THE Clergy Support Trust has received a grant of £2 million from the Archbishops’ Council for its work to help the serving clergy with their funds, health, and well-being, it was announced on Friday.
The Trust is a national charity independent of the Church of England. This is the primary time that it has received a grant from the Council.
Last 12 months, the Trust provided greater than 6700 grants, price a complete of £6 million, to 2800 households of stipendiary clergy and self-supporting ministers (not including retired clergy who’ve permission to officiate).
The Trust’s chief executive, the Revd Ben Cahill-Nicholls, said: “Ministry is a joy, but comes with significant challenges; for too many clergy, those challenges are financial. Today’s announcement is a really positive step forward, because the Church continues to acknowledge that more have to be done, and it has been good to work together on longer-term, sustainable solutions, including improvements to the stipend.”
The Trust provided financial aid to 22 per cent of the serving clergy last 12 months, it reports, including grants for items to support ministry, resembling laptops, in addition to automobile repairs, school uniforms, and domestic appliances.
Mr Cahill-Nicholls continued: “Clergy well-being shouldn’t be a peripheral issue, but essential to the mission and ministry of the Church. This funding will contribute positively to the broad programme of grants and services which CST is privileged to supply, as we seek to serve those extraordinary ladies and men who spend their lives serving others.”
The Church’s Ministry Development Board is currently reviewing the worth of clergy stipends and pensions as a part of a wider review of church funds. The Bishop of Chester, the Rt Revd Mark Tanner, who chairs the Board, said: “This award recognises the financial pressures facing our dedicated and hard-working clergy across the country, who achieve this much to serve their communities.
“I’m very grateful to the Archbishops’ Council for making this money available to Clergy Support Trust’s grants programme this 12 months.”
The Clergy Support Trust is the successor to 6 Anglican clergy-support organisations, of which the oldest was the Corporation of the Sons of the Clergy, founded in 1655.
