St Paul’s Cathedral is to admit girls to its internationally renowned choir, breaking a tradition stretching back 900 years.The move comes 31 years after Salisbury became the first Anglican cathedral in England to offer girls places in its choir. Many others, including York Minster, Durham and Exeter, have followed suit.St Paul’s choir performs at services and events of national importance as well as daily liturgies and three times on Sundays. It will perform at a service of thanksgiving next month for the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations.The choir currently comprises 22 choristers alongside professional singers known as vicars choral. The first girls will join in 2025 after boarding school facilities have been expanded and funds raised for scholarships.Sarah Mullally, the bishop of London, said: “I am delighted by the chapter [governing body] decision to welcome girls into the cathedral choir. The choir plays a key role in the worship not just of the cathedral, but of the whole diocese. It will be wonderful to hear girls’ voices contributing to this.”Andrew Carwood, director of music at St Paul’s, said: “Knowing that our incredible boys will be joined by young girl choristers in the near future is heartwarming, and an important milestone in the choir’s history.”He said the “long-held ambition” to introduce girls had been put on hold by the Covid pandemic and resulting loss of income. “Now we’re getting our mojo back, and one of the first things is to get girls into the choir.”According to the Traditional Cathedral Choir Association, “the ecclesiastical all-male voice choir is a hugely significant part of our heritage” that has been valued for centuries. However, “a myriad of pressures has seen many of our historic traditional choirs lost” over recent years, it adds.
More than 30 six-month work placements were made available by Lichfield Cathedral for 16 to 24-year-olds in the region. The roles available were in the Cathedral, churches, and organisations across the Diocese – providing valuable work experience for those impacted by the pandemic. For some young people, like Gabriella, this opportunity proved to be life changing. “In 2019, I began the year homeless” she explained. “All the stress caused me to end up in hospital, which meant I missed my exams.“Finding work was difficult to say the least.” But then Gabriella heard about the Kickstart Scheme through Universal Credit and was given a placement by Lichfield Cathedral, to work as a children’s and youth assistant at St Matthew's Church in Walsall. “Everyone welcomed me with open arms, it was the most fun that I had in a very long time”, Gabriella laughed. “The children were amazing, I got to be creative and make up new games, go on trips with the children and I even gained office-based skills, like with risk assessments and writing letters. “St Matthews Church looks like such a domineering building but the people who go there and work there are the kindest people you’ll ever meet.“Everyone is so nice that you feel like you are family as soon as you walk through the doors. “I also got to find out more about Christianity, even though I am not a Christian myself, it was a very enriching experience.”Today, Gabriella works as a Mental Health Support Worker. Reflecting on the scheme, she said: “Taking part gave me back my hope and ambition, that I thought I had lost.“Thank you, Lichfield Cathedral, for giving me the chance to become who I wanted to be.”
The Church Commissioners for England have committed €30 million to Pioneer Point Partners’ (“Pioneer”) maiden institutional fund, which is focused on sustainable infrastructure investments across western Europe.Pioneer Infrastructure Partners SCSp (“the fund”), which closed at €575 million, will run for 10 years and focus on infrastructure investments that support the energy transition and the circular economy. Other investors include Texas Municipal Retirement Systems and European Investment Fund.The Fund will target a diverse portfolio of up to 10 investments, and has already completed two acquisitions to date - a biogas developer and operator across the island of Ireland with Stream Bioenergy, and Altano Energy, a diversified renewables platform in Spain. The commitment to Pioneer’s fund marks the diversification of the Church Commissioners’ portfolio into European climate infrastructure, focusing on the green energy transition across the UK and continental Europe. The Commissioners’ commitment into Pioneer’s Fund follows recent investments in electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the UK and renewable energy developments in Northern Ireland.The Church Commissioners chose Pioneer due to its expertise in lower mid-market, value add sustainable infrastructure investments across western Europe, an area it had identified for additional investment. Climate-related infrastructure is one of the fastest growing infrastructure sectors and has proven a successful hedge against external crises, due to its low cost profile, long-term contracts and high consumer demand. The broad investment opportunities driven by net zero and sustainability targets provide plentiful opportunities for the Fund to increase sustainable energy security across western Europe.As a member of the United Nations-backed Asset Owner Alliance, the Church Commissioners are committed to transitioning their portfolio to net zero by 2050, and to reducing the portfolio’s carbon intensity by 25 percent by 2025. Investment into sustainable energy infrastructure is key to the Church Commissioners’ approach to environmental stewardship through responsible investment.Chris West, head of timberland, infrastructure and indirect property at the Church Commissioners for England, said:“This investment marks the Church Commissioners’ continued diversification into climate infrastructure projects across western Europe, and consolidates our commitment to environmental stewardship by providing a platform to support European net zero targets through investing in sustainable energy production.“We look forward to working with Pioneer’s experienced team, who have a proven track record of successful deal-by-deal transactions within the sustainable infrastructure space.”
