## **Annual Report of the Trustees for the year 2025** 

**to be presented to the Annual General Meeting on 16[th] June 2026 at 7.30 pm** 

**In an online meeting via Zoom** 

## **Office address** : 

97 Court View, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, GL10 3PJ 

**Website** : www.modernchurch.org.uk 

**Email** : office@modernchurch.org.uk 

**Registered charity no** : 281573 

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## **ABOUT MODERN CHURCH** 

_faith in the world_ 

## **We understand that** 

- genuine faith is committed to the search for truth, wherever it comes from 

- it is possible to think and talk about God in ways that make sense in our time and culture 

## **We encourage** 

- open discussion: freedom to explore ideas, ask questions and change our minds without fear of disapproval 

- critical scholarship: keeping up to date with good research, examining the implications of new insights and discoveries 

- willingness to change: so that what we believe now can be expressed in the things our churches do and say. 

## **We expect our theology to be** 

- public: talking the language of ordinary people, not that of a religious club 

- relevant: engaging with what is going on in society, informing our faith and how we live 

- respectful: willing to learn from others, within and outside Christianity, since we accept that we don't have all the answers. 

## **Public benefit** 

As a charitable organisation we consider that our objects have the following public benefits: 

- we have a duty within our present-day society to present Christianity in a way which can be understood by ordinary people 

- we encourage all church people, both ordained and lay, to play a full part in the governance and activities of their churches and foster greater engagement with the mission of the churches to support the poor, sick and needy in society 

- by engaging in research and study we can help our fellow Christians come to a deeper understanding of their faith and how it has developed our approach to theology will encourage people of all faiths to better understand one another thus promoting constructive relations between the faiths. 

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## **Report from the Chair of Trustees** 

## **Introduction** 

The year 2025 has been one of continued growth for Modern Church, both in terms of membership and scope and range of activities. This report outlines some of the most significant achievements and developments over the past year. 

## **Membership and Engagement** 

Since revising the administration of membership, with a new streamlined subscription structure, we have seen a marked growth in new members. Efforts have been made to improve member engagement through regular communications (such as our monthly members’ email), online discussion forums and webinars as well as opportunities to meet and participate in face-to-face events. 

## **Publications and Communications** 

Modern Church continues to produce its flagship journal, _Modern Believing_ , publishing four high-quality issues exploring contemporary theological themes including Biblical scholarship, ethics and social justice. Modern Believing is overseen by an editorial team, who contribute to future planning and help to ensure a vibrant and diverse range of perspectives, and supported by an Editorial Board comprised of leading theologians and biblical scholars. 

Adrian Thatcher, who has served as Editor-in-Chief since March 2019, stepped down in 2025. We are most grateful to him for ensuring that _Modern Believing_ maintains such a consistently high standard, something which ensures that its reach and influence extends far beyond our membership alone. 

In 2026 we will be welcoming two new co-editors: Victoria Turner and Stephen Burns, whose combined expertise in ecumenical studies, post-colonial theology and global Christianity promises to extend the scope and reputation of the journal still further. 

_Signs of the Times_ also continues to thrive under the editorship of Anthony Woollard; we welcomed Terry Drummond as the new book reviews editor. SOTT’s mix of items, including poems, current affairs and book reviews always means it is topical and accessible -- but further suggestions from prospective contributors are always welcome. 

Our digital communications expanded significantly in 2025 and were used strategically to engage non-members, share theological insights and promote events. In particular, our regular series of blogs continues to attract attention and helps to maintain a regular flow of traffic to the website. 

## **Conferences and Events** 

The highlight of the year was the annual Conference in Leeds in October, which focused on the theme of “Enacting Hope in a Ruined World”, addressing topics such as climate emergency, theologies of hope and the role of the local church in community cohesion. In addition to input from Susie Snyder, Al Barratt and members of Citizens UK, we were also fortunate to have Andrew Nunn, former Dean of Southwark Cathedral, leading our worship throughout the day.  The location and format (one-day non-residential) ensured that as well as attracting regular conference-goers the event attracted a significant number of new participants. 

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In addition to the annual conference, a series of webinars and other online events were held throughout the year, ranging from church growth, assisted dying, intercultural mission and women’s embodiment. These events enabled wider participation, including international attendees, and advanced our aims to encourage open and topical discussion on pressing theological and social issues. 

