God Will Provide
I read a letter in one of the newspapers the other day.
From a member of the clergy in England who was keen to point out that - contrary to popular opinion - religious ministers are not badly off.
Because as well as receiving a stipend (a salary to you and me) - they get a range of 'fringe' benefits including:
Free housing
An exemption from council tax
An exemption from water rates
Free transport
Refunded energy bills
Living expenses
In the reverend's own estimation this all added up to over £35,000 a year - after tax.
Which is a lot more that the average before tax salary in the UK - which stands at around £25,000.
Now what churches do with their own property is up to them - but I didn't realise that ministers of the cloth were so heavily subsidised by the public purse.
I wonder if this applies to all faiths - or just the chosen few?
So it seems that while 'God will provide' - he gets more than a little help from the public purse.