Steering and Governance
CLR Phase Two (Design) is being guided by a Steering Group who meet monthly to review progress, inform programme development, and make key decisions. The Steering Group are currently working on the programme’s three workstreams: financial resource sharing, employment of lay workers, and provision of shared support services. An additional workstream, looking at the creation of new worshipping communities, is being led by mission and discipleship colleagues, with input from the CLR Steering Group. As a reminder, the CLR’s four workstreams were set in motion by General Assembly 2023 (Resolutions 47-51a, General Assembly 2023, Record of Assembly, https://urc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Record-of-Assembly-2023-web.pdf, p24-26). The overall objective of CLR Phase Two, and the Steering Group, is to undertake a range of investigations in line with these four workstreams, analyse the outcomes, and deliver a coherent set of proposals to an extraordinary session of General Assembly in November 2025.
CLR Phase Two is being overseen by a Sub-Committee of the Business Committee. The Sub-Committee have day-to-day operational governance responsibility, including progress reviews, programme management, budgeting, and risk and issue management.
Financial resource sharing
Substantial progress has been made on the finance workstream, given the necessity of funding for any potential CLR proposals. Following the finance consultation in June, the Steering Group acknowledged that there was energy around the creation of a new shared fund, but more work needed to take place within the church before we could look to approach external consultants. Subsequently, the Steering Group decided to establish a small Finance Working Group. This working group has explored an array of alternatives and comparators, and has made substantial progress*. The Finance Working Group members are Faith Paulding (Finance and Trust Officer, Eastern), John Denison (Treasurer, Southern), Chris Atherton (Treasurer, Wales), Catriona Wheeler (Convener, URC Trust), and Romilly Micklem (Trust Convener, Wessex, and Steering Group member), with Alan Yates and I co-chairing.
The Finance Working Group have prepared an initial high-level proposal, which will be circulated around synods after the Steering Group have reviewed and approved a final version. This proposal will form the basis for further consultation – more details about the second finance consultation, planned for April/May 2025 will be shared very soon. The intention is that the second finance consultation will be tightly focussed on the financial and legal practicalities of the proposal, and will be an opportunity for Synod Treasurers and Trust Company Conveners to explore, discuss, and test the proposal. The proposal will also outline an initial vision of what a CLR fund could provide money for, in line with the other CLR workstreams, i.e. shared services (resources portal, successful living labs, any other services), lay workers, and resources for new worshipping communities. Please note that we will attempt to undertake a consensual approach to finding dates for this consultation via a Doodle Poll, but the timeline is exceedingly tight and options rather limited – I will be in touch about this imminently.
[*Given the progress made by the FWG, it currently seems less likely that we will need to rely on external consultants for the resource sharing workstream.]
Provision of shared support services for local churches
There are currently two elements to this workstream: the establishment of a denominational resources portal, and exploration of shared service provision beyond the resources portal. The fundamental question is: what services are we currently providing separately, which we could better provide together? We will seek to consider which services are a key synod provision, synod services which we might like to fund collectively, and services which we might like to fund and provide collectively. General Assembly asked the CLR to look at services including (but not limited to) finance, property, health and safety, human resources, and safeguarding.
Resources portal
General Assembly asked the Administration and Resources Team to work with the CLR to design and establish a new denominational resources portal, containing a set of agreed pro formas and other resources which could be endorsed and used across the Church. A questionnaire was recently sent out to synods, as well as a number of local churches, which seeks to understand what local churches are struggling with most, what resources currently exist within the synods, and where the gaps are. Responses to the questionnaires are currently being collated and analysed; we will present an initial list of headline resources at the November shared services consultation (see below).
Beyond the resources portal
We are in the process of establishing two ‘living labs’ (on the ground trials of new ways of working):
- A local church helpline, in collaboration with North Western Synod
- A trial of charity accounting software, delivered in collaboration with South Western Synod, who currently offer an Excel-based treasury service to local churches in need of accounting support.
These trials will allow the CLR to examine the impact of these new ways of working on the lives of local churches, and understand more about the infrastructure needed to support the new ways of working. It is important to note that shared services beyond the resources portal are unlikely to be ‘one size fits all’.
November shared services consultation
The resources portal and exploration of a wider shared service provision are converging on the 20-21 November CLR shared services consultation, taking place at Kents Hill Park in Milton Keynes. This consultation will begin on the 20th by exploring operating principles for the resources portal, including the assurances trustees will need in order to be able to endorse the resources and governance arrangements for updates, etc. On the 21st, we will think about services beyond the resources portal, considering things we would be better off providing collectively. For those of you attending the consultation, an agenda and further information will follow shortly.
Employment of lay workers
Resolution 51 tasks the CLR with exploring two elements of lay work in local churches: models and infrastructure. Previous work on legal questions surrounding lay worker employment has moved the conversation forward. The Steering Group plan to bring together a small group of people to discuss and give shape to this work.
The Steering Group have also approved a plan to undertake 6-10 case studies, hopefully with an external research partner, investigating long running and new models of lay work. A variety of models will be investigated, including cases where the synod is employer on behalf of the local church(es), cases where the local church is the direct employer, places where a need for a lay worker has been identified but not realised, and places where models were trialled but failed due to a lack of infrastructure. The outcome of these case studies will allow the Steering Group to understand the most effective models, and endorse these to Assembly in November 2025. If you know of an academic researcher or research organisation who might be interested in this, please do let me know.
New communities of discipleship and worship
This workstream is exploring how mission, evangelism, and ministry can support the emergence of new URC communities of discipleship and worship. A conference, Conversations at the Crossroads, is planned for January 2025. The hope is that following the consultation we will emerge with a sense of what might be possible and the resources needed, which can be combined with work on the other three workstreams and shaped into a set of proposals for General Assembly in November 2025.
Ultimately, the finance, lay worker, and shared services workstreams represent a means to an end: the hope is that by getting them right, we will relieve much of the compliance and administrative burden on local churches, nourish green shoots, and help resource new communities of discipleship and worship. Although all proposals will have options for sustainability built into them, conversations about long-term strategy, beyond the three more technical workstreams, will continue, and input is encouraged and gratefully received.
If you have any questions, would like to discuss an element of the CLR, or would like to join in with a piece of ongoing work, please do get in touch – I am always happy to have a phone or video call. Additionally, I am working to visit all 13 synods in person; if I have not yet been in touch to arrange a date, I will be in touch next year.
With all best wishes,
Myles
Myles Dunnett
Programme Manager, Church Life Review | The United Reformed Church
86 Tavistock Place, LondonWC1H 9RT
