General Synod – votes on Women Bishops legislation
The detailed results of the voting on the women bishops legislation at General Synod last week are now available.
Electronic voting results for Item 507
‘That the Measure entitled “Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure” be considered for revision in committee.’
Electronic voting results for Item 508
‘That the Canon entitled “Amending Canon No 30” be considered for revision in committee.’
From these simple alphabetical lists I have worked out the voting figures in each house below. It will be seen that each house voted by more than a two-thirds majority in favour each motion. Of course, voting to send the legislation for revision is not the same as voting in favour of its content.
| item 507 (measure) |
item 508 (canon) |
|||||
| for | against | abst | for | against | abst | |
| bishops | 35 | 10 | 0 | 36 | 7 | 1 |
| clergy | 125 | 48 | 6 | 142 | 27 | 7 |
| laity | 121 | 56 | 7 | 131 | 45 | 6 |
| total | 281 | 114 | 13 | 309 | 79 | 14 |
I have also compiled tables of how each member of Synod voted (or abstained or was absent). These tables are available as a web page.
8 CommentsChurch of England attendance figures for 2007
Updated Friday morning
Provisional attendance figures for 2007 were released today.
The press release starts:
Figures from the Church of England released today show further evidence that, while some trends in churchgoing continue to change, the overall number of people regularly attending church has altered little since the turn of the millennium. The 2007 figures confirm that attending a Church of England church (including cathedrals) is part of a typical week for some 1.2 million people.
The full figures are available as a pdf file.
Some early press reports
Martin Beckford in the Telegraph Christmas church attendance falls by 11% in a year
Jenna Lyle in Christian Today New Church figures show attendance ‘stable’
Update
Bill Bowder in the Church Times More go to church when Christmas falls at weekend
7 CommentsGeneral Synod – Asylum Seekers and Climate Change
The final morning (Friday) of Synod was devoted to two diocesan synod motions.
The first, from Southwell & Nottingham, was about Justice and Asylum Seekers. The Revd Ruth Worsley moved the motion:
That this Synod, continuing to affirm scriptural teaching about care for the vulnerable, welcome for strangers and foreigners, and the Church’s calling to reach out to the marginalized and persecuted, call upon Her Majesty’s Government:
(a) to ensure that the treatment of asylum seekers is just and compassionate, and to that end to consider:
(i) conferring a right to work on all asylum seekers, and
(ii) declaring an amnesty for so called ‘legacy cases’ that predate the Government’s New Asylum Model;(b) to find a practical and humane remedy to the intolerable situation of destitute ‘refused’ asylum seekers who are unable to return to their country of origin because of personal safety, health or family reasons.
This was amended, by changing some of the wording, and adding (iii) and (c) so that the substantive motion became
That this Synod, continuing to affirm scriptural teaching about care for vulnerable people, welcome for strangers and foreigners, and the Church’s calling to reach out to the marginalized and persecuted, call upon Her Majesty’s Government:
(a) to ensure that the treatment of asylum seekers is just and compassionate, and to that end to:
(i) confer a right to work on all asylum seekers,
(ii) declare an amnesty for so called ‘legacy cases’ that predate the Government’s New Asylum Model, and
(iii) bring to an end the practice of detaining children and families in Immigration Removal Centres;(b) to find a practical and humane remedy to the intolerable situation of destitute ‘refused’ asylum seekers who are unable to return to their country of origin because of personal safety, health or family reasons;
(c) to investigate and report publicly on the quality of the legal services provided to asylum seekers.
The amended motion was then carried by 242 votes to one against (with one recorded abstention).
The second motion, from Worcester, was about Climate Change and the Church’s Property Transactions and was proposed by the Bishop of Dudley:
That this Synod call on the Archbishops’ Council to conduct an urgent review of the Endowments and Glebe Measure and other relevant Church legislation, with a view to bringing forward at the earliest possible opportunity any amendments needed to enable diocesan bodies and PCCs lawfully to dispose of land on terms which give proper weight to environmental considerations as well as financial ones, and so enable the Church to give a stronger moral lead in achieving Her Majesty’s Government’s objectives in cutting carbon emissions.
