Updated Sunday (twice)
Reports on today’s virtual meeting of General Synod
Video of the whole day’s proceedings
The presidential address was given by the Archbishop of York, but with contributions from others.
Video of the address
Full text of the presidential address
Official press release: Church must ‘learn afresh how to share the gospel’, Archbishop of York tells Synod
Church Times reports Archbishop of York: God wants a Church of ‘glorious and profligate diversity’
Welby browned off after grilling on church closures
Commissioners are trying to help cathedrals to weather financial crisis, Dr Poole tells Synod
The Guardian ‘Tribal and divided’: Church of England faces turbulent times
Yorkshire Post Newly confirmed Archbishop of York speaks of ‘devastating impact’ of pandemic in first public address
Glasgow Times Bishop of Manchester defends tweets criticising Dominic Cummings
Update
Andrew Nunn Unprecedented
Stephen Lynas Oh Zoom! You chased the day away
22 CommentsEmma Percy Modern Church Safeguarding, Vulnerable Adults or Adults at Risk? What’s in a Word?
Adrian Chiles The Guardian I’m glad to be back in church – even if there’s hand sanitiser instead of holy water
Andrew Brown Religion Media Centre Church Commissioners spend £24m to ‘create 50,000 disciples’
Giles Fraser UnHerd How HR is strangling the Church of England
Sarah Mullally ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back…So We Need to Take Care of Our Mental Health
Stephen Trott Church Times The C of E needs to be leaner and fitter
“There is too much control from the centre, and power should be returned to parishes”
General Synod meets tomorrow and the Church of England has put out this press release today: General Synod members to meet remotely.
A further paper has been added to the Church of England website.
GS Misc 1251 – Covid-19 General Synod Update
Two Synod members preview tomorrow’s meeting.
Stephen Lynas I’ve just seen a face
Andrew Nunn Zooming into Synod
Some bloggers have been looking at the questions and answers.
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church General Synod and the Questions around Safeguarding
Richard Bastable All Things Lawful And Honest Archiepiscopal Contradictions II
My favourite is the breath of fresh air in the answer given by Rogers Govender, the Dean of Manchester, to question 121, which I have copied below the fold.
13 CommentsUpdated Thursday morning
As was announced in May Stephen Cottrell will be confirmed as the next Archbishop of York tomorrow, Thursday 9 July 2020, at 11am. The proceedings will be via video conference.
You will be able to watch the live stream of the service from this page.
Update
Download the Order of Service in PDF
Second update
Bishop Stephen’s election as Archbishop of York was duly confirmed. A recording of the confirmation service is available on YouTube.
19 CommentsPress release from the Church of England
House of Bishops meet to discuss Covid-19, clergy discipline and the Lambeth Conference
08/07/2020
The House of Bishops met via Zoom this afternoon, as it has done regularly throughout the current pandemic.
The Bishop of Manchester updated the House on the overall work of the Church in responding to the crisis. The Bishop of London, the Rt Rev and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally, Chair of the Church’s COVID-19 Recovery Group updated the House regarding how churches are experiencing the gradual lifting of restrictions to enable the re-opening of churches for physical services.
The Bishops also discussed the interim findings of the working group which is reviewing the current Clergy Discipline Measure. This was followed by an update from the Archbishop of Canterbury regarding the postponed Lambeth 2020 conference and future planning.
The Bishop at Lambeth, the Rt Rev Tim Thornton commenting on the Clergy Discipline Measure said: ‘We are now actively seeking to improve processes, minimise delays and identify other improvements needed to make the system more effective. I am personally committed to replacing the CDM with a new system and hope to bring proposals forward as soon as practicable.’
The House concluded with a forward look to the informal meeting of Synod on 11 July.
1 CommentThe Questions paper for Saturday’s virtual meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod has been published today. This contains the 131 submitted questions and their answers. A total of two hours has been allocated on Saturday for supplementary questions and answers.
Other papers are here.
The meeting will be streamed online here.
