Happy birthday! Pentecost Sunday – or Whitsun – is traditionally the birthday of the Church. We are having a great birthday party in Southwell with all seven of the town’s Christian Churches joining together at the Minister at 9.30am to celebrate at the end of a period of 24/7 prayer. The Southwell Churches have joined together to pray from Ascension Day to Pentecost as part of an international wave of prayer, under the banner of Thy Kingdom Come.
Plans are progressing apace at the Cathedral as we mark staff changes and new appointments pending, property master planning progressing and some key initiatives to ensure we are proactive and intentional as we move forward…
Cathedral Leadership
New Dean. The appointment panel, chaired by the Lord-Lieutenant, has met and agreed the recruitment pack, the post has been advertised nationally and (hopefully!) the applications are flooding in. Interviews will be taking place in late September. We would expect the successful candidate to begin early in the New Year.
Chief Operating Officer (COO). We are sadly losing our excellent interim COO, David Coulthard, in the next couple of weeks as he begins his new role closer to home, in Salisbury. We have been fortunate to secure the services of a very experienced Cathedral COO, Isabel Merrifield, on an interim basis through to September, by which time we hope to have appointed a substantive COO. Recruitment for this post is progressing, and we will be interviewing in July.
Chief Finance Officer (CFO). Congratulations to Phil Sturgeon, our interim CFO, who has secured the role of CFO at Peterborough Cathedral, rather closer to his home. We are pleased to have now been joined by Jon Paynter, a management accountant, on an interim basis. Recruitment for a permanent CFO continues and we are hopeful of a permanent appointment soon.
Cathedral Operations Manager. Sarah Clemson, our Visitor and Volunteer Services Officer, has been appointed Cathedral Operations Manager, a post which has been created through the ongoing restructuring process (this replaces her previous post). Sarah will support the Verger, Shop and Café teams as well as continuing her existing relationship with the Stewards, and all of our volunteers. Sarah’s new post will ensure a more effective joined-up approach to the Cathedral’s life, contributing to the best use of our resources.
Property Manager. The Church Commissioners have given us a generous grant to finance the appointment of a full-time Property Manager for three years. This post will be hugely important as we put into effect the recommendations of the property Master Plan. The post will be advertised shortly, and we hope to have someone in post by the autumn. This post will incorporate the valuable work that Nick Turner has been undertaking on a part-time basis and will allow Nick to retire as he had hoped to do earlier this year (thank you, Nick, for continuing to hold the fort).
Programming
A small group of staff, led by Canon Amanda and Sarah Clemson, is currently developing a more proactive and intentional approach to programming events and activities at the Minster. This will help improve coordination with services and other activities, make better use of resources, and ensure a consistent and fair charging policy.
Property Master Planning
Our Project Managers are ploughing forward with their review, and some really helpful indications of progress are materialising. One of the clear aspects that they have already identified is that the property Master Plan should incorporate a review of visitor experience and facilities, which is now being folded into their review.
Some initial recommendations are expected this summer, with a preliminary options appraisal for Chapter. The review will include input from a number of areas of expertise, including architecture, historic buildings, visitor experience and planning.
The Property Master Planning has also been made possible by a generous grant by the Church Commissioners.
Management Systems
A quiet revolution is taking place behind the scenes to ensure our systems are up to date and serving us in the best ways possible. These include:
ChurchSuite. A new database and collection system which, for a small outlay, has brought together our Cathedral data, fundraising information and other crucial information which has previously been held fairly disparately.
Parish Giving Scheme. A Church of England stewardship system which makes regular giving far easier and, importantly, simplifies the collection of Gift Aid. We are encouraging everyone who gives regularly to the Minster to sign up to this new scheme (cancelling existing Standing Orders). If you don’t yet give regularly to the Minster and would like to do so, please do consider joining the Scheme. Further information for both current and new givers can be found here.
Policies. A review is currently being undertaken of our Cathedral policies, and these will be made available on our website in an accessible fashion.
Looking forward
Along with our regular pattern of worship, there’s much to look forward to at Southwell Minster. Please do pick up a copy of the Summer edition of What’s On or find details here: What’s on Guide: Summer 2025 | Southwell Minster.
Also coming up:
Southwell Music Festival 22nd – 25th August
The Longest Yarn 2 3rd – 27th September
Come Holy Spirit; fill the hearts of your people.
Neil
6th June 2025