After debate this motion was defeated. 83 members voted for the motion and 98 against. There were 18 recorded abstentions.
0 CommentsGeneral Synod – Retreat Houses
The final business at Synod this (Thursday) afternoon was a diocesan synod motion on the future of Church of England retreat houses.
The Ven Richard Atkinson (Leicester) moved on behalf of the Leicester Diocesan Synod:
That this Synod
(a) celebrate the contribution of the Diocesan Retreat Houses to the Retreat Movement, and to the mission of the Church and the spiritual well-being of the nation;
(b )in the light of the closure of several Diocesan Retreat Houses, invite the Archbishops’ Council to review and to make recommendations for the future sustainability and development of the remaining Diocesan Retreat Houses; and
(c) encourage the Archbishops’ Council and the other National Church Institutions, Dioceses, regional training partnerships and parishes to make full use of the Diocesan Retreat Houses for retreat, prayer, study, conferences and creative thinking for the future.
Mr Brian Newey (Oxford) moved as an amendment:
Leave out paragraph (b).
This amendment was carried on a show of hands so that the substantive motion became
That this Synod
(a) celebrate the contribution of the Diocesan Retreat Houses to the Retreat Movement, and to the mission of the Church and the spiritual well-being of the nation; and
(b) encourage the Archbishops’ Council and the other National Church Institutions, Dioceses, regional training partnerships and parishes to make full use of the Diocesan Retreat Houses for retreat, prayer, study, conferences and creative thinking for the future.
At the end of the debate the amended motion was carried nem con on a show of hands.
Background papers
from the Diocese of Leicester and the Diocese of Peterborough (GS Misc 907A)
by the Secretary General (GS Misc 907B)
The Ven Richard Atkinson proposing the motion
0 CommentsGeneral Synod – reports on day four
Updated Friday morning
The official summary of the morning’s business is at General Synod – Summary of Business Conducted on Thursday 12th February 2009 AM
And for the afternoon, there is General Synod – Summary of Business Conducted on Thursday 12th February 2009 PM
Martin Beckford in the Telegraph Workers who lose jobs will escape ‘Crackberry culture’
Ruth Gledhill in the Times Bishop of London says that redundancy is good for the soul
Avril Ormsby at Reuters ‘We are all to blame for financial crisis’ – archbishop
BBC Church leaders focus on recession
Further updates
ENS In England, Anglican covenant debate reveals mixed expectations by Matthew Davies
Ekklesia Global economy hits poorest hardest, archbishop tells Synod
Ruth Gledhill General Synod Feb 09 Day Four
Justin Brett In Praise of the Tom Wright Sound-Bite
Alastair Cutting A jar, an empty cupboard, and kissing the hand of the Queen
7 CommentsGeneral Synod – Inter Faith: Presence and Engagement
The second item of business this afternoon (Thursday) was a debate on the report Inter Faith: Presence and Engagement (GS 1720)
The motion, proposed by the Bishop of Bradford, was “That the Synod do take note of this report”. The motion was passed on a show of hands.
The Bishop of Bradford introducing the debate
1 CommentGeneral Synod – Financial Crisis and the Recession
This afternoon (Thursday) Synod debated the report Implications of the financial crisis and the recession (GS 1719). Also relevant is the paper by Andreas Whittam Smith that we linked to here.
The Archbishop of York moved:
That the Synod do take note of this Report
The Archbishop’s speech is here.
The motion was carried.
The Archbishop of York speaking in the debate
0 CommentsGeneral Synod – Human Trafficking
The final item of business on Wednesday evening was a Diocesan Synod motion from Newcastle on Human Trafficking.
The Revd Canon Michael Webb (Newcastle) moved:
That this Synod, in celebrating the centenary of the death of Josephine Butler, who is remembered in the Calendar on May 30th:
(a) recognize and deplore the continuing evil of human trafficking, especially of children and young people;
(b) urge the Church of England to support the work of those who seek to end the traffic and rescue those trapped in it; and
(c) support the vigorous implementation of the UK Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking and, in particular, call on HM Government to ensure that effective measures are in place to prevent sex workers being trafficked into Britain during the 2012 Olympics.
The following amendment was moved by Canon Ann Turner (Europe) and carried on a show of hands.
