THE former Prime Minister Theresa May is among five public figures appointed on Tuesday as honorary vice-presidents of the Clergy Support Trust (CST).
The others are: Baroness Hale of Richmond, a former President of the Supreme Court, who ruled in 2019 that the Prime Minister’s prorogation of Parliament was unlawful and void (News, 27 September 2019); Marsha De Cordova, the Labour MP for Battersea, who is vice-chair of Christians in Parliament; the Revd Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint, a former chairman of HSBC who chairs the Friends of the Anglican Communion Fund; and Lord Lisvane, a former Clerk and Chief Executive of the House of Commons.
The CST said in a press release that all five new honorary vice-presidents had “lived experience of the Anglican church”.
Mrs May, who is the Conservative MP for Maidenhead and whose father was a parish priest, said: “Growing up in a vicarage, I saw first-hand the myriad ways in which the clergy support our local communities. I know how seriously our clergymen and women take their responsibilities, and so I’m delighted to be able to play a part in the Trust’s work, supporting them and their families not just throughout the course of their ministries but also in their retirement.”
Lady Hale said: “I am steeped in the Church of England. My grandfather attended the Clergy Orphans School in Canterbury; my father was a lay Reader; and my mother ran the local Mothers’ Union. I love the breadth of the Church of England, which can embrace both the Anglo-Catholic tradition and the more Pentecostal style of worship.
“I’m grateful that Clergy Support Trust is there for clergy from all church traditions, as well as their households. It helps ordinands and curates starting out and then right the way through their ministry, including retirement, meaning the Trust is always on hand to offer help and support when needed.”
Canon Simon Butler, who chairs the CST, said: “The support of such esteemed public figures as our new honorary vice-presidents is such a blessing. Their joining comes at a pivotal moment in the charity’s 367-year history, a time when the needs of clergy and their families have perhaps never been greater, as communities up and down the land look to clergy and the Church for support. I look forward to Clergy Support Trust benefiting from their first-hand experience as Christians in public life.”
clergysupport.org.uk