Karen Pollock The Queerness The General Synod and a curate’s egg of protection for LGBTQ+ people
“Whilst welcoming the agreement cis LGB people should be protected from the harms of conversion therapy, Karen Pollock questions why the Church of England does not extend the same protections to trans people.”
Richard Peers Quodcumque Amazing Grace: Sarah Coakley on women priests and same sex marriage
David Ison Inclusive Church 2017 Lecture “Including the Exclusive: How liberal Can you be?”
52 minute video
pdf of the text
The detailed voting lists for the electronic votes at this month’s General Synod are now available here. They include these:
Item 12 — Conversion Therapy
Item 55 — Amendment to Item 12 (Doherty Amendment)
Item 56 — Amendment to Item 12 (Harrison Amendment)
Item 57 — Amendment to Item 56 (Baron Amendment)
Item 58 — Amendment to Item 12 (Dotchin Amendment)
Item 13 — Welcoming Transgender People
Item 59 — Amendment to Item 13 (Land Amendment)
The texts of all the above items are included in the voting lists. They are also in my summaries of Saturday’s and Sunday’s business.
Conversion Therapy [scroll down]
Welcoming Transgender People
Also available is Business Done for the July 2017 group of sessions.
12 CommentsDean of Peterborough: Timothy Kitson Sledge
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Theresa May MP Published: 18 July 2017
Reverend Canon Timothy Charles Kitson Sledge has been appointed Dean of Cathedral Church, Peterborough.
The Queen has approved the nomination of the Reverend Canon Timothy Charles Kitson Sledge, MA, Vicar of Romsey and Area Dean in the Diocese of Winchester, to be appointed to the Deanery of the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Andrew, Peterborough, on the resignation of the Very Reverend Charles William Taylor, MA, on 6 October 2016.
Background information
Reverend Canon Tim Sledge, (aged 53) studied Music at Ripon and York St John’s College then studied at York University for his MA. He studied for ordination at Trinity College, Bristol. His first curacy was at Huddersfield, in Wakefield Diocese from 1995 to 1998 before becoming Vicar at Luddenden with Luddenden Foot in Wakefield Diocese from 1998 to 2003.
In addition, from 2002 to 2003 he was Priest-in-Charge at Sowerby in the Diocese of Wakefield. From 2003 to 2008 he was Diocesan Missioner Enabler in the Diocese of Peterborough. Since 2008 he has been Vicar of Romsey in the Diocese of Winchester and since 2013 Area Dean. He is an Honorary Canon at Winchester Cathedral.
He has written and contributed to several books including Youth Emmaus and Mission Shaped Parish. He also wrote Creative Communion (BRF 2008) and contributed to Daily Reflections for Common Worship (Canterbury Press 2015).
Tim is Chairman of the Young Vocations Strategy Group for the Church of England, is a trustee of Triangulate – a Romsey Mental Health Charity, and has strong links with the Anglican Province of Burundi.
Tim is married to Caroline, and has two stepchildren, Grace (20) and Matt (18).
He enjoys cooking, poetry, golf and the arts, attending concerts and visiting art galleries.
2 CommentsDavid Walker ViaMedia.News Speak Clearly After the Tone…
Colin Coward Unadulterated Love Radical Christian inclusion and transformation
Church Times Leader Comment No magic wand
Andrew Lightbown Theore0 Speaking of culture, speaking of tradition
Jamie McLoughlin Liverpool Echo OPINION: The Bishop of Liverpool’s patronage of Pride is HUGE for this city
Peter Selby Church Times Hearing the cries of the abused
22 CommentsAndrew Lightbown Theore0 Why I will continue to wear vestments
James Hadley Pray Tell #MitreGate: And the End of Vestments
Tina Beardsley The Guardian The church’s trans epiphany will ease the way for others like me
Paul Bayes Conversion therapy [speech to General Synod]
Christopher Lowson Bishop of Lincoln welcomes General Synod vote against conversion therapy
Susan Russell An Inch At A Time: Reflections on the Journey Celebrating with the CofE & Reprising “An Ontological Argument”
Kelvin Holdsworth thurible The Scottish Episcopal Church Option
This week, the Archbishops of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia released the interim report of the working group seeking structural arrangements to allow people who hold differing convictions about the blessing of same-sex relationships to remain within the church. These two articles look at the recommendations:
Bosco Peters Liturgy Blessing Same-Gender Couples
Peter Carrell Anglican Down Under Beautiful Anglican Accommodation – Down Under’s Way Forward
Suffragan Bishop of Loughborough: Reverend Gulnar Francis-Dehqani
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published: 11 July 2017The Queen has approved the appointment of the Reverend Canon Gulnar Eleanor Francis-Dehqani to the Suffragan See of Loughborough.
