A crisis meeting is being held to discuss the future of Norfolk's rural churches, amid claims they are being starved of resources as clergy managing multiple parishes battle to keep on top of their workload.
Priests in some areas are expected to care for groups of congregations, while vacancies remain unfilled, in some cases for years.
They include the Saxon Shore Benefice covering six churches on the coast between Hunstanton and Brancaster, where two priests who left in 2023 have not yet been replaced.
Fr Clive Wylie, who looks after 14 churches stretching from the edge of the Burnhams to Fakenham, said: "We talk about vocation, we talk about a call from God.
"But is God not calling, are people not hearing - or is too much being expected of people?"
The 62-year-old doesn't count the hours he puts in but says he usually works from when he gets up in the morning to when he goes to bed.
Campaigners are calling for the Church of England to provide more grass roots funding to save the parish system, where each church has its own rector.
Save The Parish (STP) has organised a special conference to discuss the effects of closing and combining parishes, which will be held in Norwich on Saturday, September 5.
The group says the church commissioners are sitting on investments of £11bn, some of the income from which could be ploughed into ministry, while the country's 42 dioceses duplicate admin and cost £239m to run including £154m on 2,000 staff.
It adds: "All in all, the figures present a stark contrast between head office, which appears to be financially secure thanks to the investment income which derives from the inherited assets of the Church of England, and the parishes which are financially stretched and desperate for more clergy.
"In the parishes it’s scrimping and saving to keep going, to make ends meet. In head office, money is spent by the million on social causes and administration, little of it reaching parishes."
Causes include £100m the CofE has controversially set aside to make "reparations" for its historic links to slavery.
But STP says the church should use more of its income to fund more priests, instead of expecting parishes to pay "shares" of thousands a year towards the costs of employing clergy.
Its co-founder Emma Thompson, who will address the conference at Norwich School, said: "Despite their significant financial contribution and their key role in the life of local rural communities, in the last decade many small, rural and poor parishes have been starved of resources and neglected by the central church.
"This discussion on the future of the rural parish is a great opportunity to hear what the future might hold and to find out how best to keep parishes thriving and churches open in Norfolk.”
Rev Marcus Walker, chairman of STP, said: “By returning the billions of church commissioners’ assets to the funding of ordinary parish ministry, and streamlining the bloated costs and duplicated activities of dioceses, the church could reignite a passion for Christ across the nation, bubbling up from the thousands of communities to which it ministers.”
Representatives from the Diocese of Norwich will also be taking part in the conference, including the Bishop of Lynn, the Rt Rev Dr Jane Sheen, diocesan secretary Tim Sweeting and director of finance Jo Smithson.
In a statement, the diocese said it was committed to supporting all churches and communities across Norfolk and Waveney, including rural areas, where parishes continue to play a vital role in local life.
It added there is "a nationwide challenge of low clergy numbers" and this has had impacted recruitment.
"The diocese is taking action on a number of fronts, including improvements in housing, stipends and encouraging vocations locally," it said.
"Although we have seen many successful appointments, the national trends are expected to continue to cause local challenges.
"Interviews have taken place at Hunstanton and Saxon Shore and an announcement is expected shortly."
The conference will be held on Saturday, September 5 in the Blake Studio, Norwich School, 71A The Close, Norwich, from 2pm until 4.30pm.
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