## **Partnerships and Collaborations** 

Throughout 2025, Modern Church strengthened relationships with partner organisations such as _Church Times,_ Campaign for Equal Marriage, Student Christian Movement and Together for the Church of England. The Public Square Group continues to organise a programme responding to contemporary social and political issues. Such collaborations are a vital part of our commitment to being a thoughtful and constructive voice in public discourse and church life. 

## **Governance and Administration** 

The Trustees and Council met regularly throughout the year to ensure effective governance and strategic planning. We continued to review our organisational strategy to ensure that Modern Church remains responsive to changing contexts and opportunities in the years ahead. 

## **Financial Overview** 

Modern Church maintained a stable financial position in 2025; careful and strategic stewardship of resources is vital for our long-term sustainability. A future priority will be to diversify income streams through increased digital subscriptions, donations and event participation. 

## **Conclusion** 

2025 has been a year of meaningful activity and steady progress for Modern Church. We have continued to provide a platform for open, thoughtful and progressive Christian engagement, while extending our reach and deepening our impact. Our growth in membership has been especially encouraging, but despite all our efforts in publicising our activities as widely as possible, our existing members and supporters are still our most effective and persuasive ambassadors. So please spread the word about Modern Church! Ask for additional copies of _Signs of the Times_ , consider using MC material in your local church and encourage others to take part in our events. 

## **Acknowledgements** 

I am grateful to all our members, contributors and supporters whose ongoing commitment makes this work possible. Special thanks as ever go to our staff (Alison Webster, Nic Tall and Cas Bending) and to those who have served as Council members or Trustees. 

It seems appropriate to conclude this overview with the Conference Prayer for this year, prepared specially for us by Andrew Nunn. It encapsulates our openness to the realities of God’s world while remaining firmly rooted in the hope of the resurrection: 

_Hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us._ (Romans 5.5) 

Hope-full, hope-filled God, 

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you sustain us through the darkness and bring us to the light; enable us through your Spirit to be your co-workers in bringing hope to the world as you companion us on your kingdom journey. Amen. 

## **Professor Elaine Graham FBA Chair of Trustees** 

## **General Secretary Annual Review 2025** 

The aim of our Modern Church programme is to balance creative consideration of enduring theological themes, with responsive reflection on contemporary events in the church and the world. Modern Church was not alone in choosing ‘Hope’ as our theme for 2025  – a fact that needs no explanation given the challenges of geopolitics at this time. 

Our Annual Conference in Leeds (as described in the Chair’s report) was our flagship event of the year. Experimental in terms of venue and format, it was a fabulous day with excellent theological and liturgical input. Combined with the meeting of the Modern Church Council residential immediately beforehand, we plumbed the depths of theologies of hope, and also the nature of our ‘ruined world’. 

The year kicked off, though, with an excellent online panel in January entitled, ‘We Need to Talk About Bodies’, a celebration of the publication of a book by Helen King entitled, ‘Immaculate Forms: Uncovering the History of Women’s Bodies’. A long-time Modern Church supporter, and a passionate advocate for inclusion in the Church of England (and retired professor of Classical Studies from The Open University), Helen enabled us to address such questions as: who are we ‘really', and how does our body ‘function’ in asking and answering that question? What does history teach us about how we are named and valued according to the body we have? Is there anything essential in gender and sexuality? How does power circulate and operate to include, exclude, decide what is normative, and shape what is possible? What might a liberated theology of embodiment look and feel like? Helen was joined on the panel by Rachel Mann (trans theologian and priest, poet, writer and broadcaster), and Evie O’Brien (Jamaican womanist theologian with a revolutionary bent, and advocate for racial justice). 

Whilst Modern Church is wholeheartedly ecumenical, we continue to play our part in changing the Church of England for the better. Such activity is, after all, our heritage. To that end we held a joint online discussion in February with the Relational Church Network to coincide with a meeting of the General Synod. The theme was ‘What Needs to Change in the Church of England?’ Tim Norwood of Relational Church was joined by three members of the Modern Church Council: Yin-An Chen, Angela Sheard and Anne-Marie Kramer. 

Our collaborative working with the Church Times continued in 2025 as we hosted a panel 

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conversation at the Festival of Faith and Literature in Winchester. In celebration of Jane Austen the Festival theme was ‘A Truth Universally Acknowledged’, and we addressed the question, ‘Whose Truth Universally Acknowledged?’. Contributors included poet and priest Mark Pryce of Birmingham Diocese, and Natalie Collins, writer and campaigner on the theme of gender-based violence. We had a full house, and hope to offer something at the next Festival in 2027. 

