Updated Monday morning, afternoon and evening
Updated Saturday 25 June
Update: This press release, outlining the contents of the Synod agenda, was released on Monday: Full agenda published for July 2011 General Synod sessions in York.
Online copies of the papers for the July 2011 meeting of General Synod are starting to appear online; they are listed below, with links. I will update the list as more papers become available.
The Report of the Business Committee (GS 1824) includes a forecast of future business, and I have copied this below the fold.
The Church of England’s own list of papers is presented in agenda order.
GS 1805A Draft Church of England marriage (Amendment) Measure
GS 1805Y Report by the Revision Committee
GS 1822 Additional Eucharistic Prayers
GS Misc 983 Guidance Notes
GS 1823 July 2011 Group of Sessions – General Synod – Agenda
GS 1824 Business Committee Report July 2011
GS 1825 The Legal Officers (Annual Fees) Order 2011
GS 1826 The Ecclesiastical Judges, Legal Officers and Others (Fees) Order 2011
GS 1825-26X Explanatory Memorandum
GS 1827 Annual Report of the Archbihsops’ Council
GS 1828 The Payments to the Churches Conservation Trust Order 2011
GS 1829 Constitution of the Legal Advisory Commission
GS 1829X List of Members
GS 1830 Annual Report of the Audit Committee
GS 1831 Appointments to the Archbishops’ Council
GS 1832 Parochial Fees Order 2011
GS 1832X Explanatory Memorandum
GS 1833 The Church of England Funded Pensions Scheme (Sodor and Man) (Amendment) Rules 2011
GS 1834 The Church of England Pensions (Sodor and Man) (Amendment) Regulations 2011
GS 1835 A and GS 1835 B Private Member’s Motion: Mission Action Planning in the Church of England
GS 1836 Higher Education Funding Changes: a report from the Ministry Council
GS Misc 990 Higher Education funding – April 2011 report of the working group chaired by the Bishop of Sheffield
GS Misc 990A Funding ministerial training – background information for the above report
GS 1837 The Anglican-Methodist Covenant: a report from the Council for Christian Unity, to which is appended Moving Forward in Covenant: Interim Report of the Joint Implementation Commission
GS 1838 Generous Love for All: Presence and Engagement for the new Quinquennium: a report from the Presence and Engagement Task Group
GS 1839 The Reorganisation Schemes (Compensation) Rules 2011
GS 1840 A and GS 1840 B Diocesan Synod Motion: Admission of Baptized Adults to Communion
GS 1841 Conversations with the United Reformed Church: a report from the Council for Christian Unity
GS 1842 The Archbishops’ Council Draft Budget and Proposals for Apportionment for 2012
GS 1843 A and GS 1843 B Diocesan Synod Motion: House of Laity Elections
GS 1844 Unfinished Business: A Pastoral and Missional Approach for the Next Decade: a report by the Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns
GS Misc 994E appendices
GS 1845 The Church and Education: Into the Next 200 Years: a report from the Board of Education
GS Misc 996 Background to GS 1845
GS1846A and GS 1846B Chichester Diocesan Synod Motion [Contingency Business]
Church Commissioners Annual Report
GS Misc 981 EIAG Annual Review 2010/2011
GS Misc 983 Additional Eucharistic Prayers
GS Misc 984 The Changing Role of Deaneries
GS Misc 985 Dioceses Commission Annual Report 2011
GS Misc 986 Clergy Discipline Commission Annual Report 2011
GS Misc 987 Activities of the Archbishops’ Council
GS Misc 988 Analysis of Mission Funds
GS Misc 989 2012-2014 Fees Order – Rationale
GS Misc 990 Higher Education Funding (electronic distribution only)
GS Misc 990A Funding Ministerial Training (electronic distribution only)
GS Misc 991 Chaplains to the Synod
GS Misc 992 Choosing Bishops – The Equality Act 2010 (Our html copy is here.)
GS Misc 994E Apprendices for GS 1844 (electronic distribution only)
GS Misc 995 Challenges into the new Quinquennium: Next Steps
GS Misc 996 Background to GS 1845
Forecast of future General Synod business
One or more Private Members’ Motions and Diocesan Synod Motions are customarily included in each group of sessions.
