Report from April Chapter Meeting

The Chapter – or Board of Trustees – of Wakefield Cathedral met on Wednesday April 02. As well as the usual discussions of finances, safeguarding and the report from the Senior Management Team, Chapter took a ‘deep dive’ into environmental matters and considered the process for seeking a new Chapter member.

As the board of trustees of the cathedral, the Chapter is responsible for overseeing the way the cathedral is run. The group of 12 trustees includes the dean and residentiary canons, plus eight elected or appointed members.

During the consideration of environmental matters, Chapter members commended the work of the Cathedral’s Eco-Group, in particular the way the group is raising awareness of environmental matters amongst the cathedral community. The group was thanked for making the outside areas around the cathedral look so attractive. It was reported that the cathedral is working towards a silver award from the environmental charity A Rocha.

Chapter heard from Canon Danny Wilks, chair of the Nominations Committee, that work is in hand to advertise for a new Chapter member, when a position becomes vacant following the resignation of Canon John North. Chapter members emphasised their desire to hold a transparent selection process, and expressed a desire to attract interest from as diverse as possible a range of candidates. Details of the vacancy, and how to express interest, will be available on the cathedral website shortly.

Under the regular item on cathedral finances, Chapter reviewed the January and February management accounts, which showed that the year had begun with below-budget income and slightly above-budget expenditure. “This is not unexpected, as much of the cathedral’s income from events comes in later in the year, but nevertheless, the financial picture continues to be very challenging,” commented Dean Simon.

After the close of the main meeting, most Chapter members held an informal discussion to review the process for appointing a new dean, following Dean Simon’s retirement. Fuller details of this will be shared with the cathedral congregation as soon as possible. “Congregation members, along with other stakeholders of the cathedral, are to have the opportunity to feed into the statement of needs for the appointment of the next dean,” explained Canon Jane Evans, vice-chair of chapter. “In particular, we are seeking views on what brings joy about Wakefield Cathedral, and what the challenges are perceived to be.”