We joined the Church Times again in June, co-hosting a webinar on the theme of Church Growth. Contributors this time included myself, Angela Sheard (Anglican Tutor at the Queen’s Foundation) and Christian Selvaratnam (Dean of Church Planting at St Hild College). 

In November a Modern Church online panel explored the theme: ‘A Polyphonic God? Exploring intercultural Mission’, focusing on a book with the same title edited by Israel Oluwole Olofinjana. He was joined by two other contributors to the book. The conversation explored how intercultural churches are significant in multicultural British society, and serve to create a counter-cultural kingdom narrative demonstrating how we can find unity in the midst of diversity and how this can enrich the lives of everybody involved 

In addition to our online and in-person events, open to all, we have also continued to develop our online members-only Forum. Each meeting takes a theme, which often ties in with Modern Church’s other publications and events. It is proving to be a helpful context for new members to get to know others, and for all members to find space for creative thinking and spiritual support. 

**Alison Webster General Secretary** 

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## **Modern Believing** 

## **Volume 66: Winter 2024 – Autumn 2025** 

This is my last annual report as Editor. Since my appointment in 2019 there has been a redesign and a re-launch of the journal (February 2020). A different editorial policy that prioritized the invitation and commission of distinguished and emerging scholars was immediately introduced. In 2024 the administration of subscriptions to the journal was taken in-house. These developments have contributed to the recent and sustained increase in subscribers to the journal and to Modern Church. I have reported every year my delight at the quality of commissioned articles, the alacrity and enthusiasm of responses from authors, and the breadth of authorship and scholarship the journal has achieved. 2025 is no exception. 

## **Continuity** 

I am delighted that from January 1[st] 2026, the editorship is in the hands of Dr. Victoria Turner and the Revd. Prof. Stephen Burns. In their hands the journal will move from strength to strength. The Trustees delegated all the arrangements regarding the appointment to the Editorial Team – a mark of confidence in the robust support of its members. 

## **Content** 

Readers will be familiar with the content, namely, 17 articles and 74 reviews in volume 65 in the usual 4 editions: 

66.1 ‘Finding the Sacred in the 21[st] Century: New Ways of Looking at Spirituality’ was derived from presentations at the 2024 residential Modern Church conference of the same name. This is a record of the last residential Modern Church conference (at least for the present). 

66.2 ‘Emerging Theologies’ contained articles on trauma, settler and liberation theologies, and masculinities and theology. Michael Mawson’s ‘Challenges for Theology in Settler Colonial Contexts’ was top of our LUP monthly download chart, for 8 months during 2025, reaching 92 in a single month. 

66.3 ‘God and Mammon: Theological Challenges to our Monetary Culture’ was guest edited by our Reviews Editor, Victoria Turner, who later in the year became joint editor. 

66.4 ‘Mission as Solidarity: Solidarity as Mission’ was guest edited by Duncan Dormor, general secretary of the United Society Partners in the Gospel. Duncan is a member of the Editorial Team. This was the second recent edition which featured partnership with USPG, both guest edited by Duncan. 

## **Journal Information** 

Much of the information in the Editor’s Annual Report is taken from the annual report from the publisher. Unfortunately in 2026 the report from the Press has moved forward from March to April, and the AGM of Modern Church has moved backwards (from October to June). Information about the number of downloads, popularity of articles, ranking of user 

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institutions, etc. is therefore not currently available. When it is received it will be widely circulated and available to any readers who would like to see it. 

Finally, my thanks to 

## **Thanks** 

- Victoria Turner, Reviews Editor, for providing copy on time and activating a new range of reviewer contacts; 

- all the authors (for their willingness to write _gratis_ for the journal, their support for the journal and its aims; and the excellent quality of their work); 

- the journal staff of Liverpool University Press for their help, promptness, efficiency and professionalism in producing the journal; 

- the Editorial Team for their counsel and advice; 

- and the Trustees for their interest in and support for the journal throughout my editorship. 

**Adrian Thatcher Managing Editor in 2025** 

## **Signs of the Times** 

The flow of material for our quarterly journal has continued at a pleasing rate.  Many contributions have come from members of the Public Square Group, in response to the current state of our nation; but a range of other topics, not least the Church’s fault-lines over missiology and sexuality, have figured also. 

