THE DEAN WRITES - MAY 2008
In his address to the Annual Easter Vestry, the Dean spoke on the complexities of the unique governance of the Cathedral , their origin, the present and future challenge of the management of charities.
The Cathedral Board comprises the Bishop of Connor and the Bishop of Down and Dromore, the Dean and the licensed vicars of the cathedral parish (normally two but for some time we regrettably have been able to afford only one), clergy members elected every three years by the Chapter and lay members elected annually at the Easter General Vestry. The governance of the cathedral, as with every cathedral and parish, has to be in accordance with the statutes of the Church of Ireland Constitution and any attendant diocesan regulations which in the case of Belfast Cathedral are those which apply in the Diocese of Connor.
The Constitution is in a sense both the guardian statement of the Church’s doctrine and an articulation of how the Church of Ireland expresses this ecclesiastical ethos when it is doing its administrative business. It is a remarkable document which is per force revised every time General Synod approves new legislation or makes related changes to the existing laws.There are areas where it is quite explicit and areas on which it is remarkably silent. The Constitution was commenced and was first produced at a time when all involved were presumed to be reasonably familiar with matters of governance in both state and church circles, and all were gentlemen. It was, after all, the product of the governing establishment for its church in Ireland.
The Church of Ireland’s Constitution has its origins in the disestablishment of our Church in 1870, that is, the Church of Ireland ceased to be the church of the state. It was in fact the Church of a minority to which all land owners regardless of their own religious persuasion had previously to support financially. I believe it was a good time for the church to be disestablished. Dublin was then a major capital city of the empire and our Church at that time had within its membership all the necessary judicial and civil human resources to shape and inform this process which was part of yet another attempt to bring peace to Ireland.
Well defined areas of responsibility
The process involved the establishment of the General Synod comprising of the House of Bishops, and the House of Representatives in which there are clergy and laity - two laity for every clerical representative from each of the dioceses. The process of change, reporting and review was based directly on parliamentary procedures, and despite the frustrations that some have felt this brings, I sincerely believe that for the most part it has served our church well. It has permitted initiative whilst restraining enthusiasms which may have been short-sighted. In matters which are deemed to be of doctrine members of the General Synod may request that votes be by order, and a two thirds majority is required of each group of representatives - bishops, clergy and laity.
Then there is the parallel pillar, The Representative Church Body, which is usually referred to as the RCB. The RCB is a trust body which holds the central finances of the church, determines the church’s investment policies which affect areas such as clergy pensions, and holds most of the trust deeds on parish properties which are described as being ‘vested’ in the RCB. (The Cathedral is not vested in the RCB).
A fact not acknowledged often enough today is that the bulk of the RCB’s financial resources came originally from the generosity of those clergy who were in post at the time of disestablishment and who commuted what was their ‘redundancy money’ to the newly-formed RCB whose first responsibility is the maintenance of the ministry, and clergy widows and pensions. The General Synod until the comparatively recent establishment of the Priorities Fund had no financial resources of its own to allocate to the various boards which carried out its work or to causes that it wished to support.
On the whole I am more than satisfied by the performance over many years of the RCB. Its stewardship of investments rightly stayed on the side of prudence, and the Church of Ireland has not been faced with the somewhat disastrous results of some of the more speculative investment policies of some GB based churches and similar organisations.
The Church of Ireland since 1870 has kept worship and doctrine separate from its financial housekeeping procedures and that principal flows through to the manner in how clergy and select vestries and cathedral boards are required to fulfil their respective and distinct responsibilities.
The unique governance of Belfast Cathedral
Belfast Cathedral is unique in that it serves two dioceses and is not a cathedral of either single diocese. It was built when the dioceses were joined together as a single unity. It was built as a cathedral within the city for that united diocese. And it was built on the site of an existing parish which brought to the venture two important contributions: a land asset, and a sizeable number of resident parishioners. Today our living financial income falls well short of our basic needs, and we have only one resident parishioner.
The governance of Belfast is different to any other cathedral in Ireland. Diocesan cathedrals with the exception of Christ Church Dublin and the national cathedral of St Patrick’s Dublin have one set of rules to follow. Belfast and the two Dublin Cathedrals are different. This shows itself in different ways. The Dean of St Patrick’s is elected by the members of the Cathedral Chapter. The Dean of Christ Church, Dublin, as we have seen recently, is appointed by the Archbishop of Dublin.
This year four parochial nominators will be elected who will play a full part in the appointment of the Dean of Belfast, should this one depart during the next three years. The right to elect these parochial nominators has nothing whatsoever to do with the current cathedral community. It is dependent solely upon the fact that the Parish of St Anne existed prior to the building of the Cathedral. And since 1904, the various Deans of Belfast have been instituted as Rector of the Parish of St Anne’s Belfast, prior to being installed as Dean of the Cathedral Church of St Anne. The Dean of Belfast, as a rector, as I have indicated above, does not have to consult with anyone regarding liturgy and worship or the organisation of the same, other than as stated in the Constitution. This document however is remarkably silent on this area and where consultation is mentioned, it is usually only with the Churchwardens of the day. However, in the 1944 Act which followed the division of the diocese, the Bishop of Connor was appointed the Ordinary of the Cathedral. And it is only to the Ordinary that a Dean of Belfast is accountable for worship - unless of course he or she runs haywire and proclaims heresy, or is caught in a touch of the old “open and notorious”, and then you can drag him or her before the diocesan court!
