Other Boards and Committees

At the General Synod in York in July 1993, the Vacancy in See Committees Regulation 1993 was formally confirmed and proclaimed as an Act of Synod. The Regulation makes provision for the membership and procedure of Vacancy in See Committees which are required to be in place in every diocese.  At the General Synod in London in November 2021, the Vacancy in See Committees (Amendment) Regulation 2021 was formally confirmed and proclaimed as an Act of Synod, amending this Regulation.

The Committee only meets when there is a vacancy in the See when it is responsible for preparing a description of the Diocese and a Statement of Needs.

Vacancy in See Committees Regulation 2024

Membership: (2025 – 2027)

The Suffragan Bishops
The Dean
Two Archdeacons
The Proctors to Convocation, General Synod
The House of Laity members, General Synod
The Chairs of the two Diocesan Houses (Clergy and Laity)

Elected by the Archdeacons of the Diocese: The Venerable J Mackenzie and the Venerable D Middlebrook

Elected by the Diocesan Synod: The Reverend P Ackroyd,  The Reverend K Alford, The Reverend T Horlock, Mr R Barker, Mr D Dallinger, Ms M Isaacs, Dr H Kinsey, Dr J Kurien, Canon R Osborn, Mr D Roberts

Nominated by the Bishop’s Council: The Reverend I Broschat, Ms A Chisanga, Ms C Coster, Ms A Lilley

In attendance: Diocesan Registrar, Diocesan Secretary

Information about the current Vacancy in See can be found on this page.

The Board of Patronage is established under the Patronage (Benefices) Measure 1986 and the terms of reference are to “exercise any right of patronage held by the Board in relation to benefices in the diocese”

The constitution provides for three clerical and five lay representatives to be elected to serve for six years.

Membership: (2025 – 2031)

The Revd S Underwood (Chair)

The Bishop of Bedford (Ex Officio)

The Archdeacon of St Albans
The Archdeacon of Hertford
The Archdeacon of Bedford

Elected by Diocesan Synod: The Reverend W Gibbs, The Reverend E Keene, The Revd S Underwood, Mr N Challis, Mr J Kurien, Mr D Roberts, Mrs M Roberts, Mr M Taylor

In attendance: Pastoral and Advisory Secretary

Diocesan Board of Patronage Constitution

Dates of Meetings in 2026:

Thursday 12 March
Thursday 2 July
Thursday 3 December

Dates of Meetings in 2027:

Thursday 18 March
Thursday 01 July
Thursday 02 December

The Trust was established in April 1997, in accordance with a Resolution made by the St Albans Diocesan Synod October 1996, to award bursaries and project grants for promoting spirituality, education, service and witness within the Diocese. This Fund aims to support people and projects that promote education, spirituality, witness and service – and is always pleased to receive requests for financial help.

Membership: (2026 – 2029)

There are eight trustees, of whom six are elected by and from the Houses of Clergy and Laity of the Diocesan Synod in such a way that one member of the clergy and one lay person represents each archdeaconry.

Bishop’s Nomination: The Reverend Canon W Gibbs (Chair)

Elected by Diocesan Synod: The Reverend H Bryan, Mr N Greatorex, Dr J Kurien, Mrs K Smith, Two Clergy vacancies

Nominated by the DBF: Mrs M Butcher

In attendance: Ms N Baker (Deputy Director of Finance); Mrs G Gunbey (Governance and Compliance Officer)

VHFT Constitution

Dates of Meetings in 2026:

Monday 9 February
Tuesday 21 April
Tuesday 30 June
Tuesday 13 October

Dates of Meetings in 2027:

Monday 08 February
Tuesday 20 April
Tuesday 29 June
Tuesday 05 October

Applications:

The deadline for applications is 14 days before the relevant meeting so that they can be considered by the Trustees and included in the agenda. Meeting dates can be found on our website on the following page Diocesan meetings calendar.

There are two grants available for the Verulam House Fund.

The Trustees will not normally fund more than fifty per cent of the cost of any grant although, in exceptional circumstances, funding of more than 50% may be awarded. The Trustees would not normally expect to allocate grants over a period longer than one year. There is no bar on submitting applications for grants in support of activities in their second or subsequent years although there is no guarantee that further support will be given if an activity has received a grant before.

The Trustees work within the Diocesan Environmental Policy and aim to achieve the Church of England target of Net Zero carbon emissions across all Diocesan operations by 2030.  To help work towards this target the VHFT will prioritise applications that do not include air travel.  If you would like to apply for assistance to travel abroad, please demonstrate in your application why this is important and how the Environmental impact can be offset or mitigated.

To make an application:

 

The Trustees will not normally fund more than fifty per cent of the cost of any project, although, in exceptional circumstances, funding of more than 50% may be awarded. The Trustees would not normally expect to allocate grants over a period longer than one year. There is no bar on submitting applications for grants in support of projects in their second or subsequent years although there is no guarantee that further support will be given if a project has received a grant before.

Application to the projects fund may be for loans or for grants (or a combination of the two).

To make an application:

1. Complete the specific Verulam House Fund Trust Individual Person Grant Application Form which should be downloaded as a word document, completed and saved as a pdf with the name ‘VHFT Project Grant Application XXX’ (where XXX is the project’s name).
2. This pdf and the following supporting documentation should then be submitted by email to vhft@stalbansdiocese.org.
   • Any relevant budget supporting documents.
   • A dated copy of the resolution passed by the project’s sponsors in support of the project, with voting numbers and signature of the Chair and Secretary.