Along with our website, our blog, and an increasing diversity of online events, _Signs_ is our principal “shop window”.  As well as being the principal material distributed as a benefit of membership, it can be made available to enquirers as well as those attending other events in which we are involved.  If anyone would like extra copies to distribute to enquirers in their own church or neighbourhood, or at events which they attend, they should request these from our administrator (office@modernchurch.org.uk). 

Articles by members (and indeed others) about contemporary issues likely to be of interest to our readership, are always welcome, though it may not always be possible to find space for them at once.  More responses to those articles would also be of great value.  Our book reviews editor Terry Drummond is always looking for books to review and people to review them, and your suggestions to terry.drummond@hotmail.com will be appreciated. 

Thanks are due to Terry, and to the other members of the editorial team – our General Secretary, our Communications Officer, and Rosalind Lund, Lorraine Cavanagh and Helen Burnett – and to our designer Richard Remington;  but above all to our contributors. 

**Anthony Woollard Editor** 

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## **Modern Church Membership Report** 

In 2025 Modern Church continued the steady growth in the number of members seen since the introduction of a new membership and sign-up process that was put in place in 2023. 

|**Subscription**<br>**Type**|**2018**|**2019**|**2020**|**2021**|**2022**|**2023**|**2024**|**2025**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Members|316|251|215|208|213|187|236|256|
|Life Members|9|8|8|8|7|7|7|7|
|Total Memberships|325|259|223|216|220|194|243|263|



The continued increase in membership indicates that the programme on offer from Modern Church, through publications, events and the online offering, is engaging people.  For example, there were several members who signed up as a result of attending the day conference held in Leeds in October 2025. 

**Nic Tall Administrator** 

## **Treasurer Report** 

The accounts enclosed herewith have been approved by the trustees and signed off without amendment by the Independent Examiner. 

Membership management has now fully transferred in-house and 2025 is the first year we have seen the full impact of this. It can be seen that subscription income has now recovered. As reported last year, we did not expect to have a really accurate representation until we have a full year of the new model. 

LUP have confirmed they will be invoicing in the new year based on circa 245 members, as they did last year, which shows membership accessing the journal has stabilised and we know overall membership of Modern Church is rising. 

The 2025 figures include an invoice from LUP for the production of the journal in 2024 and likewise 2026 figures will include the 2025 LUP invoice.  This is estimated at £7,320 (244@ £30 per head). 

Again, we did come very close to breaking even on conference and with a £262 loss on conference. The change of structure resulted in a substantially lower risk re: cancellation or unfilled places. Losses are slightly higher on council residentials. If the total deficit across these activities is removed from the deficit, then we have maintained the position where the deficit is principally the expenditure on Legacy projects of £25k as the agreed amount every 

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year for five years, then extended for a further three.  The forecast deficit was £29k and we ran a deficit of £28.8k. 

We were able to reduce our drawn to £25k from the CCLA reserves, a reduced amount partly because the new membership model is beneficial to cashflow with an income stream throughout the year. The rise in share prices in most years had offset the drawdown, but as I commented last year this cannot continue for ever, and 2025 was in case in point with our balances at CCLA falling by just under £42k. With over £400k in reserves we are still in a sound financial position. 

**Diane Kutar Treasurer** 

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## **Receipts & Payments Accounts to 31 December 2025** 

|||**2025**|**2025**|**2024**|**2024**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Receipts**||||||
|Subscriptions|Subscriptions (Note 1)|13023||11490||
||Subscriptions Affiliate|0||0||
||Gift Aid|0||0||
||||13023||11490|
|Investment Income||12303||12442||
||||12303||12442|
|Conferences|Annual Conferences (Note 2)|815||12318||
||Council Residential|1120||1130||
||Other Conferences|0||0||
||||1935||13448|
|Miscellaneous|Donations|720||765||
||Publications   (Note 3)|114||956||
||Other|2244||512||
||||3078||2233|
||**Total Receipts**||**30339**||**39613**|
|**Payments**||||||
|Legacy Project|General Secretary|17837||17837||
|(Note 5)|Projects (CT insert, MB launch, Sponsorships)|500||0||
||General Secretary Expenses|603||657||
||||18940||18495|
|Publications|Modern Believing (Note 4)|7170||236||
||SOTT (Legacy Project) (Note 6)|4944||5527||
||Editors|3750||3750||
||Other Publications|0||330||
||Legacy Relaunch|0||0||
||||15864||9843|
|Communications|Communications Officer|7093||6235||
||Advertising|50||25||
||Website costs|494||1511||
||||7638||7771|
|Admin|Administrator|7358||7358||
||Accounting Fees|0||480||
||Trustees Room hire|293||689||
||Admin expenses|3761||2608||
||Miscellaneous|||0||
||||11412||11135|
|Conferences|Annual Conference (Note 1)|1077||12658||
||Council Residential|2314||1447||
||Other|1912||1340||
||||5303||15445|
||**Total Payments**||**59157**||**62688**|
|**Surplus/deficit**|||**-28819**||**-23075**|





