20 care farms in the region.

The launch took place at The Fold at Bransford and the photo is of the farmer explaining the cropping plans for the vegetable and how the order of horticulture will bring order into the lives of those who participte in the project

How does that add up?

At a recent meeting of diocesan synod (the body that governs the church) I outlined some figures in respect of parish share- the amount parishes pay towards the cost of ministry.
Since then I have been asked for the figures by a number of people, so here they are.

Last year rural parishes were asked to contribute just over £48,500 per paid post. Urban parishes were asked for just under £34,000.

There is no "rocket science" in them. I have simply allocated parishes as "rural" or "urban" (mainly following government descriptions). I have added up the amount paid by rural parishes and the amount paid by urban ones.
I have used the electronic diocesan database to add up the number of stipendiary (paid) posts in urban and rural. I have divided the amount paid by urban parishes by the number people paid to work in urban parishes and likewise for rural.

The difference is significant and thought needs to be given to where stipendiary posts are allocated. That's not to say that only parishes that are rich enough to pay should have a vicar, but urban churches should realise the extent to which they are being supported by the rural. And according to the Commission for Rural Communities, disposable incomes are less in rural areas.