Mother and daughter join cathedral choirs

A MOTHER and daughter have been appointed alto lay vicars at two UK cathedrals. Eilidh Owen has been singing at Salisbury Cathedral since September, and her mother, Ailsa Cochrane, has joined the choir of Lichfield Cathedral. They are the first female alto lay vicars at the two cathedrals. Ms Owen was previously a chorister and choral scholar at Lichfield. Ms Cochrane has been a vocal tutor to the boy choristers at Lichfield since 2007.

Campaigners urge Mullally to block Project Spire

THE Archbishop of Canterbury-elect, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, has been urged by 27 Conservative MPs and peers to halt Project Spire, the Church Commissioners’ plan to establish a £100-million Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice to the benefit of communities affected by the historic transatlantic slave trade. The letter, seen by The Sunday Times, urges Bishop Mullally to focus on “strengthening parishes” rather than on pursuing what they describe as “high-profile and legally dubious vanity projects”. The intervention has been led by Katie Lam, a shadow Home Office minister who has raised questions about Project Spire with the Second Church Estates Commissioner. The letter warns that the plan would set a “worrying precedent” for other institutions in the use of charitable funds. The Commissioners said that governance arrangements were being “developed transparently — in line with charity law, our fiduciary duties, and our moral purpose — to ensure proper oversight and accountability”.

Jonathan Fletcher ‘not fit to enter a plea’

THE Revd Jonathan Fletcher, 83, a former minister of Emmanuel Church, Wimbledon, who was charged with eight counts of indecent assault on a man aged 16 or over and one further count of Section 18 grievous bodily harm with intent, will not stand trial, after a judge ruled that he was not fit to enter a plea (News, 11 July 2024). The trial was scheduled for May, but The Daily Telegraph reported last month that, on 2 December, Judge Lodder KC had determined that there would instead be an “examination of the facts”, and that Mr Fletcher would play no part in the proceedings. If, after weighing the evidence, the court finds that he committed the offences with which he is charged, he will not be sentenced as normal, but will be subject at the judge’s discretion to a range of treatment orders or to a complete discharge.

Tributes paid to the Revd Dr Richard Sudworth

THE Archbishop of York has paid tribute to the Archbishops’ Council’s Director of Faith and Public Life, the Revd Dr Richard Sudworth, who died on 15 December. He had been living with cancer. Dr Sudworth took up his post in early 2025, after seven years as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s lead on interfaith relations. He was, Archbishop Cottrell said, a “wise, generous colleague and a faithful servant of the gospel”. Dr Sudworth had been a parish priest in Sparkbrook, Birmingham, where he was involved in community outreach and interfaith dialogue. He was also a lecturer in Anglican theology at the Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham, and was published widely on Christian-Muslim relations. In 2023, he was appointed OBE for services to interfaith cohesion. Gazette