The Queen has approved the nomination of the Reverend Canon Gulnar Eleanor Francis-Dehqani, MA, PhD, Curate Training Officer and Advisor for Women’s Ministry in the Diocese of Peterborough and Canon at Peterborough Cathedral, to the newly created Suffragan See of Loughborough, in the Diocese of Leicester.
Background notes
Reverend Canon Dr Gulnar (Guli) Francis-Dehqani is aged 51. Originally from Iran, she has been in this country since the age of 14. She studied at Nottingham University for her BA in music, and then at Bristol University for her MA and PhD in theology. After working as a Studio Manager and Producer at BBC Radio, she trained for ordination at the South East Institute for Theological Education from 1995 to 1998.
Guli was Curate at Mortlake with East Sheen in Southwark Diocese from 1998 to 2002 before joining the University of London Chaplaincy team as Chaplain to the Royal Academy of Music and St Marylebone C of E Secondary School from 2002 to 2004. She resigned from stipendiary ministry in 2004 to raise her children, and held Permission to Officiate in the Diocese of Peterborough whilst also continuing to write, speak and lead retreats. After completing a one year project at the University of Northampton Interfaith Chaplaincy, in 2011 Guli took up her current role as Curate Training Officer for the Diocese of Peterborough and was additionally appointed Adviser for Women’s Ministry in 2012. She has been on General Synod since 2012 and an honorary Canon at Peterborough Cathedral since 2016.
Guli is married to Canon Lee Francis-Dehqani, currently Team Rector of Oakham and Rural Dean of Rutland. They have 3 children aged 17 and twins of 12.
Her interests include Persian culture and cooking, all kinds of music, reading, especially contemporary fiction, walking the dog, entertaining and spending time with family and friends.
From the Leicester diocesan website: Persian woman appointed as first Bishop of Loughborough
Dr Francis-Dehqani will be consecrated on Thursday 30 November.
15 CommentsUpdated Tuesday morning and afternoon
Cost of Applying for Citizenship
The final day’s business started with a debate on this diocesan synod motion from Birmingham.
That this Synod:
(a) request the Archbishops’ Council’s Mission and Public Affairs Council to investigate the issues around the cost of applying for citizenship and to make recommendations to HM Government;
(b) encourage the Lords Spiritual actively to seek opportunities to address the level of citizenship fees in debate;
(c) urge parishes to raise the issue with their MP; and
(d) encourage parishes to continue to support those known to them who are struggling with the cost of citizenship fees without incurring debt and to signpost responsible lenders or local credit unions for advice.
The motion was carried by 310 votes to nil, with no recorded abstentions.
Official press release: Synod debates cost of applying for citizenship
Final approval of Amending Canon No 36
(Of the vesture of ordained and authorized ministers during the time of divine service)
This amending canon basically permits clergy to dispense with traditional vestments. It was given final approval. For this a two-thirds majority in each house was required.
bishops: 18 for, 3 against, 0 recorded abstentions
clergy: 104 for, 5 against, 4 recorded abstentions
laity: 116 for, 8 against, 7 recorded abstentions
The canon now requires the royal assent before it can come into effect.
