1. History.

2. Appointment of Trustees

1. A Trustee should be deeply committed to the pastoral and evangelistic ideals for which Charles Simeon stood in his day, but adaptable enough to trust younger men who will experiment in ways of bringing the old Message to new situations.
2. Most, if not all, the Trustees shall themselves have had wide experience in parochial work. The present Trust consists of a Suffragan Bishop, a Canon Residentiary and three incumbents.
3. The five Trustees between them should have knowledge of the whole country, and of as many of the clergy as possible. Some of the present Trustees have a long connection with ordinands and colleges, which helps in the knowledge of younger men, and all are constantly enlarging the circle of men whom they know personally, and whose work they can assess.
4. A Trustee must be prepared to give time and thought (and of course prayer) to the work, which involves a considerable amount of travel, interviews and correspondence, as well as attendance at meetings.
5. No Trustee should be a member of any other large Patronage Trust. We think it would be a bad thing to have the patronage of a large number of parishes concentrated in the hands of a few people. A Simeon Trustee may also be patron of one or more livings by virtue of his ecclesiastical office, or as a member of the Governing Body of a College, and this is not regarded as contravening this principle.
6. A Trustee must understand that he cannot be appointed to one of the Trust's own livings. He is also bound, morally at any rate, not to be party to the appointment of a member of his own family. Any Trustee becoming a Diocesan Bishop automatically resigns from the Trust.

3. Appointment to Livings

1. Contact with the parish. On receiving the form BERP 1, and not necessarily waiting to receive BERP 7, the secretary writes to the churchwardens to arrange for one of the Trustees to visit the parish.
   
   On this visit he sees the wardens and other church officers, or the whole P.C.C. if they so desire, to learn in detail the needs of the parish. He sees the church, parsonage house, and other buildings, and if the outgoing incumbent is still there he probably sees him also. But it is important that all official discussion be conducted with the appropriate lay officers.
   
   These visits help to establish a relationship of confidence.
   
   
2. Assessment of needs. The Trustee writes a report which, in addition to full statistics of services, population, types of people, organisations, finance, etc., gives an assment of the type of ministry required. This includes reference to the churchmanship of the parish, which the Trustees always respect in making an appointment; but deals principally with the deeper needs of the parish.
   
   
3. Finding the man. With the report before them, and the P.C.C.'s representations where these have been made, the Trustees proceed to make suggestions of names. This is done both at the meeting and also by correspondence between meetings. Always the first consideration is the parish and not the need of a particular man for a move. The latter does however enter in as one factor in making the choice, and particular care is taken not to disturb a man who has been only a short time in a parish and is doing a good work there.
   
   The sources from which names are suggested are as follows:
   • Personal knowledge of one or more of the Trustees.
   • Names sent by Bishops, Principals of Theological Colleges, Incumbents M E.C.C.A., or anyone else who cares to write in.
   • Names sent in by men themselves. The Trustees welcome the intimation that a man is ready to consider a move, but do not encourage applications for a particular benefice.
   • The list of incumbents of livings in the gift of the Trust. This is gone through frequently, but there is no preference given to names on this list.
     
     
   When all suggested names have been carefully examined, if some of them appear to all the Trustees to be suitable, three or four are chosen and placed in the order of preference At this stage, it is sometimes necessary to think further before the name of the ideal man suggests itself. But generally the suggestions made include suitable people, and the list is drawn up, with one or two additional names to be considered as reserves.
   
   Men who are not known personally to one or more of the Trustees are usually interviewed before an offer is made.
   
   
4. Making the offer. The secretary writes fairly fully to the clerk selected, offering him nomination to the living.
   
   It is recognised that the churchwardens and the Bishop must concur before an appointment is made, but the offer, from the Trustees' point of view is a firm one.
   
   They may occasionally make a tentative approvval of one or two men, but abhor the idea of interviewing a number of men for one parish, all except one of whom must become "unsuccessful candidates".
   
   So the offer of nomination is a firm one, and a reasonable amount of time is allowed for a decision. It is generally expected that a man will know if he wants to visit the parish within a few days of receiving the offer, and that a final answer should be given within three weeks.
   
   
5. Consents The secretary makes the arrangements for the visit to the parish, and if the offer is accepted he writes again to the churchwardens to make sure that they are happy with the choice.
   
   They usually are, but if some doubt is expressed, or a definitely negative opinion is given, the secretary lets the clerk know that he might not get the welcome he would desire. This is always accepted as a hint to withdraw, but usually a man already senses, in the interview with the churchwardens, whether or not they want him.
   
   Simeon's Trustees have never, as far as the present chairman knows, forced a nominee on an unwilling parish, or resorted to an appeal to the Bishop.
   
   When the churchwardens have agreed, the secretary writes to the Bishop nominating the clerk for the vacant parish. In many cases the Bishop has already met the nominee who, on his own request, has wished to consult the Diocesan before making his decision.
   
   It is perhaps worth recording that Simeon's Trustees have had very happy relationships with the Bishops of the Dioceses in which they have patronage.
   
   
6. Final details The solicitors to the Trust prepare the Deed of Presentation, the secretary sends news of the appointment to the Church Information Office, and one of the Trustees is detailed to attend the Institution.

4. Keeping in touch

5. Finance

6. Conclusion

• The relations of the Trustees with parishes and with clergy are of a personal nature, based on contact through visiting and correspondence.
• As a body of clergymen who have all had long experience as parish priests, the Trustees are in a position to assess the needs of parishes and the abilities of clergymen.
• The Trustees are in no sense the "employers" of those appointed, and can therefore have a detachment which might not always be possible when a Bishop, or a P.C.C., or even a Regional Board, makes the appointment.
• The Trustees are able to look beyond diocesan, provincial, or even national boundaries in seeking the best man for a particular parish. Appointments in recent years by Simeon's Trustees have brought about a great deal of quite useful cross-fertilisation.
• In taking care to preserve the traditions of a parish the Trustees are doing something to save the Church from becoming entirely monochrome.
  
  Simeon was an evangelical in the big sense of the word, and never really a party man. His Trust has always tried to put emphasis where he put it — on a positive preaching and teaching ministry in a pastoral setting.
  
  If this is a contribution which the Trust can make to the whole Church, it is at least possible that the Church would be the loser by a change of method of appointment which would eliminate such a body as Simeon's Trustees. It would seem to be a tragedy if a voluntary and unofficial system were superseded by a plan, which, while appearing administratively tidier, might make for too much regimentation and officialdom.