The forecast of business provides a forward look to the groups of sessions in 2012. (There are always considerable uncertainties when looking ahead in this way, so this should not be read as more than a broad indication of business that may come to the Synod in the future.)
Legislative business
Liturgical business
Reports
The Committee hopes to keep the ‘challenges for this quinquennium’ in mind as the Synod proceeds through the five years.
Hallo, Ignorant Yank here.
Is it just me, or is anyone else amazed at how OFTEN the CofE has these General Synods? [Compared to TEC’s once-every-three-years General Conventions]
If the CofE was disestablished, could they *afford* to meet this often? (Knowing that the transportation costs to meet from anywhere in Merry Olde, is considerably less than traveling from anywhere in the US of A, *plus* the overseas dioceses)
I wonder…
On the face of it, the way in which the English General Synod continually meets would appear to be a strength, enhancing the role of the laity and clergy in the governance of the church.
However, the sheer frequency and the volume of time involved likely ensures that ordinary workaday folk are effectively underrespresented or even excluded, leaving effective decisionmaking in the hands of a relatively few demographics (ie, the retired, the wealthy elites) who can afford the investment of time and either do not require time off or who can self approve time off.
JCF:
Why would disestablishment make any difference to how often GS could afford to meet?
GS992, Section 26 is nicely illustrated in this cartoon:
http://www.cartoonstock.com/cartoonview.asp?catref=grin1279
It is a shame that some of the comments on the current legal situation concerning marriage were dismissed simply as a request to do away with Banns GS1805Y. The suggestion was grounded in a need to clarify the legal position in respect of clergy who are legally required to read Banns and to marry people on the basis of their residence in the parish, but are being instructed to instruct couples to seek a Licence instead so that their immigration status can be checked. Amongst other things there is an implicit discrimination against foreign nationals (and therefore potentially races) when… Read more »
Frequency of meetings ought, in the ordinary way, help the Church of England to ‘do it’s business’ in a more expeditious way. However, with it’s history on the process of electing women bishops, it might appear to affirm that ‘Less could, in fact, produce More Action’.
There is, of course, the argument that ordinary people on General Synod may not be in a position financially to attend more frequent sessions. But then, how many ‘ordinary’ Anglicans are on G.S.?
Which begs the question about representation of the ordinary voice in general Synod.
JCF,
Establishment in Britain does not mean the church receives any funds from the state, unlike in Germany where the church is financed through a church tax collected by the Inland Revenue.
It would be interesting to compare the cost of running General Convention every three years (a HUGE production which must cost a fortune) with the cost of running General Synod twice each year.
Well, Lister, on your own count here – six months into 3 years goes six times. That’s sufficient evidence to allow General Convention six times the amount spent on General Synods in the same period!
The cost of ‘holding’ a Synod – as compared with the cost of it’s members in time, travel, accommodation and other expenses – on six separate occasions in three years – must be enormous. Is it worth it?
The latest Church Times leader on the next session of the General Synod is entitled “Yawning in York”. It describes the agenda as “thin” and the diocesan motions as “enough to induce despair”. If they haven’t really got that much to discuss – then why on earth are they meeting and thus costing the Church tens of thousands of pounds at a time when more and more parishes are being amalgamated or transformed into Teams and Groups? Isn’t it about time to cull this over blown, self important cuckoo? Time and time again since its creation the General Synod in… Read more »
“GS 1837 The Anglican-Methodist Covenant: a report from the Council for Christian Unity, to which is appended Moving Forward in Covenant: Interim Report of the Joint Implementation Commission” – General Synod Agenda Paper – ‘Moving Forward in Covenant’ – does that mean that the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant will have about the same traction as has this long-delayed action on the proposal to unite with the U.K. Methodists? And then, there is the word COVENANT again. What precisely does it mean when the Church of England can ‘Covenant’ with another Church without the bother of consulting with it’s fellow Churchex… Read more »
“Yawning in York”.
It’ll be fascinating to watch though…