Draft Amending Canon No 37
(Of the burial of the dead)
This amending canon allows clergy to use the standard funeral service for those who have taken their own life. It was given final approval. For this a two-thirds majority in each house was required.
bishops: 21 for, 0 against; 0 recorded abstentions
clergy: 125 for, 0 against, 1 recorded abstentions
laity: 132 for, 1 againts, 0 recorded abstentions
The canon now requires the royal assent before it can come into effect.
In the afternoon there was a presentation on the annual report of the Archbishops’ Council (GS 2058). This was followed by the Council’s budget and proposals for apportionment for 2018 (GS 2076), which were approved.
And finally Synod said farewell to the Bishop of Bristol and the Bishop at Lambeth, who are both retiring later in the year.
Press reports etc
Madeleine Davies and Hattie Williams Church Times Synod voices dismay at high cost of citizenship
Harriet Sherwood The Guardian Clergy to ditch their robes in further sign of dress-down Britain
Olivia Rudgard The Telegraph Clergy can dress down after church votes to let them ditch vestments
Stephen Lynas files his last report from Synod: bathwellschap Good times, better times
This ends with an overview of the whole four days. casino utbetalning 15 min
Updated Monday
A week ago we linked to an Archbishop Cranmer blog with cover-up allegations against bishops.
Since then these articles have appeared.
The first article on a new blog Sea of Complicity: Reflections of CofE Abuse Survivor: CofE & Insurance affiliation
Harriet Sherwood The Guardian Clerical abuse survivors step up call for accountability
This morning’s Radio4 Sunday programme carried interviews with Matt Ineson and the Bishop of Oxford (starting at 30 and 38 minutes respectively).
Update
Yim Wyatt and Gavin Drake Church Times Clergy abuse survivor demands bishops resign in York Minster Synod protest
[This also covers the Radio4 interviews.]
Because the Church of England website has been totally rebuilt since this post was written, many of the links here no longer work. Please refer to a new post dated Saturday 27 January 2018.
Updated Monday morning
Welcoming Transgender People
The Revd Christopher Newlands (Blackburn) moved on behalf of the Blackburn Diocesan Synod:
13 That this Synod, recognising the need for transgender people to be welcomed and affirmed in their parish church, call on the House of Bishops to consider whether some nationally commended liturgical materials might be prepared to mark a person’s gender transition.
Dr Nick Land (York) moved as an amendment:
59 Leave out everything after “That this Synod:” and insert ̶
“(a) recognise the dignity of all people as made in the image of God and so affirm our commitment to welcome unconditionally in all our churches people who experience (or who have experienced) gender dysphoria;
(b) acknowledge different understandings around gender dysphoria and the field of gender identity more widely;
(c) consider that the preparation of liturgies to mark gender transition raises substantial theological and pastoral issues that the Church of England has not yet considered; and
(d) ask the House of Bishops to consider the theological, pastoral and other issues that gender transition raises for the Church and to report back to General Synod by the end of this quinquennium.”
The amendment was defeated in all three houses of Synod.
bishops: 11 for, 19 against, 2 recorded abstentions
clergy: 64 for, 103 against, 4 recorded abstentions
laity: 75 for, 108 against, 3 recorded abstentions
The Blackburn motion (as originally worded) was passed following a vote by houses.
bishops: 30 for, 2 against, 2 recorded abstentions
clergy: 127 for, 28 against, 16 recorded abstentions
laity: 127 for, 48 against, 8 recorded abstentions
Official press release: Welcoming Transgender People
Other business
The motion
That this Synod:
(a) welcome and support the proposal to establish a Covenant for Clergy Wellbeing as laid out in GS 2072; and
(b) invite the Appointments Committee to appoint a Clergy Wellbeing Working Group to bring proposals for such a Covenant back to this Synod by July 2019.
was passed on a show of hands.
