2025 has been a year of change and change brings challenges for us all. As a congregation we have experienced loss and the need to revitalise ourselves, and we have been achieving this in ways that were not obvious only a few months ago, but which bring us new hope and prospects for the future.
The loss of two of our most central and longstanding members was always bound to create vacuums to be filled as we did very sadly lose Stuart Cook and then shortly afterwards Cherry Dodd. Stuart was a refugee from a more prescriptive faith, but one that had instilled in him a commitment to the community. He liked to step in and deal with any maintenance issues that arose, using his engineering background as well as his common sense and DIY skills, to resolve many a problem, from gate hinges to the electric clock. By his nineties our difficulty was in stopping him climb to the very top of our tallest step ladder to change a failed lightbulb! Stuart’s death left Val unable to cope entirely by herself and she seems now happily installed in a care home, but is another loss to the Chapel where she took responsibility for the refreshments for many years.
Only weeks later, at the end of May, dear Cherry announced calmly that she had been diagnosed with cancer. She died at the end of June. Cherry was the lynchpin of congregational life. Her knowledge of everything to do with the Chapel was the consequence of over 40 years of deep involvement with the Unitarians despite only joining on a temporary commitment to look after the finances.
Each of these gaps was going to be a challenge to fill, but here was an opportunity also to change and adapt and grow, looking towards the future. As a Chapel we acknowledge the debt we owe to those who kept us going, but also the obligation to try and advance too. There were other ways of operating and we had to develop them for ourselves. Before she died Cherry had helped to spread interest and involvement more widely: she had engaged a little with some local people who knew and liked the Chapel and we turned to them for a more active support. First though we had found a new member in David Healey, who had visited us and liked what he found. David began attending and soon accepted that there were aspects of the Chapel and of Unitarianism that attracted him. We quickly discovered that he has experience and skills that we could use as a Trustee and he has now taken over the role of Chairman and led us forward in ways that we had long wanted to explore. We became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation this year, for example, a step which many other small Chapels are still only trying to achieve.
Cherry had started to involve Mandy Littlejohn, who knows an enormous amount about all things Warwick and has been the town’s Mayor. Mandy brought in her friend Linda Butler who has much experience of financial management and who has been working to update all our financial arrangements in ways that Cherry and I knew were needed but didn’t have the knowledge or energy to achieve. One of Mandy’s biggest projects in 2025 has been to improve the quality of our residential flats next door, again bringing us up to and indeed exceeding official standards, and thereby preserving the income flow that keeps us viable. She has had better lighting installed to brighten the appeal of the Chapel frontage. She has also worked to improve the hiring arrangements for outside users, bringing in further vital revenue. Linda is still having to drag us into the digital age, simplifying and regularising all our everyday financial dealings.
David has proved to be the boost that we needed. Under his guidance, in addition to the CIO status, we have increased the size of the congregation, we have had several social activities in the Chapel and outside in the garden and we have appointed some new Trustees. He led us through the process of writing a Mission and Vision statement and ensured we have new policies for Safeguarding and other important issues. We made serious progress with Registration of this old Chapel with the Land Registry and have had a long overdue Quinquennial Inspection of the property. In addition to all this, David has plans to pilot a Sunday morning family brunch service once a month. We were delighted to have been approached by the Unitarian Transformers who were successfully awarded Innovation Grant funds to pilot a number of projects at the Chapel, including an alternative worship format later in the New Year.
A busy year, capped for David by becoming a father again in December.
Malcolm Burns, vice-chair. 1st January 2026