New chair for A&M charity
In the chair: the Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Revd Stephen Platten
In the chair: the Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Revd Stephen Platten
THE Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Revd Stephen Platten, is to be the new chairman of the Hymns Ancient & Modern charitable trust. He succeeds Patrick Coldstream, who has been chairman since 2001.
The Hymns Ancient & Modern trust, which takes its name from the hymn book, first published in 1862, is now a multi-platform media company, having grown considerably under Mr Coldstream's chairmanship. It owns two book imprints, the Canterbury Press and SCM, and is responsible for the output of Church House Publishing. Since 1989, it has also published the Church Times, among other periodicals, such as Third Way and Magnet. It runs the Church House Bookshop, and the Norwich Books and Music distribution arm. It employs 65 people.
Bishop Platten was formerly Dean of Norwich, where Hymns A & M has one of its two offices. He has been associated with the charity since it acquired SCM Press in 1997. He also chairs the Church of England's Liturgical Commission. He takes over as chairman on 29 January next year.