The Revd Tiffer Robinson moved his private member’s motion:
16 That this Synod:
(a) call upon the Secretary of State to include provision in the Schools Admission Code requiring admission authorities to allocate places to children of clergy and other workers who are required to live in tied accommodation, and are moving into the authority’s area, in advance of the family arriving in the area; and
(b) call on all admissions authorities to accept letters of appointment as proof of residence ahead of the children of clergy and other workers who are required to live in tied accommodation moving to the area.
It was passed on a show of hands.
press reports
Hattie Williams, Madeleine Davies and Gavin Drake Church Times Synod’s ‘welcoming’ transgender motion asks Bishops to consider liturgy
Madeleine Davies, Hattie Williams, Tim Wyatt and Gavin Drake Church Times Causes of clergy stress aired in the General Synod
Olivia Rudgard The Telegraph Transgender worshippers could get church services to celebrate their new identity after synod vote
‘Poisonous’ expectations of congregations are damaging priests’ mental health
Harriet Sherwood The Guardian Anglican church set to offer special services for transgender people
Being parish priest was my most stressful job, says Justin Welby
BBC News Church of England votes to explore transgender services
Stephen Lynas continues his reports from Synod: bathwellschap R-E-S-P-E-C-T Find out what it means to me
5 CommentsBosco Peters Liturgy The Bishop’s Mitre
Jem Bloomfield quiteirregular Morality and Message: The Church of England, Young People, and LGBT Issues
18 CommentsUpdated Sunday morning and afternoon
order paper for the morning session
order paper for the afternoon session
The morning started with a presentation by the Archbishop of Canterbury on the proposals for the pastoral advisory group on human sexuality and the development of the teaching document (GS Misc 1158). It was followed by a question and answer session.
Synod then debated Presence and Engagement: Report from the Archbishops’ Council’s Mission and Public Affairs Council (GS 2063). The motion, after amendment, read:
That this Synod, recognising the Church’s continued presence and engagement in parishes, chaplaincies and new missional communities in multi-religious contexts:
(a) commend the national Presence and Engagement (P&E) programme and offer prayerful support for its work over the next five years, requesting that the fruit of this be made available to the whole Church through the P&E Centres and that the programme report back to Synod at the end of this period;
(b) recognise the cultivation of relationships with other faith communities as a vital component of the Church’s mission in today’s society, and encourage dioceses to incorporate this into their mission plans; and
(c) re-affirm the Synod report “Sharing the Gospel of Salvation” (GS Misc 956) and call on the P&E Task Group to continue supporting parishes in bearing faithful witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ with sensitivity and confidence among people of other faiths;
(d) noting the importance of relationships between churches and people of other faiths in maintaining community peace and solidarity in many P&E parishes, encourage churches and Christian people throughout the nation to reach out to neighbours and colleagues of other faiths to offer solidarity and friendship in times of tension, condemning the attempts of extremists to divide us, and challenging all hatred.
The debate was adjourned at 11.00 am as timed legislative business was reached.
The legislative business was the final approval of three measures. They were so uncontroversial that nobody voted against any of them.
There was then a brief presentation on the workshops on forms of national support for local churches to be held in the afternoon.
Synod then returned to the Presence and Engagement debate, when, after a few more speeches, the motion above was carried.
After lunch and the workshops, Synod debated National Support for Local Churches: Report from the Archbishops’ Council (GS 2069) and passed this motion:
That this Synod:
(a) welcome the range of evangelism and growth resources provided by the national church in support of local churches;
(b) note the progress made to support Life Events ministry since it was commissioned by the Archbishops’ Council in 2012;
(c) agree to encourage dioceses and parishes to engage with these areas of work through prayer and practical action; and
(d) call on the Archbishops’ Council and the House of Bishops to report back to the Synod on a regular basis on the progress of these areas of support.
