During Questions on Monday evening, the following exchanges occurred.
The Revd Canon Andrew Godsall (Exeter) to ask the Chair of the House of Bishops:
Q18 Could the House be invited to reflect on the recent Primates’ Meeting and, if so, what undertaking might be given for particular reflection on whether it was appropriate to adopt an approach involving ‘relational consequences’ in relation to a member province of the Anglican Communion in the light of the fact that a majority of the dioceses in the Church of England declined to approve the Anglican Communion Covenant?
The Archbishop of Canterbury to reply as Chair of the House of Bishops:
A The House received a report on the Primates meeting along with members of the College when they met in January. The Primates addressed the impact on relationships within the Anglican Communion when any Province makes a unilateral change in doctrine. They have set out specific consequences in the functioning of the Communion and a task group will be appointed to carry forward the implications of their decision.
Supplementary Questions (transcribed from the audio recording)
Andrew Godsall:
Is there a difference between the specific consequences referred to in the answer and the relational consequences envisaged in section 4.2.7 of the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant that the dioceses of the Church of England rejected. And if there is, what is it?
Archbishop of Canterbury:
Thank you, that’s a very interesting question. The Covenant was not considered at all during the Primates Meeting. I don’t… I think it may have been mentioned once in passing. And therefore the way in which the consequences were looked at was not related to the Covenant in any way at all. I think to the best of my knowledge no more than 16, it may have only been 11, provinces have actually signed up to the Covenant. Therefore the vast majority would not consider it relevant in considering this. So there was no link.
Dr Rachel Jepson:
Would the House of Bishops also then take the opportunity to discuss plans to impose similar relational consequences for those provinces that support the criminalisation of homosexuality and in so doing are in breach of the Lambeth resolution.
Archbishop of Canterbury:
Thank you very much. I hope it’s clear that the House of Bishops was not involved in the Primates Meeting. It was the Primates Meeting, and the House of Bishops has not imposed any relational consequences in any way at all. As I hope I made clear earlier, such consequences are those at Communion level, and cannot bind any particular province. Having said that, I think the point you raise is a very, very important one. And if you look at the communiqué, which you will find on the primates meeting website, you will find that there is a very, very clear statement of the longstanding opposition of the Anglican Communion to the criminalisation of LGBTI people. And given that that is a very important part of the thinking of the Anglican Communion in this area, one could anticipate that the primates when they meet, were someone to be advocating such, would need to consider that. If they were to continue to advocate it since the primates meeting we just had. But I am one vote out of 38 and I couldn’t possibly predict or anticipate what the outcome would be. But thank you.
20 CommentsPreview
Ian Paul What is the future of ministerial training?
briefing paper by principals of the residential theological colleges
Wednesday’s business
The Archbishop of Canterbury preached this homily at the Synod Eucharist: ‘Martyrdom is the ultimate witness to Christ’s truth’.
Order papers
morning
afternoon
Official summaries of the day’s business
General Synod February 2016 sessions: Wednesday AM
General Synod February 2016 sessions: Wednesday PM
Slides from the morning presentation on Renewal & Reform
CofE press release: Synod signals support for new ministry funding framework
Press reports
Antony Bushfield Premier Synod calls for “full independent review” of benefit sanctions
Ruth Gledhill Christian Today Church that does not side with the poor ‘cannot claim to follow Jesus’, synod told
John Bingham The Telegraph No growth for 30 years – Church of England predicts
Harriet Sherwood The Guardian Church of England expects attendance to fall for next 30 years
Ruth Gledhill Christian Today Church to launch social media ‘digital evangelism’ campaign to reach young people
1 CommentUpdated at intervals during the day and on Wednesday
Press preview
Alistair Munro The Scotsman Kirk Moderator to make history in England
Harry Farley Christian Today Scottish moderator to address Synod for first time in history
BBC News Kirk moderator to address CofE Synod
Antony Bushfield Premier Church of Scotland moderator to make history at General Synod
Tuesday’s business
Speech by the Archbishop of Canterbury: Evangelism is ‘our duty, privilege and joy’, Archbishop tells Synod
Church of England press releases
General Synod votes to approve historic agreement with Church of Scotland
General Synod backs call to encourage blood and organ donation
Official summary of the day’s business: General Synod February 2016 sessions: Tuesday
Church of Scotland news
