This Measure was debated, and passed, by the Houses of Commons and Lords last month. It received Royal Assent today and came into force immediately. This month’s meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod can now take place remotely.
4 CommentsThe timetable for November’s virtual meeting of the Church of England General Synod was published today, and is copied below.
GENERAL SYNOD: November 2020
Timetable for VIRTUAL Meeting
(subject to General Synod (Remote Meetings) (Temporary Standing Orders) Measure receiving Royal Assent)
Monday 23 November
1.00 pm – 7.00 pm
1.00 pm – 1.15 pm Opening worship Introduction and welcomes
1.15 pm – 2.00 pm Ratification of Standing Orders to enable virtual meetings
2.00 pm – 2.05 pm Enactment of Amending Canon No. 40
Enactment of Amending Canon No. 41
2.05 pm – 2.50 pm Business Committee Report
2.50 pm – 3.20 pm screen break
3.20 pm – 4.20 pm Presidential Address (both Archbishops, to include reference to LLF, and opportunity for questions)
4.20 pm – 5.05 pm break out rooms (To enable to Synod engage with points raised in Presidential Address)
5.05 pm – 5.30 pm screen break
*5.30 pm – 7.00 pm Question Time
7.00 pm Close of Business
7.15 pm – 8.15 pm House of Bishops Meeting
Tuesday 24 November
9.15 am – 1.00 pm
9.15 am – 9.30 am Opening worship
9.30 am – 11.30 am Vision and Strategy, to include the opportunity for 30 mins breakout room discussion
11.30 am – 11.50 am screen break
Legislative Business – Special Agenda I
*11.50 am – 1.00 pm Cathedrals Measure – Final Drafting and Final Approval
2.30 pm – 6.30 pm
2.30 pm – 4.30 pm Archbishops’ Council Budget 2021 and Apportionment
4.30 pm – 5.00 pm screen break
Legislative Business – Special Agenda I
5.00 pm – 6.00 pm First Consideration of Measure amending Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016
6.00 pm – 6.30 pm Appointment of the Chair of the Dioceses Commission
6.30 pm Close of Business
Wednesday 25 November
9.15 am – 2.00 pm
9.15 am – 9.30 am Opening worship
9.30 am – 11.30 am Safeguarding (presentation and debate)
11.30 am – 12.00 pm screen break
Legislative Business – Special Agenda I
12.00 pm – 1.00 pm Diocesan Boards of Education Measure – Final Drafting and Final Approval
1.00pm – 2.00 pm Regulations under section 2, Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 20[21] (national ministry register)
2.30 pm – 3.30 pm
2.30 pm – 3.30pm Deemed Business (if required)
*3.30 pm Prorogation
Deemed Business:
Legal Officers (Annual Fees) Order 2020,
Ecclesiastical Judges, Legal Officers and Others (Fees) Order 2020,
Church Commissioners’ Funding Order for the Churches Conservation Trust 2021-24,
Church of England Funded Pensions Scheme (CEFPS) Rules Consolidation,
Terms of Service Amendment Regulations on Bereavement Leave,
Diocese of Manchester (Deanery Synods) Scheme 2020,
Regulations under Canon DA 1 (religious communities).
* not later than
Please note that all timings are indicative unless marked with an asterisk
Deadline for receipt of questions: 1200 hrs Wednesday 11 November 2020
Updated Friday, Saturday, Wednesday and Thursday (1 October)
The meeting of General Synod took place today as planned and completed all stages of the General Synod (Remote Meetings) (Temporary Standing Orders) Measure. At the end of the meeting the Measure was given final approval, with 14 bishops, 42 clergy and 45 clergy voting in favour. There were no votes against and just two abstentions (both in the House of Laity). There is a press release here.
The meeting started with a joint presidential address by the two archbishops. There is an official press release summarising the address here, and the full text of the Archbishop of York’s contribution is here.
Friday Update
Andrew Nunn reports on the meeting: All done and dusted.
The Church Times has these two reports.
‘Love can jump two metres’: Archbishops upbeat despite pandemic trials
Synod clears path to a November meeting online
Saturday Update
Andrew Lightbown Theore0 Speaking of synod
Stephen Lynas bathwellschap (They long to be) Close to you
Wednesday Update
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s contribution to the presidential address is now online.
Thursday 1 October Update
The Business Done and the Electronic Voting Result – Item 502 are now available.