32 CommentsClare Williams All Things Lawful And Honest Young People: The Church of TODAY
Rogers Govender ViaMedia.News #BlackLivesMatter: Protest & Prayer
Marcus Walker The Spectator Don’t erase Jesus’s Jewish identity
2 CommentsFrancesco Aresco Medium Racism and the meaning of Christian Art
Giles Fraser UnHerd The Church shouldn’t hide its sordid past
“If you pretend everything is perfect, there will be no grounds for redemption”
John Perumbalath Church Times Racism should not be explained away
“The Church needs to address the roots of its ideologies and its understanding of history”
David Walker ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back…Even When We Do!
Clare Williams All Things Lawful And Honest Seen and not heard?
“What we can learn from the pandemic about ministry with children and young people.”
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Why the Church needs to understand Spiritual Abuse better
Harriet Sherwood; photography by David Levene The Guardian picture essay Keeping the faith: religion in the UK amid coronavirus
28 CommentsSimon Weir Eastern Daily Press Bucket-list builder: churches and cathedrals
“Six stunning churches to visit after the Covid-19 lockdown”
Michael Sadgrove Woolgathering in North East England A Last Post
Rachel Jepson ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back…to 2020 Vision
Luke Irvine-Capel All Things Lawful And Honest Undone by doing
4 CommentsUpdated 10 July to add extra papers
A number of papers for the informal and virtual meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod on 11 July are now available online. Links to them are below.
If any more appear I will add them to the list.
Timetable
Handling of Questions in the Meeting of Synod Members
Members’ Guide to Virtual Synod Proceedings
Note from the Chair of the Business Committee to Synod Members
GS 2171 – Audit Committee Annual Report
GS 2172 – Archbishops’ Council Annual Report (2019)
GS 2173 – Financial Update and AC Original Budget
GS Misc 1249 – Covid-19 Response
GS Misc 1250 – The Emerging Church of England
GS Misc 1251 – Covid-19 General Synod Update
Notice of Delay – Corporation of Church House AGM
5 CommentsMarcus Walker The Critic Bishops’ different hymnsheet
The Church of England has worked to broaden its diversity of background, but its diversity of opinion has declined
Malcolm Chamberlain ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back…To Looking After No 1!
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church The Church and failures of corporate memory
17 CommentsFergus Butler-Gallie The Critic Oxford is fallen
“What do they know of faith who only multi-faith spaces know?”
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church Has Trump made the word ‘Evangelical’ toxic?
Ruth Worsley ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back…to Ignoring Those We Do Not See
Daniel French The Spectator Could an underground church now emerge in Britain?
St Chrysostom’s Church News and Views Black Saints Matter
Peter Webster Webstory The churches and the future of theological research
11 CommentsPeter Anthony All Things Lawful And Honest Is there a Doctor in the House?
Peter Crumpler Christian Today When Christ stood in Trafalgar Square
K Augustine Tanner-Ihm Church Times Black lives really do matter
“But does the Church really believe this”
Ian Paul Psephizo The end of the road for C of E growth strategies?
Gavin Collins ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back…to Silence for the Sake of Unity
Stephen Stavrou All Things Lawful And Honest Erasing the Saints
48 CommentsPippa White The Westcott Blog Covid-19 & the Language of War
ViaMedia.News Lockdown Testimonies – Sue from Deaf Church
Augustine Tanner-Ihm ViaMedia.News #BlackLivesMatter: Living Between Malcolm X and Uncle Tom
17 CommentsThe Church of England released its Ministry Statistics for 2019 today.
The accompanying press release (copied below) highlights that, for the first time, women made up the majority of deacons ordained, but there is much else in the report.
Statistics for earlier years are available here.
Women majority of deacons ordained last year, new report shows
17/06/2020
Women made up the majority of deacons ordained in the Church of England last year for the first time, according to new statistics published today.
A total of 570 deacons were ordained in 2019, with women making up just over a half, or 51% of the new intake.
Deacons are the first of three orders of ordained ministry. Whilst all clergy continue as deacons throughout, the majority are also ordained as priests at the end of their first year of ministry.
