Horsham vicar Sam Maginnis calls for clergy to have pay rise

Reverend Sam Maginnis, vicar of the Holy Trinity Church in Horsham, says he is on the brink of burnout due to low pay and working six days a week.

The 37-year-old was ordained in 2019 after leaving a high-powered job as a lawyer for the Competition and Markets Authority.

“This was what God was calling me to do,” he said.

“It was the only thing that took me away from my old job, which I really enjoyed.

“What drew me to being a vicar was helping other people."

The vicar, who moved from his home in Portadown in Northern Ireland to England in 2004, took a “substantial pay cut” to become a vicar.

He now earns under £28,000 and says he works flat out for his parish.

“My day starts at 8am,” he said.

“I am in church at 8.30am Monday to Thursday for morning prayer service.

“I then work through to 6.30pm on a regular day.

“Then there are evening meetings, church council meetings, and meetings of the diocese.

“It’s pretty full on."

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Added to his workload, Rev Maginnis is also a union rep - which he says takes significant time out of his week too.

Rev Maginnis on Good Friday (Image: SWNS)

“I can't save for a deposit,” he said.

“If I’m not able to do this soon, I will begin to worry about my future.

“I come from a high-pressure professional background, but even I am beginning to feel the pressure now.

“I rely on clergy support for little extra boosts to pay for holiday to get away.

“But there are so many people who are far worse off than me.

“Even in Horsham, which is quite a middle-class area, we are seeing rising use of foodbanks and people struggling to get by.

“People are coming for help and are anxious for the future.”

It comes as some 2,000 clergy and other staff represented by Unite recently submitted their first ever official pay claim in the churches 500-year history.

They are asking for a 9.5 per cent rise in the annual stipend, which is currently £26,794.

Rev Maginnis said: “There are vast reserves managed at national level.

“We are holding the church to account, to ensure our wage is pegged to inflation."

The Church of England is one of the wealthiest religious organisations in the world, with its Church Commissioners Annual report revealing an endowment fund of almost £9 billion, which generates around £1 billion a year in income.

Rev Maginnis believes the church has been extremely cautious since the financial crisis of 2008.

“In the financial crash they took a big hit but they have had continuous growth ever since then," he said.

“We are not calling for a radical overhaul, we still think our salary should come predominantly from the parish, but this is a political decision.

“We need the church to show the political will and imagination to ensure all clergy get paid adequately.”