Last week (3-5 November) members of Cathedral Chapter attended a three day leadership event in Manchester sponsored by the Church Commissioners.

The Dean, Canon Chancellor, lay Chapter members Emma Broome and Ronald Rabbetts as well as the Chief Operating Officer and the Office Manager, who is the project lead from the implementation of Cathedral Measure here at Portsmouth, joined with cathedral Chapters from the other 43 English Cathedrals.

Over the three days, discussions and practical work was done to better understand how chapters will work once the new Cathedrals Measure comes into force (for Portsmouth that is autumn 2023), what effective governance, leadership and management looks like and how to strength it across the cathedral network.

Presentations from the Henley School of Business and from Korn Ferry, the leading organisational design consultancy, helped to frame the discussion about how to more effectively deliver the mission of cathedrals . An inspiring talk by the Canon Chancellor at St. Paul's, Dr. Paula Gooder, on the fundamentally important role theology plays in the management of our cathedrals were amongst the highlights.

Dean Anthony says, "It was an important opportunity to both learn from each other as cathedrals navigate these new governance structures, but it was also equally important to hear from thought leaders as we seek to improve how we operate to then better carry out our Mission. I am very grateful to the Church Commissioners for both conceiving of this conference and to funding it for all 43 cathedrals."