Church Commissioners written question – answered at on 4 September 2025.
Andrew Rosindell
Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs)
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church commissioners, what funds the Commissioners allocate to parish churches for the enabling of online church services.
Marsha de Cordova
The Second Church Estates Commissioner
Since 2018 the Church of England has provided specialist training and resources for parishes on how to use digital channels to grow their worshipping communities, through a programme called Digital Labs. With weekly blogs, regular webinars, and on-demand videos, this content has been seen more than 90,000 times a year. Bespoke in-person training and Digital Labs Clinics, where churches receive one-to-one advice and support, are also available.
Building capacity and expertise through the work of Digital Labs has helped parishes across the country to share their services online. In 2024, our church-finder site www.AChurchNearYou.com listed 2,444 online services for the public to watch.
The National Church Institutions also provide a weekly national online church service. This service airs every Sunday at 9 a.m. on the Church of England’s Facebook page, YouTube channel, and website. It is an essential resource for housebound individuals, those with caring responsibilities, and shift workers. It continues to be viewed over 150,000 times a week. The Church also offers services and prayer resources available through the Daily Prayer app, smart speakers and the free Daily Hope telephone line.
Yes0 people think so
No1 person thinks not
Would you like to ask a question like this yourself? Use our Freedom of Information site.
Matters concerning the established Church of England are dealt with at Question Time by a parliamentary representative of the church commissioners.
The church commissioner's role is to answer any parliamentary questions relating to the Church of England in the same way that a government minister may face questions about a particular government department.
The Second Church Estates Commissioner is appointed by the crown and is traditionally a backbench member of the party in government. The appointment lasts for the duration of the Parliament.