The 3F’s and ST
The business of Select Vestries - and of the Board of Belfast Cathedral - is traditionally and quite accurately described as the three F’s - Fabric, furnishings and finance. Fabric is the actual walls and roof of the buildings; furnishings include such assets as the organ, and finance is usually noted due to its scarcity! Added to these responsibilities has been the protection and care of children, young people and vulnerable adults who participate in the life of the cathedral. “Safeguarding Trust” is the title of the church’s policy and protocols and they reflect good practice and clearly recognise the laws of the state. They are now also enshrined in the Constitution of our church with the requirement that they be upheld by all clergy, employees and volunteers.
Looking towards the future we know that there are major problems in each of these areas.
Major problem areas already identified
Fabric: In terms of fabric there will need to be major restoration work on the exterior of the Cathedral itself. Even to the untrained eye there is an all too obvious serious amount of “deferred” maintenance. It is not unrealistic to place a figure of some millions on this. Ongoing maintenance and keeping abreast of necessary health and safety requirements is unavoidable. Basically, I predict that it will - or should - dominate the business of the Board for the foreseeable future.
Finance: Financially most of the cathedral community are on pensionable fixed incomes. The percentage of the funding provided by the worshipping community, despite welcome year by year increases in giving, has never been as low in the history of the Cathedral. The reality is that without the income from the car parks and the income from the various legacies which people have been kind enough to leave in former generations, the Cathedral is adrift to the tune of almost £100,000 per annum, year in, year out. To place this in context, the amount provided by the worshipping community barely meets one clerical salary and related expenses and the cost of the music offered with the related salaries in that area. These are the very real challenges which the new cathedral board will face.
“Safeguarding Trust”: This will be an ongoing challenge. Morally no one can question the importance of having this fully implemented at all times when children and young people are on the premises or taking part in Cathedral sponsored activities. No slack can be cut in this area. The legal onus rests upon the Board to ensure that all is in order. One of the roles of the Parish Panel is to advise. In the event of that advice being set aside and an untoward incident occurring of which the Board was forewarned, in certain circumstances, the Board members, individually as well as collectively, could be held to be liable.
The Board’s complex of responsibilities
The Board of Belfast Cathedral is a complex entity and has several responsibilities as a result. Members are also board members of a limited liability company and of the board of a charity (The Christmas Sitout). Fundamentally, they are trustees. Company and charity law applies as well as church law
The limited liability company was established before the building of the Cathedral commenced and it was in part designed to protect the members from having personally to stump up for work completed if there was a short fall in funds. It must have been a close run thing at times. So Board members have to be registered annually with Companies House and they have to declare what other companies they are directors of etc.
With the establishment of a Charities Commission for Northern Ireland, Board members will be required to demonstrate capabilities in various key areas. Members will have to undergo training. We have already explored this both with NICVA and our accountants. This will most likely be the first major item on the agenda of the new board. Again it should be born in mind that Board members are not immune from prosecution as individuals, if they have ignored the wisdom of those professionally engaged to advise them.
Qualifications and skills to oversee key areas
Two years ago the Board identified the central dilemma of obtaining the necessary skills from an election from a very small electoral group - the General Vestry.
The Board has already identified the following areas in which experience is essential:
1. Financial management and oversight on a day to day basis. Laision with the Board’s professional accountants. Fund-raising, insurance, rents.
2. Investment - the appraisal of the performance of the Cathedral’s professional advisers
3. Buildings - maintenance and development, Health and Safety.
4. Safeguarding Trust
5. Human resources - employment legislation and good practice
Under-girding, shaping and directing all these areas is legislation - and it is not just existing legislation, but ever emerging new legislation.
These areas are the key areas of business of the Board. Other areas such as parish, press and press communication, christian education and worship lie outside the Board’s direct responsibility. These lie within the remit of the Dean/Rector. If he should need a panel to discuss the worship of the Cathedral, apart from the Director of Music, the only group which is qualified to further such a discussion are the members of the cathedral chapter including the bishops. These are the people who are professionally qualified in this area. This is recognised in their ordination. And it would be to these people the Dean would turn if he so wshed.
Needed - A Cando team
In Australia I recently saw an advert in which the mayor of a community was appealing to the electorate to elect a “Cando” team with which he could co-operate in providing the best leadership for his community. I had some sympathy for him. Basically that is the dilemma every rector finds themselves in. Can the electorate - the General Vestry - provide people with the necessary skills to obtain a ‘cando’ vestry or board? It is not a popularity contest. It is an attempt under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to ascertain the people with the necessary gifts in the particular areas the Board has already identified. The Cathedral by its physical size and by the nature of its business requires people of the utmost capability in specific areas.
New Charities Commission for Northern Ireland
It may well be that eventually the new Charities Commission may decide that the current large size of the Cathedral Board is unwieldy. However, we have gained experience over the past year in progressing a major amount of work through the appointment of an Executive. And it is at this point I would like to acknowledge those who have greatly enabled the work of the Board over the past year.