Conversion Therapy
Details of the original motion and the amendments are below the fold. The motion as finally put to Synod was:
12 (as amended) That this Synod:
(a) endorse the Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy in the UK of November 2015, signed by The Royal College of Psychiatrists and others, that the practice of gay conversion therapy has no place in the modern world, is unethical, potentially harmful and not supported by evidence; and
(b) call upon the Church to be sensitive to, and to listen to, contemporary expressions of gender identity; and
(c) call on the government to ban the practice of Conversion Therapy.
The motion was carried on a vote by houses.
bishops: 36 for, 1 against, 0 recorded abstentions
clergy: 135 for, 25 against, 13 recorded abstentions
laity: 127 for, 48 against, 13 recorded abstentions
Official press release: General Synod backs ban on conversion therapy
Press reports etc
Church Times During Pride in London, Synod in York calls for ban on conversion therapy
Harriet Sherwood The Guardian Church of England bishops ‘delaying same-sex equality’ move
Church of England demands ban on conversion therapy
Callum May BBC News Church of England: Plea for ‘urgency’ on new sexuality policy
Aine Fox and David Wilcock Independent Church of England bishops back motion calling for a ban on ‘unethical’ gay conversion therapy
Stephen Lynas continues his reports from Synod: bathwellschap Stop! In the name of love
11 CommentsUpdated Saturday morning
Order paper 1 – details of the day’s agenda
The main business of the day was a debate on After the General Election, a still small voice of calm.
The Archbishop of York moved this motion:
That this Synod, mindful that the recent General Election has left many questions unanswered about the shape and priorities of our government at a critical time in the nation’s history:
(a) give thanks, nonetheless, for the increased turnout and call upon all parties to build on this by addressing the causes of voter apathy and non-participation;
(b) pray for all those elected to Parliament that they will prioritise the common good of all people in everything they do, especially in negotiations between parties to secure support for a legislative programme;
(c) pray for courage, for our political leaders as they face the constraints and opportunities of uncertainty and weakness, and for the people of the nation as they too face unprecedented questions about the future;
(d) call upon Christians everywhere to maintain pressure on politicians of all parties to put the cohesion of the nation and its communities at the heart of their programmes;
(e) commend the continuing work of the churches serving the poor and vulnerable, at home and worldwide, as an example of the priorities which we hope to see in the programmes of government; and
(f) commit the Church of England to maintaining strong and generous international relations, through our dioceses, the Anglican Communion and ecumenical links, as relationships within the United Kingdom, across Europe and worldwide face new tensions and challenges.
Text of the Archbishop’s speech proposing the motion
Six amendments to the motion were proposed, all of which were comprehensively defeated. But they took up a lot of time, which would have been better devoted to the main motion.
At the end of the debate the substantive motion was overwhelmingly carried.
Official press release on the debate: Synod calls for values-based politics based on the common good
Church Times report by Madeleine Davies, Hattie Williams and Gavin Drake: We don’t ‘own’ our money, says Dr Sentamu
Stephen Lynas is a Synod member who offers his own view of the day’s business: bathwellschap There’s something in the air
3 CommentsThe July meeting of the General Synod of the Church of England opens this afternoon in York.
Pre-Synod news and comment
Madeleine Davies Church Times Synod to debate state of the nation [includes preview of whole agenda]
Hattie Williams Church Times Synod members threaten to walk out if Scottish pro-gay marriage bishop present at York meeting
Pat Ashworth Church Times Presence & Engagement report highlights challenges faced in multi-religious areas
Harry Farley Christian Today Questions of sexuality and abuse to dominate Church of England synod
Conservative Anglicans threaten synod boycott in outrage at pro-gay Scottish bishop’s attendance
Jeremy Fletcher On Synod and the Kingdom
Synod papers etc
live video stream [when in session]
19 CommentsThe Questions (and Answers) to be taken at General Synod on Friday afternoon are now available for download here.
Only supplementary questions (if any) and their answers are taken on the floor of Synod; the original questions and answers are not read out. Even so it is unlikely that all 85 questions will be reached in the one hour allocated. They will be taken in the order listed. Since the 28 questions to the House of Bishops (mainly on sexuality and safeguarding) are first they are sure to be reached.
