Clergy Support Trust's Annual Assembly took place on Thursday 10 October 2025, staring with a Eucharist at St Magnus the Martyr Church, and followed by the AGM and lunch at the CCLA offices.
Thank you to our friends at CCLA, who very generously sponsored our 370th Festival Dinner earlier this year, for allowing us to use their beautiful meeting space, with a breathtaking view of the London skyline. Similarly, thank you to Fr Philip Warner for leading the morning Eucharist, and for allowing us to worship in such a wonderful church, and a true hidden gem of the City of London.
Our Senior Treasurer, Richard Farmbrough and Chief Executive, The Revd Ben Cahill-Nicholls presented the Treasurers' Report and the Chief Executive's Report, before we caught up properly with our closest circle of supporters and enjoyed lunch together.
We've been holding our Annual Assembly for over 340 years. It gives us the chance to reflect on our achievements in the past year, and to welcome Governors from across the UK and Ireland under one roof. It's also an opportunity for our Governors to approve our annual report, elect our Trustees and we take a moment to remember the Governors who have sadly passed away in the preceding months.
We were delighted to welcome two new Trustees to our Court of Assistants. Patience Thody has served as Deputy Chief Executive of The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, and serves on the Grants Panel and Board of the Biffa Award. Peter Warren has had a 35-year career in finance, and is a Trustee of the Connection at St Martin's, one of London's largest homelessness charities.
Our Senior Treasurer, Richard Farmbrough
Our keynote speaker
Thank you to The Revd Canon Thomas Woodhouse, Chaplain of The King's Chapel of The Savoy and The Royal Victorian Order, for taking the time to speak to us.
Thomas shared insights from his significant role working with the Royal Family, preaching to the tenants of the many acres of land owned by the Royal Household, and how the chapel support and signpost the many homeless people who sleep rough in Central London.
We were privileged to host our first Christmas Carol Service at The King's Chapel of The Savoy last year, and we are excited to return on Monday 1 December 2025, 6.30pm. Tickets are now available to book online.
Proxy voting and Governorship
As well as reflecting on the past year, we also looked further into the past at our historic Royal Charter, originally granted by King Charles II, our very first Royal Patron.
The charter did not previously allow us to accept proxy votes on important decisions at the Annual Assembly (AGM), meaning that many Governors who were unable to travel to London would have missed out on having their voices heard. We're happy to say that the Governors present at the meeting voted in favour of the introduction of proxy voting.
Similarly, we explored changes to Governorship itself. The Royal Charter currently assigns a high level of authority and decision-making to our Governors, which is unorthodox when compared with many other charities, for whom their Board of Trustees, or Court of Assistants, hold the highest level of decision-making.
We discussed updating Governors to be an honorary role, similar to how our Stewards of the Festival previously organised our historic annual Festival Service, but now serve a ceremonial role in the opening procession and Order of Service. An extraordinary AGM will be held in 2026, to vote on these proposed changes.
The Revd Canon Thomas Woodhouse
Our Chief Executive, The Revd Ben Cahill-Nicholls
Many of our Governors joined us for a light lunch