At the end insert as a new paragraph:
(..) request the Archbishops’ Council to explore the possibility of affiliating to the United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre in order to combat this traffic as an urgent priority.”.
This made the Substantive motion into:
That this Synod, in celebrating the centenary of the death of Josephine Butler, who is remembered in the Calendar on May 30th:
(a) recognize and deplore the continuing evil of human trafficking, especially of children and young people;
(b) urge the Church of England to support the work of those who seek to end the traffic and rescue those trapped in it;
(c) support the vigorous implementation of the UK Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking and, in particular, call on HM Government to ensure that effective measures are in place to prevent sex workers being trafficked into Britain during the 2012 Olympics; and
(d) request the Archbishops’ Council to explore the possibility of affiliating to the United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre in order to combat this traffic as an urgent priority.
The motion was carried on a show of hands.
There was a second proposed amendment, moved by the Revd Mark Sowerby (Ripon & Leeds).
After paragraph (a) insert as a new paragraph:
“(b) recognize and deplore the male abuse of women, which is the root cause of this evil trade;”.
It was defeated by 95 votes to 114 with 12 recorded abstentions.
Background papers
by the Dioceses of Newcastle and Winchester, and the Diocese in Europe (GS Misc 906A)
from the Mission and Public Affairs Division (GS Misc 906B)
General Synod – Uniqueness of Christ in Multi-Faith Britain
The second item of Wednesday afternoon was a private member’s motion on the uniqueness of Christ in multi-faith Britain.
Mr Paul Eddy (Winchester) moved:
That this Synod request the House of Bishops to report to the Synod on their understanding of the uniqueness of Christ in Britain’s multi-faith society, and offer examples and commendations of good practice in sharing the gospel of salvation through Christ alone with people of other faiths and of none.
The Revd Christopher Strain (Salisbury) moved as an amendment:
After “That this Synod” insert:
“warmly welcome Dr Martin Davie’s background paper ‘The witness of Scripture, the Fathers and the historic formularies to the uniqueness of Christ’ attached to GS Misc 905B and”.
This amendment was carried on a show of hands.
This made the substantive motion:
That this Synod warmly welcome Dr Martin Davie’s background paper ‘The witness of Scripture, the Fathers and the historic formularies to the uniqueness of Christ’ attached to GS Misc 905B and request the House of Bishops to report to the Synod on their understanding of the uniqueness of Christ in Britain’s multi-faith society, and offer examples and commendations of good practice in sharing the gospel of salvation through Christ alone with people of other faiths and of none.
The motion was carried by 283 votes to 8 with 10 recorded abstentions.
Background papers
background note from the Secretary General (GS Misc 905B) to which is attached a paper from Dr Martin Davie
A Church of England Approach to the Unique Significance of Jesus Christ A paper prepared by Dr Martin Davie for the Theological Group of the House of Bishops
During the debate the following two amendments were defeated.
The Revd Canon Simon Bessant (Sheffield) moved as an amendment:
Leave out all the words after “That this Synod” and insert:
“remembering its resolution of 6 July 2002, affirm:
(a) the process started by Presence & Engagement (GS 1577); and
(b) that all Christians should seek to witness faithfully to Christ and His Gospel to all, whilst also building strong friendships and partnerships with other faith communities in seeking peace, justice and the common good throughout society;
and ask that Ministry Division and the Mission & Public Affairs Division report on progress on this matter.”.
The 2002 resolution is copied below the fold. This amendment was lost on a show of hands.
The Revd Canon Andrew Dow (Gloucester) moved as an amendment:
Leave out all the words after “That this Synod” and insert:
“, recognising the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as the only Saviour as a foundational tenet of the Apostolic Christian Faith, request the House of Bishops to commission a report for Synod giving details of current Church of England based evangelistic ministry among those of other faiths, providing guidelines for this particular outreach, and highlighting examples of good practice.”.
This amendment was lost on a show of hands.
11 CommentsGeneral Synod – Church Water Bills
The first item of business this afternoon (Wednesday) was a private member’s motion about Church Water Bills.
