The House of Laity met on Monday before the first session of General Synod.
Justin Brett has reported what happened in What The House Of Laity Did First…
This afternoon the House of Laity was invited to co-opt Dr Priscilla Chadwick as a member of the House so that she could be re-appointed as Chair of the Dioceses Commission. The short version of what happened is that we declined to make such a co-option…
That’s a real shame. Dr Chadwick is one of the few who could speak up for what are much-needed reforms.
Seems, from Julian’s input, that the ‘powers that be’ behind the House of Laity of General Synod in the Church of England may have wrongly arranged their tactics on this occasion. Straight- forwardness is alway a boon to the democratic process, and for the Secretariat to use their own influence to bring about a ‘desired result’ is not always a good idea. The members of the House of Laity themselves ought to be the ones deciding on whom to vote into any special role on one of the commissions in which they have any participatory role. Perhaps this incident may… Read more »
What a nice piece, so well reasoned and well presented.
I too feel sorry for Dr Chadwick – but the House acted well, the mandarins etc do not come off so well ….
Some of you may remember that Sir Humphhrey Appleby was virtually always able to manipulate matters so that the bureaucrats got the outcome they sought. Many fans of the series doubtless recall that Prime Minister Hacker (as he was by that point) eventually started to win with some regularity. From time to time, bureaucrats need to be reminded that they are there to serve, not to govern. Similarly, it a good thing to remind the bishops in their shovel hats as well. There seems to be a heavy layer of arrogance among Church of England and Anglican Communion bureaucrats. One… Read more »