**Bank and Investment Balances at 31 December 2025 2025 2024 2024** 

FUNDS STATEMENT - Members' Funds 

|Opening Balances|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Undesignated|||179712||175229||
|Designated||Reserves|263429||263429||
||(Note 5)|Legacy Projects|23428||40364||
|Restricted||Student bursary fund|821||821||
|Surplus/deficit Cash Flow|||-28819||-23078||
|Unrealised holdings gains/losses|(Note 7)||-16897||10625||
|**Closing Funds**|||**421674**||**467390**||
|Represented by|||||||
|Undesignated|||156100||179712||
|Designated||Reserves|263429||263429||
||(Note 5)|Legacy Projects|1324||23428||
|Restricted||Student bursary fund|821||821||
|Total Funds|||**421674**||**467390**||
|Members' Assets|||||||
|CAF Bank|||15029||19447||
|Paypal|||654||122||
|CCLA Deposit|||1532||1465||
|CCLA Shares - revaluation  31/12/2025|(Note  7)||404459|**421674**|446356|**467390**|
|**Total**||||**421674**||**467393**|



## **Notes** 

1) Subscriptions are now all managed inhouse and processed via GoCardless. The figure quoted here does not include charges applied by GoCardless which are included in administrative costs. 

2) Conference receipts (and expenses) are lower this year with the change to the format. A small loss was made on conference but the associated risk from the larger residential format is all but eliminated. 

3) Modern Church receives payments from LUP in relation to subscriptions from libraries and institutions, referred to as royalties 

4) We have yet to be invoiced for the publication costs of Modern Believing in 2025, the figure relate sto the publishing costs in 2024 

5) Legacy Projects - legacy expenditure in 2025 relates to the work and remuneration of the General Secretary and SOTT (see Note 6). Of the funds allocated to legacy projects just under £1.3k remains. 

6) Signs of the Times (SOTT) continues to show high costs since a re-design in 2019 and is considered as part of our Legacy Project but we have seen some savings this year. Included in this is ordering additional copies for events as they 

7) This year the end of year revaluation of the share account has seen a fall in value of £16k. £25k was drawn down to meet legacy expenditure. 



## **Modern Church Officers and Post-holders: 2025** 

President and Chair of Council: Professor Elaine Graham 

Vice Chair of Council Anthony Woollard 

General Secretary: Alison Webster 

Secretary: Revd Dr Anne-Marie Kramer (taking over from Revd Canon Dr Jan van der Lely) 

Treasurer: Revd Diane Kutar 

Administrator: Nic Tall 

Communications Officer: Castor Bending 

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## **Modern Church Council Members 2025** 

Revd Dr Jack Belloli **Hugh Bryant[1]** Revd Helen Burnett 

**Revd Dr Lorraine Cavanagh** Revd Dr Yin-An Chen[1] Revd Dr Terry Drummond **Professor Elaine Graham** Revd David Howard 

**Dr Anne-Marie Kramer Revd Diane Kutar[1] (Treasurer, elected annually)** Rosalind Lund[1] Revd Jidé Macaulay Revd Naomi Nixon **Joe Priestley** Revd Angela Sheard[1] **Professor Adrian Thatcher** Revd Dr Malcolm Torry Revd Canon Dr Jan van der Lely **Revd Don Witts Anthony Woollard** Revd Sonya Wratten[1] 

1 Term of office ends at the end of the 2026 AGM but can stand for re-election 

**In bold** – current trustees 

Also served on Council during 2025, but no longer on Council: 

Revd Dr Jeyan Anketell Very Revd Jonathan Draper Revd Stephen Parsons 

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