Martin Dales (York) moved:
That this Synod, concerned about the effect on many parishes of sudden, massive rises in water charges for churches, request HM Government to remind OFWAT of its obligations to ensure that the water companies adhere to the clear guidance given by the Secretary of State for the Environment in 2000, which states that “there are many non-household users who are not businesses … including places of worship … and it would be inappropriate to charge all non-household customers as if they were businesses”.
The motion was carried by votes 282 to nil with three recorded abstentions.
The amendment below was proposed by Timothy Cox (Blackburn) but was defeated on a show of hands.
Leave out all the words after “concerned about the” and insert:
“devastating impact of massive rises in the sewerage charges for places of worship, charities, not-for-profit clubs and voluntary organisations, request HM Government to issue new guidance to OFWAT and the water companies to:
(a) treat not-for-profit organisations, charities, places of worship, community halls etc differently from businesses and provide concessionary rates for surface and foul water drainage for these bodies; and
(b) spread the cost of highways drainage solely upon for-profit organisations.”.
Background papers
from Martin Dales (GS Misc 904A)
by the Secretary General (GS Misc 904B)
General Synod – Women Bishops legislation
Updated Thursday at 13.00 GMT to include the Archbishop of Canterbury’s contribution to the debate
After a service of Holy Communion the Synod spent the rest of Wednesday morning debating the proposed legislation to permit the ordination of women as bishops.
The draft legislation was prepared on the basis of the motion passed at Synod in July 2008. (See the end of our July item here for the text of the motion.)
There were two motions before Synod, both proposed by the Bishop of Manchester (the Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch):
That the Measure entitled “Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure” be considered for revision in committee.
This motion was carried by 281 votes to 114 with 13 recorded abstentions. A request for a vote by houses was unsuccessful as fewer than 25 members wanted this.
That the Amending Canon entitled “Amending Canon No 30” be considered for revision in committee.
This motion was also carried – by 309 votes to 79 with 14 recorded abstentions
Both votes were taken electronically and voting lists will be available later (and we will publish them).
Archbishop of Canterbury’s speech
These are the papers for the debates.
Women in the Episcopate (GS 1707)
Draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure (GS 1708)
Draft Amending Canon No. 30 (GS 1709)
Illustrative Code of Practice (GS 1710)
Explanatory Memorandum (GS 1708-10X)
The Bishop of Manchester addressing the Synod
9 CommentsGeneral Synod – Voice of the Church in Public Life
The last item of business this afternoon was a debate on a diocesan synod motion about the voice of the church in public life.
The Revd Canon David Felix (Chester) moved on behalf of the Chester Diocesan Synod:
That this Synod, mindful of the questions raised in public debate about the role of the Church in civic society, invite the Divisions of the Archbishops’ Council to report to the General Synod, before the end of the quinquennium, on their work:
(a) to foster clearer understanding of the Christian faith among the institutions and organisations of society; and
(b) to reinforce the claims of the Church to take its place in public life in Britain.
The Revd Canon Pete Spiers (Liverpool) moved as an amendment:
Leave out everything after “civic society” and insert:
“and believing that the most effective way to communicate the role of Christian faith in public life is through the witness and service of Christian men and women in their daily lives:
(a) affirm the work of the House of Bishops and the divisions of the Archbishops’ Council in fostering the understanding of the Christian faith among institutions and organisations in society;
(b) request the Business Committee to consider how the issues raised in Moral, But No Compass might best be debated; and
(c) urge the members of this Synod actively to promote public engagement in their dioceses and parishes to reinforce the values of the Christian faith.”.
This amendment was carried on a show of hands.
The substantive motion therefore became:
That this Synod, mindful of the questions raised in public debate about the role of the Church in civic society and believing that the most effective way to communicate the role of Christian faith in public life is through the witness and service of Christian men and women in their daily lives:
(a) affirm the work of the House of Bishops and the divisions of the Archbishops’ Council in fostering the understanding of the Christian faith among institutions and organisations in society;
(b) request the Business Committee to consider how the issues raised in Moral, But No Compass might best be debated; and
(c) urge the members of this Synod actively to promote public engagement in their dioceses and parishes to reinforce the values of the Christian faith.
The motion was carried overwhelmingly on a show of hands.