3 CommentsThe papers for tomorrow’s meeting of General Synod are here; they now include
NP1 Motions and Amendments
OP1 Order Paper 1 for Special Session
which have been added since my previous post.
According to the order paper a presidential address has been added to the agenda.
The Church of England issued the following press release today.
Special session of General Synod to go ahead amid new Covid-19 measures
23/09/2020
A special session of the Church of England General Synod, needed to pass urgent legislation enabling Synod to continue to operate amid the challenges of the pandemic, will go ahead in London on Thursday. (more…)
0 CommentsAll the papers for the meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod on 24 September are now available online.
Timetable
Note from the Chair of the Business Committee, September 2020
Guide for Synod Members, September 2020
GS 2174 Agenda
GS 2176 General Synod (Remote Meetings) (Temporary Standing Orders)
GS 2176X Explanatory Note
GS Misc 1252 Note from Chief Legal Adviser
It should be noted that GS 2176 and GS 2176X and the timetable are revised versions of the papers originally published last month.
12 CommentsThe outline timetable for the meeting of General Synod on 24 September has been issued, and is copied below. Papers for the meeting are here. There may be a revised draft of the measure; if so it will be issued on or before 9 September.
Synod members have been told that “The meeting will start at 10.30am and we would ask those attending to be available until 7pm. It is expected that the business will finish before 7pm but we need members to be available so that we are quorate for the final vote. We appreciate that this may mean that some members will need to book overnight accommodation.”
GENERAL SYNOD: September 2020 Timetable
Thursday 24 September
10.30 am – 2.45 pm
10.30 am – 10.45 am Opening worship
10.45 am – 11.45 am Draft General Synod (Remote Meetings) Measure First Consideration
11.45 am – 12.00 pm Adjournment
12.00 pm – 1.45 pm Draft General Synod (Remote Meetings) Measure Revision in Full Synod
3.15 pm – 7.00 pm
3.15 pm – 4.30 pm Draft General Synod (Remote Meetings) Measure Final Drafting and Final Approval
*6.55 pm Prorogation
Closing worship
Please note that all timings are indicative. It was decided to offer a longer envelope than it is anticipated the business will take in order to enable maximum flexibility
Morning session expected to finish by 1.45pm.
Afternoon session expected to finish by 4.30pm
Deadline for receipt of amendments to the Measure: 5.30pm Friday 18 September 2020
We linked some weeks ago to an article at Surviving Church titled The Clergy Discipline Measure – RIP? but we have been remiss in not following up on this topic.
The Church Times had reported on 16 July: ‘Toxic’ CDM leaves clergy suicidal, research finds
THE Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM) is part of a “toxic management culture” in the Church of England, and is so flawed that it needs complete replacement.
This conclusion, in a paper published on Thursday by Dr Sarah Horsman, Warden of Sheldon, an independent retreat centre and support hub for those in ministry, is based on the results of a survey of one third of the C of E clergy, carried out with the University of Aston…
That paper by Dr Horsman and others can be found here.
Dr Josephine Stein has now responded here.
The Clergy Discipline Measure was a disaster from the word go. Ten years ago, I wrote to the Chair of the Clergy Discipline Commission to explain why the CDM was not an appropriate instrument for dealing with clerical sexual abuse, and why a completely different approach was needed. My paper was circulated to the Commission and put on the agenda for their next meeting. But did they ‘listen’? It appears that they did not; the amended measure, the ‘Safeguarding and the Clergy Discipline Measure’, only exacerbated the problems.
Things may be different now. The devastating impacts of the CDM on clergy, two thirds of whom are innocent of any wrongdoing, have been exposed by the Sheldon Community’s research and Dr Sarah Horsman’s report. The findings make depressingly familiar reading for survivors of clerical sexual abuse. Survivors encounter similarly horrendous responses to disclosures and experience the same sorts of impacts on our mental and physical health, finances, careers and relationships as clergy subjected to CDMs. And it is for similar reasons: the Kafkaesque ‘toxic management culture’ that privileges arcane, inhumane processes (often themselves incompetently managed) over appropriate professional judgement, practical and pastoral support, and working towards healing and reconciliation.
Put simply, both the CDM and the Church’s responses to disclosures of ecclesiastical abuse are incompatible with Christian discipleship. Not only is the CDM time-consuming and expensive, the human cost can be hell on earth. The adversarial, legalistic approach causes structural damage to the relationships between bishops and clergy, between clergy, church-goers and congregations, and between the faithful and the Church itself. Some survivors and clergy lose their faith; some their very lives. The CDM is a disaster for the life of the Church.