The statistics show that women made up around 32% of the 20,000 active clergy last year, with a growing proportion of senior posts such as Bishops, Archdeacons and Cathedral Deans, occupied by women, from 25% in 2018 to 27% last year.
Women were in the majority starting training for ordained ministry for the third year running, with equal numbers of men and women sponsored to train for ‘incumbent’ posts – such as Rector or Vicar – over the last two years. However currently only 25% of incumbent posts are occupied by women.
The number of stipendiary, or paid clergy, remained stable, at 7,700, between 2018 and 2019, following a period of decline. There were 7,830 Readers or licensed lay ministers compared to just under 10,000 in 2010. Readers and licensed lay ministers are not ordained but can lead worship and preach in churches, among other roles.
The statistics show the number of stipendiary clergy from black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds stood at 3.8%, while 7.8% of people entering training for ordained ministry last year were from a BAME background.
Out of a total of 550 people beginning training for ordained ministry last year, nearly a quarter, or 24%, were under 32 years old and more than two fifths, 44%, were aged under 40.
The Rt Revd Chris Goldsmith, Director of Ministry for the Church of England, said: “In recent years there has been an increasing diversity among our clergy, but we will not be content until those in public ministry truly reflect the whole church and the communities which they serve.”
He added: “The contribution of lay ministers to the mission and ministry of the church is hugely valued both in terms of sustaining the ongoing life of parishes and chaplaincies but also in the innovation and spiritual entrepreneurship increasingly characterising frontline expressions of the church as a Christian presence in every community.”
The Bishop of Derby, Libby Lane, who was consecrated as the first female bishop in the Church of England in 2015, said: “Women are now a widely visible presence among clergy in the Church of England – praise God. However there are still other under-represented groups whose vocations to ordination are being missed.
“I pray that the lessons learnt in encouraging women can make a difference for those who are not yet recognised, so Church of England clergy, at every level, better reflect the glorious diversity of our country.”
She added: “Last year marked 25 years since I was ordained priest. For over a quarter of a century women and men together have been selected, trained, ordained and appointed to serve in the Church of England.
“I thank God for the privilege of my ministry, and for the thousands of women and men who have shared this calling in that time.”
More information
27 CommentsThis week’s issue of Church Times has a series of comment articles on racism. There is also a related news item: Church leaders join the voices against racism.
The roots of racism in the Church are deep and thick – Catherine Nancekievill “has seen the challenges from within the Ministry Division”
The quietly privileged need to repent and commit themselves to change – Paul Butler “describes how he came to appreciate the importance of campaigning for racial equality”
Can the Church’s culture change? – White clerics should not remain silent about structural racism, says Rob Wickham
Racism is rife in this country, to0 – It is time for systematic change in Church and society, argues Arlington Trotman
If corona won’t get us, racism will – Anderson Jeremiah and Shemil Mathew find parallels between the death of George Floyd and the Covid-19 death rate among BAME people
Peter Francis & Charlie Gladstone A Statement from Gladstone’s Library – Black Lives Matter
Peterson Feital ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back…But We Can Stop Hurting People!
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church The Outsider as the Prophet
Thomas Plant All Things Lawful And Honest From Anamnesis to Amnesia: how the Neo-Puritans in charge want to erase the Church’s memory
7 CommentsArun Arora The Guardian How can the Church of England speak about race when its leaders are so white?
David Hamid Eurobishop Racism is a sin. Full stop.
Paul Vallely Church Times George Floyd was an innocent victim
Archbishop of Canterbury on the Church’s response to racism (2 minute video)
Philip North ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back…to Breathlessness
Nikki Groarke ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back…to Preserving Bricks & Mortar
Edward Dowler All Things Lawful And Honest More than Bricks
“The Significance of Church Buildings”
Christopher Rogers Evening Standard The Church of England faltered when our country needed spiritual guidance
48 CommentsUpdate Tuesday A press release was issued this morning; I have copied it below the timetable.
Update Saturday A note on the Handling of Questions in the Meeting of Synod Members has been added to the website. The Questions Notice Paper will be published by 10.00am on Wednesday 8 July.
