MILNROW Parish Church is facing increasing debt as it heads towards Christmas.

The church has failed to meet its financial obligation to the Manchester Diocese again this year after a decision was made to carry out vital repairs instead.

Each year churches are asked to pay an annual contribution to the running of their diocese and the figure is based on five per cent of each parishioner’s annual income.

With Milnrow Parish Church having an estimated 85 adult parishioners and 50 or 60 children who regularly attend, its current parish share is estimated at £45,650.

The church fell short of paying its parish share last year by £18,000 and another failure to meet its quota again in 2008 may put it out of the running for grants from the diocese.

The cost of running the church doesn’t stop with the diocesan quota. Heating and electricity bills push the yearly budget to around £70,000 – and that’s excluding repairs.

The vicar, the Rev Robin Usher, said the running cost worked out at around £1,300 every week. Last week’s collections brought in £585.

Current repairs to the roof, costing £50,000, are being funded by money left in the wills of friends of the church.

Mr Usher said: "It’s the dead keeping the living going. The numbers of parishioners hasn’t really dropped, but the cost of running the diocese in Manchester keeps going up.

"If the quotas keep rising only the small churches with small running costs will be able to survive. The cost of keeping a place like Milnrow Parish open will be out of reach.

"If we had a big problem like a complete roof repair we could be wiped out overnight.

"Members of the congregation really need to look seriously at the amount of support they give the church and also the wider community.

"Many people who come for weddings just expect the church to be there and one day when it’s not there they’ll wonder where it’s gone.

"You can’t have such a big building in the village without somebody paying for it."

Mr Usher is now hoping to redevelop the church and make it accessible to the community in a bid to raise funds.

The Rev Sharon Jones, the area dean of Rochdale and vicar at St Andrew’s Church, Dearnley, believes it is nothing unusual for churches to fall behind with their payments and the diocese has become used to churches in Rochdale failing to meet their quotas.

But diocese officials believe these costs are acceptable for the majority of churches in Manchester. A spokesman for the diocese said: "There are about 273 parishes in the Manchester diocese and the majority of these parishes, over 200 churches, manage to pay their parish share in full.

"Churches who do face difficulties are advised in a number of ways about raising funds. We can employ a giving adviser and a grants officer to help.

"The bottom line is if the churches in the Manchester diocese can’t meet their bills there will be fewer clergy."