As a champion of volunteers, Shirley Adams JP (Justice of the Peace) made a huge difference to communities across the UK. We want to share our gratitude for Shirley and everything she did in support of churches and the people who keep them going. Her dedicated work as a Trustee of the National Churches Trust shows how one person can create change. Find out more about Shirley and the lasting legacy she leaves behind.
Commitment to churches and charity
For nearly all of her professional working life, Shirley Adams worked in the charitable sector. She was passionate about supporting communities, both locally to her in Manchester, and across the UK. First in her professional career as a charity director and then as a trustee for several charities, she ensured that support was delivered to people in need.
After first expressing interest in 2018, Shirley was appointed to our Board of Trustees in March 2019. For six years, she has served as a kind and committed trustee, who got involved with so much of the charity’s activity.
“Shirley was a wonderful colleague and a superb member of the team of trustees,” shares Sir Philip Rutnam, Chair of the National Churches Trust.
“She was a kind, wise and thoughtful person for whom nothing was too much trouble and who cared deeply both about the National Churches Trust as a charity and about the wider future of the country’s church buildings. It is difficult to believe that she really has gone, and we will miss her contribution keenly in the years that come.”
As a trustee, Shirley was highly valued, but she also went above-and-beyond her duties to make a difference, as National Churches Trust Chief Executive, Claire Walker, explains:
“Shirley’s enthusiasm for church buildings was obvious and her varied experience in the third sector was extremely valuable. She would often contact me just to offer her support, having been a charity Chief Executive herself.
“Although Shirley was a very busy person, she always found time to attend extra meetings, give advice when asked and even knitted a blanket for one of our team’s new baby.”
A champion of local support
Living in Manchester, Shirley was aware of the different challenges that churches encounter in different parts of the UK. So, it was only natural that she would be a strong advocate for the Cherish project at its inception. The project, which launched in 2023, provides additional support for churches in Scotland, Wales and North West England through a grants programme and dedicated support officers on the ground.
Once Cherish had been established, Shirley continued to take an active interest, working as part of the Cherish accountability team and regularly joining staff for church visits, too.
As part of the accountability team, she took responsibility for helping to make the project a success. This meant providing expert guidance and pragmatic feedback, sharing her experience with the team so that support would reach the churches that needed it.
“Shirley made a really meaningful contribution to the Cherish project. Along with being a warm and friendly person, she gave robust and practical feedback that has been hugely valuable to the project,” explains Jon Hodges, Cherish Project Manager at the National Churches Trust.
Having been involved from the start, the opportunity to help churches on the ground was one that Shirley relished, and she regularly joined Jon and Matthew Maries, our Cherish Support Officer for North West England, for site visits.
“Shirley was really knowledgeable about churches and took an active interest in visits. She would take the lead, ask questions and sometimes arrange for us to meet people,” shares Matthew.
“It was like having another Cherish Officer for the region. She did so much for the project, alongside all of her other work. I don’t know how she fitted it all in. She loved churches, but it was always about the people – she cared a lot about the volunteers who help keep churches running.”
Recognising the role of volunteers in churches
The National Church Awards was another part of our work where Shirley played a big role. Across architecture, conservation, volunteering and tourism, that National Church Awards is an annual celebration of church buildings and the amazing people that kept them running.
Shirley was passionate about recognising church volunteers and sharing their stories. So, she sat on the judging panel for, and presented, the Care and Conservation Awards, which commend excellence in church maintenance and reflect the tireless work of volunteer teams across the UK.
“It was a privilege to work alongside Shirley on the National Church Awards,” shares Sarah Crossland, who organises the awards.
“As a judge for the Conservation Awards she brought not only great knowledge and expertise, but also a generosity of spirit.”
The experience gave Shirley the opportunity to speak up and to share her admiration for the people who keep churches open, in good order, and serving communities.
“She took genuine enjoyment in reading about the wonderful work being done and celebrating all that volunteers do to care for heritage and engage communities,” concludes Sarah.
We are hugely grateful for Shirley Adams’ contribution to the National Churches Trust. Her work – for our charity and others – has made a difference to people in need, and her kindness deeply valued by the people who worked with her. For this, memories of Shirley will be treasured, and her legacy will live on through the churches and people that she did so much to support.
