The Assembly Executive Budget Meeting 2025 took place online and at the Offices of General Assembly in London, on Tuesday 25 November.
Session 1
The Revd Irish Sirmon, Convenor of the Business Committee, welcomed Assembly representatives to the meeting.
A time of reflective worship was led by the Revd Samantha (Sam) Sheehan. She used as a starting point the discussion-starter coasters being distributed by Children, Youth and Intergenerational, across the denomination. She invited Assembly members to respond in the online chat facility to the main question on the coaster: “When have you been filled with wonder?” Sam then read Psalm 19 as re-written by Carla Grosch-Miller, and led those present in prayer.
Session two
The General Assembly Moderator, Catriona Wheeler, introduced papers B1, H1, H2, and J1, which were passed En Bloc. En Bloc resolutions are voted on without debate, having been deemed uncontroversial. This has no reflection on their importance.
Paper B1 Terms of Reference for the Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB) Sub-Committee
The EDIB Sub-Committee supports the Church in embedding equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging across its life, work and theology. The paper outlines the terms of reference for the sub-committee, and key points such as its structure and membership, frequency of meetings and governance, and key responsibilities.
Paper H1 Reinstatement to the Roll Policy
This paper from the Ministries Committee brought updated proposals for the Reinstatement to the Roll of Ministers policy, originally written in 2006 and now refreshed to make the policy relevant for the Church in 2025 and beyond. The revised policy sets out how former Ministers of Word and Sacraments and Church Related Community Workers (CRCWs) may apply for reinstatement to the URC Roll after leaving for reasons such as transfer to another denomination, resignation to pursue work outside the Church, or removal through a disciplinary process.
The updated policy includes clearer guidance on:
- Eligibility and expected spiritual life for applicants
- Application requirements
- Tailored routes back into URC ministry, recognising individual circumstances
- A structured, transparent process involving initial scrutiny, deeper testing of call, interviews by Synod panels, and a final decision by a Ministries sub-group
The revisions emphasise safeguarding, accountability, pastoral integrity, and aims to ensure that all decisions protect the wellbeing of churches and communities. A formal appeals process remains available for applicants or Synods.
Paper H2 Removal from the Roll of Ministers following a disciplinary case
This paper sets down an equitable procedure for what should happen to a minister following a disciplinary case where the outcome is removal from the Roll of Ministers. The policy details membership, financial arrangements and vacation of manses and RMHS housing.
The church places various expectations on Ministers of the Word and Sacraments (Ministers) and Church Related Community Workers (CRCWs). When these expectations are found to have been breached, the General Assembly has delegated authority to the Assembly Commission for Discipline and the Disciplinary Appeals Commission to delete the name of a Ministers and CRCWs from the Roll.
Privileges and responsibilities afforded to Ministers or CRCWs cease for those deleted from the Roll, as should all activity which may lead others to believe that they are acting as ministers of religion. However, they may remain as a member of the URC generally, unless the Assembly Commission states otherwise.
A minister whose name is deleted from the Roll will receive a gratuitous end of ministry payment as a pastoral measure equivalent to three months net stipend; time to allow the vacation of a manse is a decision of the trustees of the property.
If a minister or CRCW is already an RMHS tenant when the decision to delete is taken, RMHS shall determine whether the Minister or CRCW remains in the property.
Paper J1 Nominations to Committees and groups
This paper appoints members of various committees and groups and external appointments following nominations and safer recruitment.
Paper G1 2026 Budget: Context & Assumptions
The Revd Dr Michael Hopkins, Convenor of the Business Committee, submitted the two draft resolutions and invited Mr Alan Yates, the URC Treasurer, to speak to the paper.
The budget includes a planned deficit of £300k, representing what Mr Yates called “excellent progress”. It has been made possible by “extraordinarily generous” offers from synods that represent more than a £600k above 2023 giving; and, in addition, staff restructuring in the Offices of General Assembly have provided cost savings that should eventually approach £0.5 million per annum.
Despite it being the best budget in a few years, the indication is that the original plan devised in 2023 to bring the budgets back into balance has not worked as expected. Mr Yates said that to reach a balanced budget by 2030 the synods would need to be as generous as they are planning to be in 2026. He said, synods are less optimistic about what they will be able to contribute for the 2027 budget. In addition, there is little scope for further significant savings in the Offices of General Assembly; and projected savings from rationalisation of the Resource Centres for Learning “will not be close to the £1 million needed to bring the deficit under control”.
Mr Yates was pleased that the Extraordinary General Assembly earlier in the month agreed to a comprehensive review of the Mission and Ministry Fund (M&M), in consultation with Ministries, Synods and their trust companies. He said that his statement, last year, that “the M&M process was broken” was made from a purely financial point of view. Giving from local churches is happening, but “our local churches are not contributing enough money to fund ministry and Assembly, and the more that synods have to intervene the more this financial linkage between local churches and ministry is weakened and broken”.
Romilly Micklem asked what the projected out-turn for 2025 is. Mr Yates anticipated a deficit of £900k.
During discussion, one representative asked how realistic the 2027/28 projections are. Mr Yates indicated there is some considerable uncertainty about actual giving at the present time. In response to another question, Mr Yates said that further staff savings are difficult to see – “If we are to stop something Assembly has asked us to do, what will we stop doing?” Ms Victoria James, the Chief Operating Officer, added that possible changes around IT won’t offer significant cost savings.
Mr Yates said that conversations with synod treasurers in March, together with the proposed M&M consultation, would provide a steer on the final 2027 budget, though the detail was unlikely to become clear until November 2026.
Mr Micklem noted that any possible money returning to the Church when the Ministers’ Pension Fund us wound up had not been factored into the budget. He asked that any windfall should not be “frittered away” in plugging holes in the budget. The Treasurer agreed.
On a vote, Resolution 2 “Assembly Executive adopts the M&M budget for 2026”, was passed unanimously.
On a vote, Resolution 3 “Assembly Executive notes the target figures for 2027 and 2028”, was passed unanimously.
Session three
The meeting closed with prayer led by the Revd Irish Sirmon.
Reporting: Laurence Wareing and Ann-Marie Nye