Papers for this month’s sessions of the General Synod of the Church of England are starting to appear online and are listed below. The list will be updated as more papers become available.
Last updated: Thursday afternoon
Agenda
outline agenda
Monday 26 February
Tuesday 27 February
Wednesday 28 February
Thursday 1 March
Agenda for Legislative Business
Papers
(with the days on which they are scheduled to be debated or otherwise considered. Business may be rescheduled, particularly legislation, marked #.)
GS 1597B Draft Dioceses, Pastoral and Mission Measure Part I (pages 1 to 15); Part II (pages 16 to 30); Part III (pages 31 to 45); Part IV (pages 46 to 62) (Tuesday#)
GS 1598B Draft Amending Canon No 27 (Tuesday#)
GS 1599B Draft Vacancy in See Committees (Amendment) Regulation 200- (Tuesday#)
GS 1597-9Z Report by the Steering Committee (Tuesday#)
GS 1616A Draft Church of England Marriage Measure (Tuesday#)
GS 1616Y Report by the Revision Committee (Tuesday#)
GS 1635 Report by the Business Committee (Monday)
GS 1636 Electronic Voting: Report by the Business Committee (Wednesday)
GS 1637 Draft Ecclesiastical Offices (Terms of Service) Measure (Tuesday#)
GS 1638 Draft Ecclesiastical Offices (Terms of Service) Regulations (Tuesday#)
GS 1639 Draft Amending Canon No 29 (Tuesday#)
GS 1637-9X Report and Explanantory Memorandum (Tuesday#)
GS 1640 Resolution under Paragraph 17 of the Schedule to the Church Funds Investment Measure 1958 confirming the appointment of a successor body corporate to act in place of the Central Board of Finance of the Church of England (Wednesday#)
GS 1641 The Draft National Institutions of the Church of England (Transfer of Functions) Order 2007 (Wednesday#)
GS 1641X Explanatory Memorandum (Wednesday#)
GS 1642 Draft Amending Canon No 28 (Thursday#)
GS 1642X Explanatory Memorandum
GS 1643 Parsonages Measure (Amendment) Rules 2007 (Thursday#)
GS 1643X Explanatory Memorandum (Thursday#)
GS 1644 The Future of Trident: Report from the Mission and Public Affairs Council (Monday)
GS 1645 The Future of Clergy Pensions: Report from the Archbishops’ Council (Tuesday)
GS 1646 Achieving the First Two Hundred Years: Report by the Board of Education (including the Dearing Report: Five Years On) (Wednesday)
GS 1647 Taking Responsibility for Crime: Report from the Mission and Public Affairs Council (Thursday)
GS 1648 Fresh Expressions (Tuesday)
GS Misc 842A Lesbian and Gay Christians Background Note from the Reverend Mary Gilbert (Wednesday)
GS Misc 842B Lesbian and Gay Christians Background Note from the House of Bishops (Wednesday)
GS Misc 843A Civil Partnerships Background Paper for General Synod debate on Civil Partnerships proposed by Paul Perkin (Wednesday)
GS Misc 843B Civil Partnerships Background Note from the House of Bishops (Wednesday)
GS Misc 844A Media Standards: Their Effect on Individuals and Society A background paper from the Diocese of Lichfield (Thursday)
GS Misc 844B Media Standards: Their Effect on Individuals and Society Paper prepared by the Archbishops’ Council Communications Office (Thursday)
Mary Gilbert’s piece is an excellent summary of Christian common sense on the subject. I pray that it will get a hearing.
The bishops’ statement is also quite reasonable: GS Misc 842B Lesbian and Gay Christians Background Note from the House of Bishops (Wednesday) While the ordination of Gene Robinson “triggered” the huge controversy, I suspect that the real motives of indignation go far beyond that. On the ethics of homosexuality, the teachings mentioned in this statement are quite liberal. The nuance that says, tolerable in laity, not in clergy, is rather subtle; and it is surely not this nuance that the Global South is het up about. It is not even clear that the ordination of Gene Robinson constituted a grave… Read more »
“Or is it with a model of Christian teaching that countenances listening and discussion rather than perfervid biblical fundamentalism?” Father, It’s never about what it’s about. The issue is of Biblical authority as understood by those in the Church who are basically sola scriptura type Protestants. Homosexuality is the rock they have chosen to founder on. I’m not arguing right or wrong, merely that if it hadn’t been this, it would have been something else. They don’t need to listen to the other side, not when what they say is “in the Bible” and they are arguing with people who… Read more »
Ford Elms — Yes, that’s right. In Tanzania we can expect the Global South to try to get a two-thirds vote to expel The Episcopal Church from the Anglican Consultative Council, but I don’t think that will happen, so maybe Nigeria will lead some Global South provinces into a biblical obscurnatist communion. Or perhaps TEC will be excluded from the ACC & yet invited to Lambeth like the non-Anglican Old Catholics & Church of Sweden (both of whose positions on women in ministry & gay issues are much closer to TEC than to those of the Church of England). But… Read more »
Being an old board-room fox, I would be very much surprised to see that a provision allowing fo a 2/3 voting of a new Province i n t o the ACC, also meant there is a provision allowing 2/3 to vote one out.
Not the same thing.
“But what we see in synod is a microcosm of the struggles that are tearing apart the WWAC.” Which is sad. We need the Evangelicals to call us back to Scripture when we get a bit too full of seeing the Spirit in every touchy feely decision we make. We need the Anglo-catholics to call people away from legalism and Pelagianism back to the wonder of Creation Redeemed by ist Creator who actually became part of it. We need the broad Churchers to remind us that living together without dissention is not about agreement, but respect, and IS one of… Read more »
Göran Koch-Swahne–
You may well be right, but I was told that it was a matter of “who determined membership” (interesting that it is not the ACC itself).
In any case, I would be astonished if the Akinolist led “Global South” primates number 2/3 — perhaps slightly over 1/2, but that would not suffice.