It doesn’t have to be this way…
Do read the whole article.
14 CommentsThe two Archbishops have called a special session of General Synod on Thursday 24 September 2020. The only business expected will be a draft measure to allow Synod to meet remotely in November (and subsequently) if necessary. The Archbishops wrote to all synod members last month to explain why this measure is necessary and can only be taken at an in-person meeting; their letter is copied below.
It is hoped that most members will not exercise their right to be present, but arrangements will be made to ensure that enough do attend to provide a quorum in each of the three houses.
Subsequently the text of the draft measure and explanatory notes have been published.
GS 2175 Draft General Synod (Remote Meetings) Measure – First Consideration
GS 2175X General Synod (Remote Meetings) Measure – Explanatory Notes
Letter from the Archbishops
22 July 2020
To: All Members of General Synod
Ref: Special Session of General Synod on 24 September 2020
Standing Order 2(6)(b), provides that in circumstances of special urgency or importance, the Presidents of the General Synod may summon a special session.
We consider that such circumstances exist. It is not practically possible at present to hold a group of sessions in the usual way and we do not know when it will be again possible to do so. Nor is it currently possible, under the Synod’s Constitution and Standing Orders, for the Synod to transact business remotely. There is important business which the Synod must transact before the end of this year. This includes the approval by the General Synod of the Archbishops’ Council’s budget for 2021, which is a statutory requirement under the National Institutions Measure 1998, and the approval of Fees Orders for 2021. Other business the Synod needs to address without delay includes amending safeguarding legislation to take account of recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) and the giving of final approval to the Cathedrals Measure.
For those reasons, we need legislation that will enable the Synod to meet and transact business remotely should it still not be possible by November for it to meet in the usual way. The Government has not been able to make time for this in Parliament. We therefore need to legislate by Measure and are summoning a special session of the General Synod for this purpose on Thursday 24 September 2020.
This meeting will be held physically at Church House, London. Although no Synod member can be denied admission to this meeting, we will in practice hope to work with the three Houses to ensure that only a quorum-plus of members need attend to ensure compliance with social distancing requirements.
The only business we envisage being on the agenda for the special session is a draft Measure to enable the Synod to meet and conduct business remotely. It is proposed that all stages of the Measure would be taken at the special session. We do not expect to have any other business at this meeting, even urgent business outlined above. These items will be taken to the November Group of Sessions.
Members will receive further details, including the draft Measure, from the Synod Office in due course.
Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of York
Presidents of the General Synod
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 CommentsGeneral 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 CommentsThe 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 CommentsUpdated Tuesday
Martin Sewell and David Lamming issued a letter to fellow members of the CofE General Synod, which was published by Archbishop Cranmer on 19 June: Martyn Percy: Synod challenges Christ Church abuse of CofE safeguarding process.
Peter Adams, another General Synod member, responded to that letter on reconciliationtalk.org on 28 June: When a safeguarding referral is made no amount of special pleading should change that.
Today, Archbishop Cranmer has published a further article, which contains a very detailed response from Martin Sewell to Peter Adams: Christ Church vs Martyn Percy: a conspiracy of lawyers, divine PR, and the purgatory of CofE Safeguarding. That letter will also be sent to all General Synod members ahead of the online “meeting” planned for next Saturday. As “Archbishop Cranmer” writes:
Members of Synod should read both letters and ask themselves three questions:
1) Am I prepared to publicly defend the Church of England’s conduct in this ?
2) Would I wish myself or someone I care for to be subject to such processes?
3) What exactly am I going to do about this?
TA readers are encouraged to read all these letters in full.
Update
Surviving Church has published A guide to the situation at Christ Church Oxford. Which is subtitled Trying to make sense of what is going on.
30 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 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 CommentAs I reported earlier this month the July meeting of General Synod has been cancelled. In addition the Archbishops said they would ask the Privy Council to postpose the election of a new Synod, due this summer, by twelve months. The Council met yesterday, and accepted the Archbishops’ request. The current Synod will now be dissolved on 31 July 2021.
The details are in Statutory Instrument 2020 No 526: The General Synod of the Church of England (Postponement of Elections) Order 2020.