Canon Felix (left) and Canon Spiers (right) speaking during the debate
0 CommentsGeneral Synod – reports on day two
We will update this page as new reports appear.
The official summary of the morning’s business is at General Synod – Summary of Business Conducted on Tuesday 10th February 2009 AM.
The official summary of the afternoon’s business is at General Synod – Summary of Business Conducted on Tuesday 10th February 2009 PM.
We have already linked to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s presidential address and referred to the debate on BNP membership.
Riazat Butt in The Guardian Church of England votes to ban BNP clergy
BBC Synod votes in favour of BNP ban
Avril Ormsby at Reuters Church of England bans far-right party membership
Ruth Gledhill in the Times Credit crunch is ‘doomsday’ scenario says CoE finance chief
Martin Beckford in the Telegraph Church of England investment chief warns of financial crisis ‘doomsday machine’
Justin Brett Anatomy of a Debate: Part 1
Dave Walker General Synod Day 2
Ruth Gledhill General Synod Feb 09: Day Two and Britain heading for ‘doomsday’ says C of E finance chief
Colin Coward General Synod Day 2 – Archbishop of Canterbury Presidential Address
ENS Matthew Davies Archbishop of Canterbury spotlights challenges, priorities of ‘imperfect’ communion (includes link to video of the Presidential Address)
Daily Mail Steve Doughty Church of England votes to ban vicars from belonging to BNP
George Pitcher Church’s BNP ban is silly and pointless
Savi Hensman Choosing Christianity over racism
5 CommentsGeneral Synod: Membership of Organisations which contradict the duty to promote race equality
Updated Thursday to add the voting figures on one amendment.
This afternoon General Synod debated a private member’s motion about membership of organisations which contradict the duty to promote race equality. It was proposed by Ms Vasantha Gnanadoss of the diocese of Southwark. This is her motion:
That this Synod, noting that in 2004 the Association of Chief Police Officers adopted a policy whereby
“no member of the Police Service, whether police officer or police staff, may be a member of an organization whose constitution, aims, objectives or pronouncements contradict the general duty to promote race equality” and “this specifically includes the British National Party”,
request the House of Bishops to formulate and implement a comparable policy for the Church of England, to apply to clergy, ordinands, and such employed lay persons as have duties that require them to represent or speak on behalf of the Church.
The motion was carried by 322 votes to 13 with 20 recorded abstentions.
Background Papers
GS Misc 903A from Vasantha Gnanadoss
GS Misc 903B from the Secretary General
Ms Gnanadoss addressing the Synod
During the debate three amendments were moved but all were defeated.
Mr Justin Brett (Oxford) moved:
Leave out all the words after “That this Synod” and insert “affirm that membership of any organisation whose constitution, aims, objectives or pronouncements contradict the promotion of race equality is incompatible with the Apostolic Christian faith.”.
The Ven Norman Russell (Archdeacon of Berkshire) moved:
For the words “noting that in 2004” to “British National Party” substitute “recognising that every human being is made in the image of God”.
Leave out “comparable”; and
At the end insert “, which makes clear that racism has no place in the life of the Church.”.
Mr Tim Hind (Bath & Wells) moved:
Leave out “clergy, ordinands, and such employed lay persons as have duties that” and insert “persons whose duties”.
The voting on Tim Hind’s amendment was 166 in favour, 177 against and 11 recorded abstentions. The other two amendments were each defeated on a show of hands.
11 CommentsGeneral Synod – Archbishop of Canterbury's Presidential Address
The Archbishop of Canterbury gave his Presidential Address to General Synod this afternoon. Read it online here.
The Archbishop addressing the Synod
3 CommentsGeneral Synod – Weekend advance press reports
General Synod opened at 3 pm today. The following reports appeared over the weekend and earlier today.