1 CommentColin Coward Unadulterated Love The Church of England – not fit for purpose
Ian Paul Psephizo Why bishops should throw away their mitres
35 CommentsModern Church has announced that the Very Revd Dr Jonathan Draper has been appointed as General Secretary of Modern Church, with effect from 1 September 2017. Dr Draper is currently the Dean of Exeter.
It has also been announced that the Very Revd Dr Frances Ward, Dean of St Edmundsbury, is leaving in October to “study for a second doctorate and contribute to the life of the Church as a writer, author and theologian”.
6 CommentsPeter Edge Law & Religion UK Tynwald and the Bishop of Sodor & Man
David Pocklington Law & Religion UK “Misconduct in Public Office” revisited
The texts of two talks given at the recent Ken Leech conference in Liverpool are now available for download here.
Alison Milbank Subversive Orthodoxy
George Guiver CR True Prayer and the 21st-century Church
Downing Street has announced that Loretta Minghella, the Chief Executive of Christian Aid, is to be the next First Church Estates Commissioner. She succeeds Sir Andreas Whittam Smith. The press release is copied below.
The Church of England has issued its own press release.
It was also announced last week that Dame Caroline Spelman MP has been reappointed Second Church Estates Commissioner following the General Election
Church Commissioner Appointment: Loretta Minghella
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published: 28 June 2017
The Queen has appointed Loretta Minghella as a Church Commissioner.
The Queen has approved that Ms Loretta Caroline Rose Minghella, OBE be appointed First Church Estates Commissioner in succession to Sir Andreas Whittam Smith, CBE.
Background
Loretta has been Chief Executive of Christian Aid since 2010, with overall responsibility for its strategy, plans and programmes across the world. She has since overseen responses to emergencies such as earthquakes and typhoons, the refugee crises in the Middle East and Europe, and hunger and famine in East Africa. She has also led Christian Aid’s long term development work and advocacy on major issues affecting the world’s poorest people, including climate change.
Loretta is a lawyer by training who, after practising as a criminal litigator, began a career in financial regulation in 1990. The first Head of Enforcement Law, Policy and International Cooperation for the Financial Services Authority, she also chaired the International Organisation of Securities Commissions’ Standing Committee on Enforcement and Information-Sharing.
In 2004, Loretta became Chief Executive of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, in which capacity she oversaw the payment of over £21 billion in compensation to victims of bank and other financial failures. In recognition of her contribution in that role, she was awarded the OBE in the New Year’s Honours 2010.
A trustee of the Disasters Emergency Committee and of St Georges House Trust (Windsor Castle), Loretta is a member of the Church of England’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group and a Sarum Canon at Salisbury Cathedral. Loretta has a BA (Hons) in Law from the University of Cambridge.
She lives with her husband and two children in London and attends St Barnabas Church, Dulwich, where she is, in her own words, an ‘enthusiastic if not talented’ member of the choir.
7 CommentsGeorge Clifford Episcopal Café Further thoughts on an all-digital BCP
Andrew Lightbown Theore0 Teaching and teaching documents; some thoughts
Colin Coward Unadulterated Love Bishops announce Next Steps on Human Sexuality
Jeremy Pemberton From the Choir Stalls Restoring Dignity in the Church of England
Paul Bayes ViaMedia.News The Elephant Orphanage
Michał Lubowicki Aleteia A cassock: Work clothes, not a dress uniform
The Guardian Editorial The Guardian view on abuse in the Church of England: a reputation deservedly damaged
Dame Moira Gibb’s remarkable report exposes a long and shameful pattern of sympathy for the wrong people
Stephen Kuhrt Resistance & Renewal Abuse, collusion and cover-up in the C of E
Justice, Peace, Joy On Ordination, Photos, and Communication
7 CommentsToday the Episcopal Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church elected the Rt Rev Mark Strange, Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness as Primus, as reported here.
0 Comments