A provisional timetable for a meeting of General Synod members on Saturday 11 July 2020 has been published today. This will be the informal remote meeting proposed by the officers of Synod last month when the residential meeting in York was cancelled. There are no details as yet about how this virtual meeting will be conducted.
The timetable is copied below.
GENERAL SYNOD: July 2020 Timetable
Saturday 11 July
10.30 am – 12.45 pm
10.30 am – 10.45 am Opening worship
Introduction and welcomes
10.45 am – 11.30 am Presidential Address
11.30 am – 11.45 am Pause for reflection
*11.45 am – 12.45 pm Question Time part one
1.30 pm – 4.30 pm
1.30 pm – 2.45 pm Response to Covid-19: Presentation followed by Questions
*2.45 pm – 3.00 pm BREAK
3.00 pm – 4.00 pm Question Time part two
4.00 pm – 4.15 pm Reflections and/or Scriptural thought
4.15 pm – 4.30 pm Closing worship
*4.30 pm Close of Business
* not later than
Please note that all timings are indicative unless marked with an asterisk.
Deadline for receipt of questions for the formal Question Time: 1200 hrs Tuesday 30 June 2020
Update – press release
Informal virtual meeting of General Synod members to take place
09/06/2020
The timetable for an informal virtual meeting of General Synod members has been published.
The timetable for an informal virtual meeting of members of General Synod on Saturday July 11 has been published. This has the support of the Business Committee of the General Synod after it was confirmed that the residential meeting due to take place in York in July had been cancelled in the light of the coronavirus pandemic. The term of the current General Synod has been extended for a year with planned elections to the General Synod postponed until next autumn. Synod officers continue to explore options to enable the Synod to transact its business remotely if it is not possible to meet in person in November.
The timetable can be found on the Synod area of the Church of England website.
1 CommentJames Gilder All Things Lawful And Honest A Church for All
“Want a Church for all? Be prepared to engage with the nitty-gritty.”
Peter Leonard ViaMedia.News We Can’t Go Back…to Pretending!
Danny Pegg Anglicanism.org A New Beginning or a Curate’s Egg?
“A local and national reflection on the Church of England during the time of Coronavirus”
Stephen Parsons Surviving Church The Clergy Discipline Measure. Time for Replacement?
31 CommentsPress release from the Church of England
Safeguarding data 2018
02/06/2020
Safeguarding data has been published today taken from annual safeguarding returns, collected by dioceses in 2018 and sent to the National Safeguarding Team. It also contains comparison on data collected over the three previous years 2015-17.
The majority of safeguarding-related concerns or allegations relate to children or vulnerable adults who attend or who have contact with the Church and their lives within the community.
Overall the number of concerns or allegations reported to dioceses in 2018 relating to children, young people and vulnerable adults in the Church was 2,504. This compares to 3287 in 2017, and is slightly higher than 2015 and slightly lower than 2016.
A quarter of concerns or allegations in 2018 required reporting to statutory authorities similar to 2017.
In 2018, 16% of all concerns (400 cases) relate to clergy, including retired and deceased clergy, a slight increase on the average for 2015-17 which was around 12%. There are currently around 20,000 active clergy in the Church.
Safeguarding-related disciplinary measures against clergy decreased in 2018 and combined with the increase in reports against clergy this suggests that more concerns are being raised earlier because there are greater overall numbers of reports but lower numbers of disciplinary cases.
The Bishop of Manchester, David Walker, a member of the National Safeguarding Steering Group, said:
“In any report about data of this nature, it is important to recognise that behind each statistic are real human lives and that this is a snapshot of the vital safeguarding work going on in all our 16,000 churches across the country. As the report states it is most likely that where there is an increase compared to previous years this reflects the impact of safeguarding training across the whole Church, and the increased likelihood that people will report concerns to their diocesan safeguarding adviser, where there may have been greater reticence in the past. The NST will continue to study trends over a longer period to inform its ongoing safeguarding work and has committed to publishing data on an annual basis.”