Jonathan Wynne-Jones in the Telegraph Historic plans to introduce women bishops rejected by key traditionalist leaders
BBC Synod to discuss women bishops
Trevor Timpson at the BBC Waiting for the women bishops
Ruth Gledhill and Sean O’Neill in The Times Bishops resist moves to outlaw BNP membership
Ekklesia has Bishop backs ban on Church racism
Also at Ekklesia Church of England Synod to tackle key economic and social issues
George Pitcher in his Telegraph blog writes Will the General Synod ban golliwogs?
and Anglicans at their best when they’re boring
The Times also has Four decades of rule: How the General Synod works
11 CommentsReview of Constitutions
Update Friday evening This cartoon by David Walker may assist those who are unfamiliar with the inner workings of Church House Westminster.
An interesting piece of business will start a process of consultation at General Synod on Tuesday of next week. This is a review of the constitutions of “bodies answerable to the Synod through the Archbishops’ Council”. These are
Board of Education
Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns
Council for Christian Unity
Finance Committee
Committee for Ministry of and among Deaf and Disabled People
Deployment, Remuneration and Conditions of Service Committee
Ministry Council
Mission and Public Affairs Council
The proposals for consultation are in a paper (GS 1714 Review of Constitutions) available here as a PDF, and also here as a web page. In summary it is proposed to abolish the boards and replace them by a “lead person” and a “report and review” group elected by Synod and meeting once a year in July.
Glyn Paflin wrote about the proposals in the Church Times in a subscriber-only article last week. This is now generally available online: Newly ‘streamlined’ Council would shed old-style boards
The full procedure to be followed is described in the two paragraphs from the report of the business committee copied below the fold.
2 CommentsDioceses Commission begins review of structures
The Church of England issued the press release below recently. There is some general information about the Dioceses Commission part way down this page.
Dioceses Commission begins review of structures
29 January 2009Further provisions of the Dioceses, Pastoral and Mission Measure 2007 come into force on 1 February. The Measure makes it a duty of the Dioceses Commission to review the provincial and diocesan structure of the Church of England, including the size, boundaries and number of provinces and dioceses, and arrangements for episcopal ministry. It will also have the power to draw up reorganization schemes.
The Commission, chaired by Dr Priscilla Chadwick, consulted diocesan bishops as to what its priorities should be and drew up an initial work programme in the light of comments and suggestions.
The Commission will begin by examining the apparent anomaly whereby seven parishes wholly or partly within the area of the City of Peterborough unitary authority, with more than one third of the City’s population, are in the Diocese of Ely rather than that of Peterborough.
In the autumn of 2009, the Commission will commence a review of the boundaries of the five Yorkshire dioceses (Bradford, Ripon and Leeds, Sheffield, Wakefield and York). The aim will be to establish whether the shape and boundaries of the existing dioceses tend to facilitate the Church’s mission to the people and communities of Yorkshire or whether different boundaries would enable the Church to relate to them more effectively. The Commission has no agenda to reduce or increase the number of dioceses, but rather to ensure the best configuration to the communities that the dioceses serve, which could involve merging existing dioceses and/or creating new ones.
“The Commission is embarking on its review work with an open mind and a willingness to think radically, as well as an awareness of the need to be realistic,” said Dr Chadwick. “We have every confidence that the bishops and dioceses concerned will engage with the process in the same spirit.”
The Commission has a responsibility to consult widely. Its first step will be to seek the insights of the diocesan bishops, archdeacons and diocesan secretaries of the dioceses under review. It will then consult other leading clergy and laypeople of the dioceses, and representatives of any deaneries and parishes that might be affected by changes. Proposals for change will normally need the agreement of the diocesan synods concerned before going to the General Synod for decision. The Commission sees its role as one of helping the bishops, clergy and people of the Church of England in the areas concerned to come to a view as to how the Church can best be structured for mission in the 21st century.
Notes
In identifying the local communities to which the Church needs to relate, the Commission will look at how diocesan boundaries correlate with the boundaries of counties and unitary/metropolitan authorities and which configurations might best further the Church’s mission. It will also have in mind other factors. Among these are:
- the sense of local identity resulting from history and shared culture,
- contemporary communities reflecting the places between which people travel for work, shopping, leisure, education and health services,
- road and rail communication routes, and
- the accessibility and distance of cathedral cities by car and public transport from all parts of the diocese.
Two sections of Part II of the Measure remain to be brought into force at a later date: section 12 (which will place diocesan bishops under a duty to keep provision of episcopal ministry under review) and the related section 17 (which will enable the Commission, when a suffragan see falls vacant, to require that the approval of the General Synod would be needed before the see could be filled). The Commission’s present expectation is that these provisions will be brought into force towards the end of 2009.
One consequence of the start of the Commission’s work is that the General Synod’s business committee has decided to park* this diocesan synod motion from Bradford “for the moment while the new Dioceses Commission, recently established at the initiative of the Synod, is having its initial meetings to consider the first phase of its programme of work”.
That this Synod request the Archbishops’ Council to formulate proposals for reductions in the numbers of episcopal and senior clergy posts, taking into account reductions for the number of stipendiary clergy since 1979; and submit a report with recommendations to the General Synod within three years.
* Note: Diocesan Synod motions are normally taken in order of receipt, but can be “parked” by the Business Committee if it makes sense to delay their consideration until some other related business has been completed.
2 CommentsGeneral Synod – more press reports
Here is a follow-up to our first round-up of press reports on the agenda for next month’s meeting of the Church of England General Synod.
First, two subscriber-only items by Bill Bowder in last week’s Church Times are now generally available.
Synod to discuss ban on BNP membership
Diocesan motion expresses concerns after Eweida case
Synod will be debating the Financial Crisis and the Recession on 12 February. A report on what effect the crisis might have on the Church itself was sent to synod members a few days ago. The Church’s own finances will be debated by the synod in July.
Martin Beckford in the Telegraph Church of England calls for increased donations as recession hits finances
Bill Bowder in the Church Times Parishes hit for millions by crunch
The Church Times also has Leader: reasons to spend fatly in the lean years
The paper GS Misc 913 Financial Prospects for the Church of England is available here as a PDF, and also here as a web page.
One item on the synod agenda next month is a private member’s motion on church water bills. There have been several press reports on this topic recently.
Martin Beckford in the Telegraph Churches, Scout troops and sports clubs celebrate as water firm freezes ‘rain tax’
and ‘Rain tax’ means churches pay many times more than neighbouring businesses
Three items at the BBC
Churches fight drain on finances
Church begins ‘rain tax’ protest
Ministers fight church ‘rain tax’
Election of Church Commissioners
This press release was issued by the Church of England yesterday.
Elections to the Church Commissioners
28 January 2009In its current round of quinquennial elections to the Church Commissioners, the General Synod has appointed three clerical and four lay members.
They are:
House of Clergy
The Revd Canon Bob Baker
The Revd Jeremy Crocker (St Albans)
The Revd Stephen Trott (Peterborough)House of Laity
April Alexander (Southwark)
Peter Bruinvels (Guildford)
Gavin Oldham (Oxford)
Jacob Vince (Chichester)Note
Four members of the House of Bishops and two Deans were duly nominated for election as Commissioners. In both cases this was the number required and it was announced in December that the following therefore stood elected to serve as Church Commissioners from 1 January 2009 – 31 December 2013:
The Rt Revd David Urquhart, Bishop of Birmingham
The Rt Revd Mike Hill, Bishop of Bristol
The Rt Revd Dr Peter Forster, Bishop of Chester
The Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dr Richard Chartres, Bishop of LondonThe Very Revd Adrian Newman, Dean of Rochester
The Very Revd Dr Christopher Hardwick, Dean of Truro
The other Church Commissioners are
The Archbishop of Canterbury (chairman)
The Archbishop of York
The three Church Estates Commissioners (appointed by Her Majesty)
Andreas Whittam Smith, First Church Estates Commissioner
Sir Stuart Bell MP, Second Church Estates Commissioner
T E H Walker, Third Church Estates Commissioner
Three people nominated by Her Majesty
R H Powers
Canon J A Spence
J Wythe
Three people nominated by the Archbishops
P Harrison QC
Peter Parker
Nicholas Sykes
Three people Nominated by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York after consultation with the Lord Mayors of the Cities of London and York and the Vice-Chancellors of Oxford and Cambridge Universities
B Carroll
Sir Robert Finch
Revd Rachel E Harrison
Ex Officio
The First Lord of the Treasury
The Lord President of the Council
The Secretary of State for the Home Department
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Speaker of the House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Lords