THE Archbishops’ Council is to award £600,000 to two national charities that provide well-being services to clergy, including counselling and financial grants, it was announced on Monday.
The Clergy Support Trust, which is independent of the Church of England, has been awarded £500,000 for work that supports clergy with their finances, health, and well-being. It is hoped that the new grant will support clergy with everyday expenses such as energy costs, unexpected car repairs, and school-related costs for clergy children, a statement from Church House, Westminster, said.
The Trust also provides other grants and services for clergy, including counselling, coaching, and occupational therapy. A year ago, it received a grant of £2 million from the Archbishops’ Council (News, 7 February 2025), through which more than 7000 grants were provided to more than 2900 households.
“The vast majority of applicants are from serving clergy households in the Church of England,” Church House said.
The Trust has supported more than one fifth of all serving C of E clergy for the past three years. In 2025, the Trust reported that the Church of England represented more than 85 per cent of their work. That year, more than £973,000 was provided in health grants “to help applicants with physical or mental-health conditions”, and more than £538,000 in well-being grants “to help carers, clergy children, and people with special educational needs”.
The Archbishops’ Council has also awarded £100,000 to St Luke’s for Clergy Wellbeing, which provides clergy with access to “independent psychological care, alongside preventive care focused on pastoral supervision”.
The charity “invests around £500,000 a year in its services for clergy and their families, including £163,000 on psychological services”, Church House said.
The Bishop of Chester, Dr Mark Tanner, who chairs the Church of England’s ministry development board and is a member of the Archbishops’ Council, expressed gratitude for the support provided by St Luke’s and by Clergy Support Trust. He was, he said, “so glad that they are receiving this funding to enable them to continue and expand their work”.
“Clergy are a remarkable and often overlooked gift to the communities they serve. Their hard work and dedication makes a difference to countless lives, and their own well-being matters hugely.”
The chief executive of the Clergy Support Trust, the Revd Ben Cahill-Nicholls, said: “The Church’s own research shows that many clergy are anxious about their finances. This grant from the Archbishops’ Council is an important recognition of that, as well as of our applicants’ extraordinary ministry.”
He concluded: “For too many, that ministry — so often a great joy — comes with real challenges, and we are delighted that the Church continues to work hard to find ways of improving the financial, mental and physical health of its clergy, in partnership with Clergy Support Trust and others.”