The Annual Return is the means of collecting from parishes/churches information required by the bishops, archdeacons, diocesan officers, and the committees of the Archbishops’ Council, to assist in their various responsibilities for planning and administering the affairs of the church at its different levels.
It is essential that the senior clergy and diocesan staff know the details of the appropriate contacts for any matter about which they may have dealings with your church, and accurate information on the life and finances of the parish/church is essential in reaching the right decisions to further the mission of the Church in your locality, and in the Diocese as a whole.
(The information is also statutorily required to comply with the provisions of the Churchwardens Measure 2001, the Synodical Government Measure 1969 and the Church Accounting Regulations 1997, as amended in 2001.)
Using the last 10 years’ returns to help you plan in your parish
The information provided through the annual return also helps churches plan for the future. A project has started to provide each parish, on request, with analysis of the last ten years’ annual return data. For more information, visit here.
Completing the annual return
People who hold a “principal minister position” (incumbent, priest in charge, minister in charge, team rector, team vicar, pioneer minister) or have an official parish role (churchwarden, PCC secretary, PCC treasurer, parish administrator) will be emailed separately by Area/archdeaconry offices with details of how to log in.
Other people can be given access to the online annual return. Instructions for doing that are on the annual return help page.
The online facility will be available straight after Easter – from Tuesday 10 April. Annual returns should be completed by 1 June.
Useful information and getting help
Help is available on the diocesan website, both for completing the annual return and for conducting APCMs:
