Email to a friend | Read later | Your comments
Thursday, 5th July 2007

Home working case study 1: Fr Davies

HOUSE OF GOD: Father Davies
HOUSE OF GOD: Father Davies
FOR Father Patrick Davies, living in a house tied to his job is a means to an end – that of being able to carry out his duties and care for his parishoners effectively.
 
As vicar of St Crispin’s on Hart Road, Fallowfield, the 48-year-old says it was a shock when he and his family moved in to the imposing rectory three and a half years ago.
 
With its six-bedrooms, three reception rooms and secluded garden, this detached house is grand in comparison to most rectories.
 
Yet, as befitting a man whose aims are spiritual rather than material, Fr Patrick is humbled by its scale. “I feel a bit embarrassed by the size sometimes when there are other people living round here in much more modest places.
 
“I know we’re very fortunate and blessed to be here. It’s a lovely place and it’s nice to have this much space, but the reality is that it’s not our house. I’m here to serve the community so the house has to be a resource for other things.”

Living at on site of his workplace is, however, generally a bonus point for Fr Patrick.

He says he likes being able to hold meetings at the rectory because it generates a more relaxed atmosphere than in a cold dark church hall.

Advertisement your story continues below

“And being on site, people know where to come and find me if the church is closed.

Zipping

“Also, it means I can be getting on with several things at once here, whereas if the office was in the church I might have to be continually zipping from here to there.”

On a practical level, living in a house owned by the Church of England, has other benefits.

“If we have problems with things needing to be repaired, I just call the diocese office and they send someone round to fix it. That’s very handy.”

But Fr Patrick does admit to some difficult aspects. “The rectory has to be an open house to some extent.

“We have parish meetings here and I have to be available a lot of the time, when people turn up needing help or someone to talk to – but that’s par for the course.”

As a family man – with wife Anne, 46, and children, Rebekah, 20, Rachelle, 19, and Jonathan, 16 – he is also mindful of safety.

“Security can be an issue, and if my wife or children are in on their own, I tell them to be careful about answering the door if they don’t know who is calling.”

His genial and caring nature means that he doesn’t feel a loss of privacy too much, but he says that it is something that his children speak of.

“They tell me they can’t just chill out in their pyjamas in case someone turns up, so that irks them a little sometimes.”

As occupants of the rectory rather than owners, Fr Patrick and his family have no stake with which to reinvest when he eventually leaves or retires.

He says it’s not something he really thinks about, but a pension on his current stipend of around £20,000 would be nowhere near enough to afford a property of similar proportions, thought to be worth in the region of up to £500,000.

Unpaid skivvy

And as his wife is a full-time mum and ‘unpaid skivvy’ for the church, they would have to rely on his contributions alone.

Fortunately for Fr Patrick, it’s not something that bothers him.

“I don’t mind where or what style of house we eventually end up in – I would be happy living in a box.”

Though on reflection, he says a modern functional house would be good.

What do you think? Have your say.