After seven years of service, David Coulthard is to step down as Communar and Executive Director of Chichester Cathedral in July.
In his seven-years in the role, David oversaw substantial change and modernisation at the Cathedral, bringing increased professionalism through a smaller staff team, and combining robust governance with strong financial accountability. Latterly, the challenge has been to navigate the Cathedral through the COVID-19 pandemic and its long-lasting impact, alongside colleagues.
David has also sat on the Board of the Association of English Cathedrals (AEC) and has chaired the Cathedral Administration and Finance Association (CAFA), which represents lay staff and drives best practice in Cathedrals across the country. This role has seen David working closely with the National Church Institutions, advising on behalf of lay Cathedral leaders and serving on a number of groups supporting the development of the Cathedrals Measure 2021.
In addition to his Cathedral responsibilities, David has been the Clerk to the Trustees of St Mary’s Hospital almshouses, a Christian foundation with an operating partnership with the Cathedral which provides housing for up to 40 residents within a 13th Century hospital and other buildings across Chichester’s city centre. The charity has undertaken substantial governance and operational change during recent years, positioning it to support more beneficiaries in the future.
David said:
“It has been a privilege to serve Chichester Cathedral and its community as Communar and a member of Chapter and to play a small part in furthering its mission, safeguarding its future, and helping it to become a safer place. I particularly enjoyed working with the SCIE safeguarding auditors last year and reflecting on the strides that have been taken in that area. I am very proud of the high-performing team that we have at the Cathedral and of how it worked together to address the many difficulties of the pandemic. The Cathedral is now in a strong position and can embark on its newly developed Vision with justifiable confidence. I shall miss Chichester Cathedral, but I will follow its future successes with great affection.
The Very Reverend Stephen Waine, Dean of Chichester, said:
“We are all very grateful to David for his huge contribution to the life of the Cathedral during his seven years as Communar. He has been instrumental in helping to drive forward significant changes in governance, finance and staffing which have enabled the Cathedral to flourish and placed it in a strong position as we come out of the pandemic and prepare to celebrate our 950th anniversary in 2025. We wish David and his family every blessing, and assure him of our gratitude, and our prayers for the future.”