Press Release
TO: LOCAL MEDIA
FROM: Jan McFarlane on Monday 29 June 2009
Norfolk Appointment to Chair of Church Buildings Council
Anne Sloman from Sharrington in Norfolk has been appointed by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to chair the Church Buildings Council of the Church of England, the new statutory body.
The body was created last year to succeed the Council for the Care of Churches and the Advisory Board for Redundant Churches, and supports dioceses and parishes in their stewardship of more than 16,000 church buildings.
Mrs Sloman, who joined the Archbishops’ Council in 2002 and steps down at the end of this year,and was the BBC’s Chief Political Adviser from 1996 to 2004, played an important role in discussions with a range on Ministries leading to the publication of the recent Government report Churches and Faith Buildings: Realising the Potential.
Inviting Anne to chair the new Council, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams said: “As a member of the Archbishops’ Council you have already made an outstanding contribution in this area by getting Government to understand more clearly the great potential that our buildings have for wider community use, as part of the continuing mission and ministry of the Church…Your extensive knowledge of how the Church of England works will be a considerable asset in this work.”
Anne, who will take up the five-year appointment on October 1, when the Rt Revd Graeme Knowles, Dean of St Paul’s, steps down, said: “It’s a great honour and I am very much looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead. I’ve always regarded the heritage of so many beautiful churches, passed down from previous generations, as a blessing not a burden and an opportunity to serve the whole community.”
The Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Richard Chartres, said of the appointment: "I have very much enjoyed working with Anne in the campaign to secure Government recognition of the importance of church buildings as community hubs; and I am looking forward to our partnership in her new role."
Anne is actively involved in the life of her local village church, All Saints Sharrington, and a member of the PCC. All Saints, in common with Norfolk’s many fine medieval churches, is Grade 1 listed.
Other interests include theatre, ballet and the visual arts. A lifelong and modest collector of nineteenth and twentieth century art, Anne discovered an important set of panels by the Dutch artist Matthijs Maris which had been missing for decades and, in 2001, donated them to the Rijks museum in Amsterdam.
She is also vice-president of Fakenham Cricket Club, in the East Anglia Premier League; the club for which three generations of her family have played.
Ends
Notes to Editors
The Church Buildings Council is a new statutory body that came into existence last year. It is the successor body to the Advisory Board for Redundant Churches and the Council for the Care of Churches. It has both a promotional and an advisory role in relation to the care, conservation and development of the Church of England's 16,000 churches and a special advisory role in relation to churches proposed for closure. The Council is supported by the staff of the Church Buildings Division, who also service the work of the Cathedral Fabrics Commission (Chair Frank Field MP). Their Director, appointed last year, is Janet Gough. The Bishop of London has an overarching role in relation to the Church of England's stewardship of its built heritage, which includes more than 13,000 listed churches and cathedrals, including 45 per cent of England's grade 1 listed buildings.
Anne Sloman
BBC Chief Political Adviser 1996 – 2004
Archbishops’ Council 2003 – present
Norfolk Community Foundation 2005 – present (Vice Chair 2006-)
Chatham House Royal Institute of International Affairs 1992-2002
As elected member of the Council.
BBC Career 1967 – 1996:
1967 Joined the BBC as a producer on the Today programme
1972-83 Worked on Midweek (the predecessor to Newsnight) and on a number of ground breaking radio series for Radio 4.
1974-92 Editor of five General Election Results programmes as well as results programmes for US Presidential, European parliament and local Elections
1981-82 Assistant Editor of Today
1982-93 Editor of Special Current Affairs.
1994-96 Deputy Head of Current Affairs.
Other Interests:
Actively involved in the life of local village church, All Saints Sharrington, and a member of the PCC.
Interests include theatre, ballet and the visual arts. A lifelong and modest collector of nineteenth and twentieth century art, she discovered an important set of panels by the Dutch artist Matthijs Maris which had been missing for decades and, in 2001, donated them to the Rijks museum in Amsterdam.
Vice President of Fakenham Cricket Club, in the East Anglia Premier League, for which three generations of her family have played.
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