The Commissioners of the Church of England, responsible for managing the Church’s £5 billion investments, are to fund a new ‘chaplain to the banks’.
The new minister for mammon, whose licensing will be held in a bank next week, is a full-time post funded by a three year grant.
It comes after the Archbishops of Canterbury and York condemned some in the city as ‘bank robbers’ during the financial crisis and the Commissioners' sustained heavy losses on the stockmarket, in particular through their investments in banking shares.
The Church says that the new post “aims to put relations between the church and the world of banking and business on a new footing”.
The Rev Rob Hinton (40) will begin his new post as the Church of England’s first ‘Pioneer Minister to the Business Community’ with a Service of Licensing on Tuesday.
In a break with church tradition, the special service will be held at the headquarters of a major regional bank in Leeds at which the Bishop of Knaresborough will license the new minister.
Hinton, who has left his previous post as a Vicar in Altrincham, Cheshire to take up the role, will have the brief of building bridges between the church and the financial and business sector of Leeds, one of the biggest outside London.
During the service of licensing the ‘congregation’ of church and business leaders will be welcomed by Gary Lumby, President of Leeds Chamber of Commerce and Head of Retail at the Yorkshire Bank.
A financial management consultant, Keith Madeley, will give the reading from the Book of Acts, Chapter 17 – the Apostle Paul in the market place at Athens. The reading may strike some as at odds with the church's stated approach, as the story gives an account of how St Paul’s preaching upset his hearers and led to a riot in the city.
Explaining the decision to hold the service at the Yorkshire Bank, the Venerable Peter Burrows, said: “As Rob Hinton is being appointed as a minister to the Business Community we wanted to hold the service at an institution that is at its heart here in Leeds and what better than the Yorkshire Bank itself.
"They have been very keen to work with us on this appointment and in hosting the service. This is, as far as I know, the first time a licensing service has been held in a bank. It takes place at the heart of the financial services sector and demonstrates our commitment to working in partnership with the business world."
As ‘chaplain’ to the business community, the Rev Rob Hinton will be based at ‘Club LS1’ in Leeds, a central hub for business people meeting in the city and also the home to such institutions as Common Purpose and the Institute of Directors.
"While so much of the church is denouncing the banking community, it is an important time to come and be the new Chaplain to the second largest financial district outside of London and to become part of a Diocese that is wanting to love those who are both taking the flack and at the same time trying to put things right for the industry and the rest of us" he said.
"This is a ministry not just to the financial sector but all areas of the city’s business world."
According to their last annual report, the Church Commissioners have £75 million invested in HSBC, £11.8 million in Barclays, £8.4 million in Royal Bank of Scotland, £6.4 million in Lloyds TSB.
The Church also invests in the largest listed hedge fund Man Group.
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