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THE TEMPLAR PILGRIMAGE TRUST OLJ (Registered Charity 1191505)

Trustees’ Annnual Report 01 January – 31 December 2024

Reference and administration details

Patron Alistair McCabe President The Grand Prior of the Order of Knights Templar in the United Kingdom

Trustees

Sorin Ionut Balaban Anthony Cuthbert Cicelyn Hinds (Hon. Secretary) Mavis Jacobs Jeremy Lee (Hon. Treasurer) George MacLean (Chair) Rev. Canon Philip Norwood Tracy Williams (new) ( indicates member of the Grand Priory)

Charity number: 1191505 Contact address: 28 Clifford Road, South Norwood, London SE25 5JS

The Trust

The object of the Trust is the advancement of the Christian religion by helping people make journeys of pilgrimage to recognised Christian shrines and helping young people make educational visits to recognised places of Christian worship or learning. The shrines and places of worship may be in this country or overseas.

The Trust is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (‘CIO’) whose only voting members are its charity trustees. The Trust’s governing document is a CIO Foundation Constitution, registered on 28 September 2020.

The Trust succeeded the Templar Pilgrimage Trust (OTJ), charity number 326561, which was established in 1984 under a deed of trust. That charity was closed in November 2021; its funds being transferred to the Trust to enable the continuation of its charitable work.

The Trust was originally founded in the 1980s by members of the Knights Templar and current donors include Members of the Grand Priory of Knights Templar in the United Kingdom (‘the Grand Priory’ / ‘GPUK’). The Trustees, therefore, consider it appropriate to maintain links with the Grand Priory and a Memorandum of Understanding dated 20 July 2021 sets out the basis on which the two organisations aim to work together.

The Trustees

The Trust is managed by a board of eight trustees. Currently, five Trustees are Members of the Grand Priory and three are independent of the Grand Priory. The Trustees come from different Christian denominations: the board includes members of the Church of England, the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.

The Trustees’ names are set out on page 1. The Trustees whose names are marked with an asterisk are Members of the Grand Priory. Anthony Cuthbert, the serving Grand Prior, is the Trust’s President.

The Trustees met regularly during 2024. All the meetings took place online due to the distances between Trustee’s homes.

The Trustees also maintained contact by e-mail between meetings.

The Trust’s Activities

The Trust’s main activity is making grants to groups and individuals planning to make pilgrimages. Without the Trust’s financial support, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for them to do so. The Trust encourages applications from pilgrimage from youth groups, such as schools and churches, as Trustees believe a pilgrimage experience will have life-long benefits.

During the year, the Trust which amounted to £4100 (2023: £5405). The Trustees were pleased to note that there was a wider range of applicants, all of whom made initial enquiries through the Trust’s website.

The Trust’s finances are covered in more detail on page 3.

At their regular meetings, the Trustees reviewed reports and updates on the Trust’s finances, grants and marketing activity. They also reviewed the Trust’s governance and its marketing generally, as well as its Safeguarding and Data Protection Policies.

They recognised that the Charity Commission expects charities to identify and manage safeguarding risks to which it may be exposed. It does not meet applicants face-to-face but communicates with them in writing. Applicants make their own arrangements (for example, whether to travel alone or in a group, whether to use a tour company) so that the Trust does not recommend or select any tour or travel companies.

The Trust’s work does not involve caring for or supervising children or adults at risk of abuse. Nevertheless, the Trustees had concluded it was appropriate for applicants to provide assurance that organisations arranging pilgrimages had considered safeguarding risks and taken appropriate steps to manage those risks. They reviewed the existing policy, which required confirmation from organisations should be provided before a grant was paid.

Trustees have decided that pilgrims travelling alone should assume responsibility for managing their own safeguarding risks and that pilgrims under 18 would not be given grants unless they were travelling in a group, because of the significantly increased risks that under 18s would assume by travelling alone.

The Trustees confirm they referred to the guidance from the Charity Commission on public benefit when reviewing the Trust’s governance, as well as when considering its activities, aims and objectives.

Finances

The Income and Expenditure Account for 2024 is attached as an appendix to this Report. At the beginning of the year, the General Fund stood at £22559. At the end of the year, it stood at £20635. Grants agreed amounted to £4100 (2023: £5405).

The Trustees set a grants budget at the beginning of each year, and due to the size of the Trust, rigorous financial control is exercise to ensure the ling term viability of the Trust and the important donation activity it makes.

There were no returned grants (grants returned to the Trust for whatever reason) during the period under review, (2023 - £NIL).

Trustees noted that whilst the traditional destination for pilgrimages, the Holy Land, is still too dangerous for travellers, alternative European destinations are becoming more popular. In addition to Rome, applicants have applied for assistance to travel to Assisi, Salamanca and of course Lourdes. Home pilgrimages to Canterbury and Walsingham remain firm favourites with youth groups.