4 CommentsThe planned residential meeting of General Synod due to take place in York in July has been cancelled. In a press release today the officers of Synod also set out proposals for members of Synod to meet informally and remotely. The Archbishops will also ask the Privy Council to postpose the election of a new Synod, due this summer, by twelve months.
The press release is copied below.
General Synod officers examining possibility of ‘virtual’ meetings amid coronavirus challenge
05/05/2020
The Church of England is looking at options including a possible change in the law to enable the General Synod to meet remotely, in response to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
In a letter to all members of Synod today, the officers of Synod confirm that they have used their legal powers to cancel the planned residential meeting due to take place York in July in light of the current restrictions.
However, they set out proposals for members of Synod to meet informally and remotely, potentially in a similar way to the current sittings of Parliament, as well as details of an extension to the term of the current Synod by a year.
Under the current rules, Synod can only pass legislation and transact key business by meeting in person.
In their letter, the officers – the Archbishops, Prolocutors of Canterbury and York of the House of Clergy, and the Chair and Vice-Chair of the House of Laity – say they wish to explore with the Government the possibility of Parliament passing legislation to enable the Synod to transact its business remotely if it is not possible to meet in person.
If it is not possible to do this in time to arrange a remote sitting in July, they suggest an informal remote meeting of Synod members in July when, although they could not pass legislation or take other decisions, could discuss urgent matters and carry out scrutiny.
Separately, Parliament has already approved a provision in the Coronavirus Act 2020 enabling the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to request an order postponing the elections to General Synod due to take place this summer.
A request to postpone the elections for a year is due to be considered by the Privy Council shortly. It would enable the current Synod to meet in November. If it were still not possible to meet physically by then, it is hoped that Parliament will have passed legislation so that an official sitting of the Synod by “virtual” means would be possible.
Synod members are to be surveyed to gauge support for the idea.
Canon Dr Jamie Harrison, Chair of the House of Laity, said: “The residential York Synod is a time to renew friendships and debate important matters; cancelling it has been a hard, but necessary, decision.
“We must now find ways, together, to ensure that the Synod’s vital work of engaging with legislation and scrutiny can continue.”
The Revd Canon Chris Newlands, Prolocutor of the Convocation of York, said: “The decision to cancel the physical gathering of General Synod was taken only after much prayer and reflection, conscious that we need to listen to the mind of the whole Synod more than ever at this time, though we are constrained by the measures currently in force nationally and the legal requirements that have to be met for a meeting of Synod.
“We very much hope that when we are able to gather physically once again, we will together seek to discern how God is calling us to be His Church in England in the ‘new normal’ of life after the coronavirus pandemic.”
The Revd Canon Sue Booys, Chair of Synod’s Business Committee, said: “It is obviously right in our current circumstances to take steps to minimise risk to Synod members and those who would serve them in York by cancelling the formal sessions in July.
“The Business Committee is ready to fulfil our role in finding ways to generate and enable discussion about issues of importance as well as to explore and make arrangements for a future formally constituted group of sessions.
“We will be working with others to enable the legal framework we need to allow our business to proceed properly and give Synod members the opportunity to scrutinise and comment on business.”
Notes to editors
The full letter can be read online.
The Officers of the General Synod are:
Updated
Here are a few online articles relating to last week’s meeting of the Church of England General Synod.
Business Done [the official summary of business]
Video recordings of all the Synod sessions are available to watch on YouTube.
Tim Hind Open Synod Group report of proceedings
Church Times General Synod highlights [12 minute podcast]
Subscribers can read the detailed reports of all Synod debates here.
The Tablet CofE synod commits to ambitious green targets
David Pocklington Law & Religion UK “Public health funerals” and “direct cremation” – an update
The rules and related items for the forthcoming General Synod elections are here.
3 CommentsThe day’s business is in Order Paper Six
Official press releases
General Synod approves Channel Islands legislation
Legal aid an ‘essential service’ that should be preserved for the ‘benefit of the nation’, Synod votes
Archbishop of Canterbury pays tribute to the Archbishop of York
Press reports
Church Times
Synod says yes to Channel Islands transfer
Members’ blogs
Andrew Nunn The last chapter
Stephen Lynas A hard day’s night
The morning’s business is in Order Paper Four.
The afternoon’s business is in Order Paper Five.
As usual, Stephen Lynas is providing his excellent summaries of each day’s business.
Stephen Parsons wrote this in advance of the first item of business on Safeguarding: Is Synod overseeing a revolution in the treatment of abuse survivors? We also covered this here.
