Submitted by george.somers@… on

Josiah, a curate in Hayes, west London first approached Clergy Support Trust as a good place to get financial support to cover the cost of his vestments. Since then, he has been comfortable and confident enough to apply to the Trust for other grants, including one grant towards the cost of a bicycle, one towards garden maintenance, and one towards the cost of a used Macbook to write his sermons.

"I serve here as a mission priest, so I normally visit other churches to cover. Sometimes I cover two churches on Sunday, and since I came here, I think I've covered four churches. We went into interregnum, so I was the only priest here and it was difficult for me to cover parishes. Fortunately, they've all got a vicar now."

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Josiah is wearing a black shirt and a white clerical collar. He is standing in his church, in front of a stained glass window, with his hands outstretched.

Too good to be true

"I spoke to a clergy spouse and said that I was thinking of getting new vestments. She gave me a website, I checked it and I said 'Well, this is very nice, but it's quite expensive. I'll have to try to save in order to get it.'

She said 'Have you heard of Clergy Support Trust? If you get in touch with them, they may be able to help towards your vestments.'

I didn't apply right away. I was a little bit sceptical, but I eventually I thought "I'll give it a try". So I did, and I think it only took about two or three weeks to receive a grant.

It's easy to think that you need support because you can't manage your finances very well, and that you have done something wrong because you are struggling to afford items for your ministry on your stipend. It can be quite difficult.

But I realised that the Trust is here to support us, so why not? Why do you have to struggle, when you have somebody who is willing to support you?"

Getting support

"I've got three children - two boys and a girl - and so sometimes it's a little bit difficult to make ends meet.

After my first application, I thought 'why do you stress yourself so much trying to squeeze things in order to get money to buy certain things? When Clergy Support Trust is there to support you?'

The Trust supported me with a Wellbeing grant for a clergy retreat, then another towards the cost of a bicycle. Then I got an Emergency grant to support the purchase of a used MacBook, which helps me prepare for my sermons. They've supported me twice with gardening costs as well."

Wellbeing grants   Emergency grants

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Josiah, standing in front of a hedge, smiling with his daughter and two sons.

"How can you be in the Church of England, and not have heard of Clergy Support Trust?"

"I asked my group whether they'd heard of Clergy Support Trust, and they said 'no', and I said 'really?'. They were surprised, so I gave them the website. Some of them were deacons and some were already priests, and they were so happy with it.

They asked about confidentiality and all those things, and I said 'The Trust are very secure, so you should go ahead and apply.'

If I talk to a priest about Clergy Support Trust, I'll say 'It was established to support us, so why should you suffer when you've got some lovely people out there willing to support you? We are not on this journey alone.'"

Last year, we supported over 2,700 Anglican clergy households, with 6,800 grants. The demand for our services has quadrupled in the past four years, and continues to grow. We're only able to walk alongside clergy and their families with your help.

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