The Trustees wish once again to record their thanks for continuing donations from Members of the Order and from friends of the Order. They wish to thank donors who have covered costs relating to the operation of the Trust. They also take this opportunity to confirm that Trustees do not receive any remuneration from the Trust.

It gives me great pleasure to present this year’s Temple Pilgrimage Trust Annual Report and Accounts.

Trustees have managed funds in accordance with the rules good governance issued by the Charities Commission once again and have maintained a favourable number of grants this year.

Financial pressures are increasing on small charities like ours, as there is increasing demand on sources of funds. Trustees are keenly aware that they are stewards of the current Trust, and must manage finances and expectations prudently.

George MacLean Chair

Origins of the Templar Pilgrimage Trust

The Trust was established to emulate the highest ideals of the medieval Order of Knights Templar, founded by Hugh de Payens and eight companions in Jerusalem in 1119. Their primary aim was to give aid and protection to pilgrims travelling to the holy places of Christendom, especially in the Holy Land.

The aim today is still to offer aid, not by force of arms as in those far-off days, but by practical Christian care. The Trust achieves this by providing grants to those who would otherwise be deprived of the benefit that a visit to a Christian shrine can bring, whether they go in search of healing—physical or mental—or of spiritual regeneration.

To experience at first hand the spiritual dimension of a shrine, such as Lourdes or Walsingham, can make faith come alive in a way that can never be achieved in a school classroom. In the same way a pilgrimage, in the steps of St Paul or to the Holy Land, can bring the Bible to life in new ways.

The Trustees’ approach is based on an ecumenical definition of Christianity, and recognises that each pilgrim has a different perspective guiding the search for a greater understanding of God, personal spirituality and the world in which we live.

Foundation

In 1982, on the Feast of St Bernard of Clairvaux, the Templar Pilgrimage Trust (OTJ) was launched by the Order of the Temple of Jerusalem*, in furtherance of its work for charity. The Trust received approval from the Charity Commission for England and Wales in 1983.

The Modern Order of Knights Templar

*In 2003 the Order of the Temple of Jerusalem joined with other English Templars to form the Grand Priory of Knights Templar in England and Wales. The Grand Priory itself is a member of the Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani Knights Templar International.

Further detailed information about the English Grand Priory, its charities and the international Order is available on our website: www.knight-templar.org.uk

Templar Pilgrimage Trust

A charitable trust, founded on chivalric principles, supporting individuals and groups undertaking pilgrimages that benefit not only themselves, but also those amongst whom the pilgrims live and work

Charity No. 326561

Aims

This Trust supports groups and individuals wishing to undertake a pilgrimage to a recognized Christian shrine. We are especially keen to support young persons and the disabled and to encourage school visits. The destination may be in this country or abroad and we look for an educational outcome. Applications are welcomed from persons and groups from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Activities of the Templar Pilgrimage Trust

The Trust currently has an income-generating capital base of around £25,000. Using the interest income and other donations, the Trust makes grants totalling approx £3,000 per year.

The Hyman Grant of £500 goes to deserving individuals or groups to make their pilgrimage possible. The Trustees look for a clearly defined itinerary, an understanding of the concept of making a pilgrimage and the expectation of a wider benefit to the local community when the pilgrims return home.

The Mallett Grant of £500 goes to church schools, to help children build their own faith in God, or to teachers for a personal pilgrimage that will help to bring a sense of faith in God to the children they teach.

The Trustees make further grants, of varying size and number, to other applicants whose requests meet the objects of the Trust.

Past Grant Recipients

Recipients of grants are asked to provide the Trustees with a brief report of their experiences, and a selection of the reports is published in the Grand Priory's magazine.

Past recipients have included children and school teachers, many from deprived communities, as well as clergy, ordinands and students.

Funding

The initial funds were raised by the Grand Priory through an appeal to its members and friends. Many members continue to contribute regularly under Gift Aid. The capital of the Trust was augmented in 1985 by a legacy and in 2005 by a major grant from the Grand Priory. The Trust also receives annual support from a pilgrimage organising company, and fund-raising events are carried out throughout the year.

Grant Applicants

If you would like to apply for a grant, please email mavisjacobs@talktalk.net giving a brief outline of the pilgrimage proposed or write to:

The Hon Applications Secretary Templar Pilgrimage Trust 34 St Augustine’s Gate Norwich NR3 3BE

Donations

Please use the tear-off slip on the right to send your donation; if possible, we would welcome it under the Gift Aid scheme, as that gives the Trust a further amount for every £1 you give. Please send your donation and the completed form to:

The Hon Treasurer Templar Pilgrimage Trust 19 Mandeville Road Shepperton Middlesex TW17 0AL

Donation £ Date sent:

Honorary Officers & Trustees

Patron Mr Alistair McCabe

McCabe Pilgrimages President The Grand Prior OTJ Chairman The Revd Canon Philip Norwood

The Trustees are drawn from within the membership of the Knights Templar and also from individuals with independent external expertise

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