At the end of the Safeguarding debate Synod passed the following motion by 361 votes to nil, with no recorded abstentions.
That this Synod
(a) endorse the Archbishops’ Council’s response, set out in GS 2158, to the five recommendations made by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in its investigation report Anglican Church Case Studies: Chichester/Peter Ball (May 2019) at pages 206 to 207;
(b) welcome the statement in paragraph 4.1 of the response that the National Safeguarding Steering Group (NSSG) “remains committed to ensuring that words of apology are followed by concrete actions”;
(c) urge the NSSG to bring forward proposals to give effect to that commitment that follow a more fully survivor-centred approach to safeguarding, including arrangements for redress for survivors;
(d) request that the NSSG keep the Synod updated on the development and implementation of responses to recommendations relating to the Church of England that are made by the Inquiry, including by submitting a report for debate by the Synod not later than July 2021.
The paper (GS 2158) referred to in the motion is online here.
The rest of the morning session was devoted to a debate on the Climate Emergency and Carbon Reduction Target. The motion as originally proposed was amended, most significantly when “2045 at the latest” in paragraph (a) was replaced by “2030”. This amendment was quite narrowly carried by 144 votes to 129 with 10 recorded abstentions. At the end of the debate, the amended motion below was carried on a show of hands.
That this Synod, recognising that the global climate emergency is a crisis for God’s creation, and a fundamental injustice, and following the call of the Anglican Communion in ACC Resolutions A17.05 and A17.06;
(a) call upon all parts of the Church of England, including parishes, BMOs, education institutions, dioceses, cathedrals and the NCIs, to work to achieve year-on-year reductions in emissions and urgently examine what would be required to reach net zero emissions by 2030 in order that a plan of action can be drawn up to achieve that target;
(b) request reports on progress from the Environment Working Group and the NCIs every 3 years beginning in 2022 and;
(c) call on each Diocesan Synod and cathedral Chapter to address progress toward net zero emissions every 3 years.
The first item of business in the afternoon was a debate on so-called Paupers’ Funerals. The motion before Synod (after amendment) was
That this Synod noting:
(a) the substantial rise in the number of ‘pauper funerals’ in England and the pain and hurt arising from them; and
(b) the call of the Gospel to meet people as Jesus does, in their time of need, as well as the duty of Christians to the poor as set out in Proverbs 31.8-9 and Deuteronomy 15.7-8;call upon the Archbishops’ Council to direct and resource the Life Events Advisory Group, in consultation with the Churches Funeral Group and the British Council of Funeral Services to:
i. undertake the formation of plans at national, diocesan and parish levels to utilise Church resources (whether in the form of finance, volunteers or buildings) to tackle the issues relating to and, where possible, end ‘pauper funerals’;
ii. work with other stakeholders to find ways, at an affordable price, to deliver a more compassionate send off for the departed and to meet the spiritual and emotional needs of those left behind; and
iii. report progress made with reference to the above by the end of 2021;and further call on Her Majesty’s Government to develop with Council leaders, a national plan and basic standards for pauper funerals, which should include allowing a Christian funeral service to take place in Church or at a Crematorium; for family or others to attend; and the return of the departed (where permitted) to family members.
and this was carried by 273 votes to nil, with one recorded abstention.
Next was a debate on Children and Youth Ministry. The motion before Synod (after amendment) was
That this Synod, recognising the continuing decline in numbers of under 16’s engaging with Church:
(a) encourage dioceses to act urgently and consider practical ways they can support and resource those churches both with significant numbers of children and young people and with specific aspirations to increase their numbers of the same;
(b) encourage dioceses to make provision to support and resource those churches serving communities which currently have small numbers of children, teenagers and young people;
(c) request dioceses to share good models of practice through churches helping to resource others so that we have many more churches engaging with children and young people;
(d) request the NCI’s to commit funding for qualitative research on the data received to help understand best practice in a variety of contexts;
(e) encourage dioceses to explore new ways to grow new church communities with young people as a primary missional focus;
(f) request the Evangelism and Discipleship team to ensure this work is clearly joined up with Growing Faith; and
(g) request an update from the Evangelism and Discipleship team in two years with analysis of progress in these areas.
and this was carried on a show of hands.
Official press releases
Overwhelming support for Synod safeguarding motion – This includes links to some of the speeches in the debate.
General Synod sets 2030 Net Zero carbon target
General Synod calls on Government to act over ‘pauper’ funerals
Press reports
Church Times
C of E ‘to be carbon-neutral by 2030’, after Synod rips up original target
Synod accepts that ‘serious money’ must be found for abuse survivors
The Guardian
Church of England may have to pay out millions over child sexual abuse
The Telegraph
Church of England cuts target for carbon neutrality by 15 years, from 2045 to 2030
Christian Today
Archbishop of Canterbury reaffirms apology to victims of clergy abuse
Ekklesia
Operation Noah welcomes Church of England decision to set 2030 net zero target
Blogs
Andrew Nunn Reality
Stephen Lynas You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone
[This page will be updated during the day.]
9 CommentsThe morning’s business is in Order Paper Two.
The afternoon’s business is in Order Paper Three.
Synod papers are online here.
As usual, Stephen Lynas is providing his excellent summaries of each day’s business.
Much of the morning was spent on the Draft Cathedrals Measure. This had been revised by a revision committee and it was now Synod’s turn to accept or revise it. The proposed amendments are in order paper two. All were accepted by Synod except for 510 and 516. The Measure now goes to committee for final drafting before coming back to Synod for final approval at a later group of sessions.
The other item of business before lunch was deanery synod term limits. The recent complete rewriting of the Church Representation Rules (the “Rules”) included a provision to limit lay members of deanery synods to two consecutive terms of three years (although APCMs could vote not to apply this). There was opposition to this at the time but by the time people realised the significance of the change it was too late to do anything about it. However the Business Committee had undertaken a consultation and proposed to introduce a change to the Rules so that the default position would be no term limit, although APCMs would be allowed to make a limit. Today’s debate was to see if there was sufficient support in Synod to make it worthwhile starting the process of amending the Rules. Because this requires a two-thirds majority in each house of Synod, today’s vote was by houses with this result:
Bishops for 14, against 6
Clergy for 66, against 31
Laity for 128, against 14
There were recorded abstentions of 1, 3, 2 respectively.
Today a simple majority in each house was sufficient, so the motion asking the Business Committee to introduce the necessary resolution at the July 2020 group of sessions was passed. However it should be noted that whilst the laity today were overwhelmingly in favour, the bishops and clergy only just reached the two-thirds majority that will be needed in July.
The afternoon started with a presentation on Living in Love and Faith the Pastoral Advisory Group – see the Church Times story linked below for details.
Later there was a private members’ motion on Windrush Commitment and Legacy. After some amendments the motion before Synod was
That this Synod, commemorating in 2018 the martyrdom of the Revd Dr Martin Luther King, Jr., noting with joy the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush liner in the United Kingdom in June 1948 bringing nearly 500 Commonwealth citizens, mainly from the Caribbean, to mainland UK; and the eventual arrival of approximately half a million people from the West Indies, who were called to Britain as British subjects to help rebuild the post-war United Kingdom:
(a) lament, on behalf of Christ’s Church, and apologises for, the conscious and unconscious racism experienced by countless Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) Anglicans in 1948 and subsequent years, when seeking to find a spiritual home in their local Church of England parish churches, the memory of which is still painful to committed Anglicans who in spite of this racism from clergy and others, have remained faithful to the Church of England and their Anglican heritage;
(b) request the Archbishops’ Council to commission research to assess the impact of this on the Church of England in terms of church members lost, churches declining into closure, and vocations to ordained and licensed lay ministries missed, and to report back to this Synod and the wider Church.
(c) express gratitude to God for the indispensable contribution to the mission, ministry, prayer and worship of Christ’s Church in this nation made by people of BAME descent in the Church of England;
(d) acknowledge and give joyful thanks for the wider contribution of the ‘Windrush generation’ and their descendants to UK life and culture in every field of human activity, including service across the Armed Forces and other services during and after the Second World War;
(e) resolve to continue, with great effort and urgency, to stamp out all forms of conscious or unconscious racism, and to commit the Church of England to increase the participation and representation of lay and ordained BAME Anglicans throughout Church life; and
(f) request the Archbishop’s Council to appoint an independent person external to the Church to assess the current situation as regards race and ethnicity in the Church, in order to present a report to this Synod with recommendations for actions to achieve reconciliation and authentic belonging so that we can move towards truly being a Church for all people;
to the greater glory of the God in whose image every human being is made.
The motion was carried by 295 votes to nil, with no recorded abstentions.
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