General Synod votes to approve historic agreement between Churches
Moderator’s Address to the General Synod of the Church of England
Press reports
Harriet Sherwood The Guardian Church life is fading fast in poorer communities, synod warned
Harry Farley Christian Today Church guilty of ‘abandoning the poor’, Synod told
Antony Bushfield Premier Bishop slams Church for preferring the rich
Harry Farley Christian Today Columba Declaration passed in historic show of unity at Synod
Antony Bushfield Premier General Synod passes historic Columba Declaration
Brian Donnelly Herald Scotland Moderator: Link between Kirk and Church of England embedded in DNA of both
Antony Bushfield Premier Synod rejects proposal to scrap extra charge for heating at funerals and weddings
Blog
David Pocklington Law & Religion UK Fees and “extras” for Church weddings and funerals
10 CommentsPress preview
Harriet Sherwood The Guardian Donating organs and blood is Christian duty, C of E synod to be told
Today’s business
Full text of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s presidential address: Archbishop reflects on Primates’ meeting in Synod address
Official summary of the day’s business: General Synod February 16 sessions: Monday PM
Audio from all the sessions at General Synod February 2016
Press reports
Antony Bushfield Premier Synod’s sexuality conversations “going to be risky”
Harry Farley Christian Today Welby at Synod: Primates meeting was ‘spun more than Donald Trump’
African churches could face ‘consequences’ for supporting criminalisation of homosexuality
Harriet Sherwood The Guardian Gay rights and same-sex marriage will dominate C of E summer synod
18 CommentsUpdated Saturday to add the article by William Nye
Also updated Saturday to give a working link to Martyn Percy’s essay
The General Synod of the Church of England meets next week. Here are some recent relevant articles.
Kelvin Holdsworth The Columba Declaration
Modern Church has published this essay by Martyn Percy: On Not Rearranging the Deckchairs on the Titanic: A Commentary on Reform and Renewal in the Church of England. Kieran Bohan has written this preview: Reform and Renewal or unintentional vandalism? A health and safety warning for General Synod, and there is a link at the end to download the full essay.
Bishop Steven Croft responds: RME – Response to Principals’ Concerns.
Mike Eastwood, Liverpool Diocesan Secretary and Director of Renewal and Reform, Renewal and Reform – a view from Liverpool
William Nye Renewal and Reform – some thoughts from a new boy
Church Times RME plans may be disastrous, say colleges
David Pocklington Law & Religion UK Vesture: the House of Bishops Consultation
16 CommentsElections to the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England have now been completed. Here is the full list of elected and appointed members.
Members of the Archbishops’ Council
Joint Presidents
The Most Revd and Rt Hon Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury
The Most Revd and Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of YorkProlocutor of the Lower House of the Convocation of Canterbury
The Revd Canon Simon ButlerProlocutor of the Lower House of the Convocation of York
The Venerable Cherry VannChair of the House of Laity
Canon Dr Jamie HarrisonVice-Chair of the House of Laity
Canon Elizabeth PaverElected by the House of Bishops
The Rt Revd Steven Croft, Bishop of Sheffield
The Rt Revd Stephen Conway, Bishop of ElyElected by the House of Clergy
The Revd Dr Ian Paul
The Revd Sarah SchofieldElected by the House of Laity
Mrs Lorna Ashworth
Canon Mark RussellChurch Estates Commissioner
Sir Andreas Whittam Smith, First Church Estates CommissionerAppointed by the Archbishops
Mr John Spence
Mrs Mary Chapman: former CEO, Chartered Institute of Management
Mr Philip Fletcher
The Revd Dr Rosalyn Murphy: Vicar, St Thomas’s, Blackpool
Mrs Rebecca Salter: Medical Researcher
Mr Matthew Frost, former CEO Tearfund
Detailed results of the elections can be downloaded from here.
36 CommentsTim Wyatt Church Times Reform, sex talks, and Kirk on Synod’s agenda
John Bingham The Telegraph Dress-down Sundays: Church considers making clerical dress optional
[with reference to GS Misc 1133 – House of Bishops Consultation on Vestments]
Antony Bushfield Premier General Synod to focus on need for evangelism
Anglican talks on sexuality sometimes “painful”
BBC News Churches of England and Scotland publish report on proposed pact
Update
Harriet Sherwood The Guardian Anglican clergy could drop traditional dress in favour of casual clothing
13 CommentsThe Scottish Episcopal Church issued this Statement re Columba Declaration and Growth in Communion – Partnership in Mission Report today.
Statement re Columba Declaration and Growth in Communion – Partnership in Mission Report
January 29, 2016There was some publicity around Christmastime regarding the publication of the joint Columba Declaration by the Church of Scotland and Church of England. The provincial Faith and Order Board met recently and agreed that a short background note should be issued.
After the publication in 2010 of Our Fellowship in the Gospel by the Joint Study Group of the Church of England and the Church of Scotland, a product of five year’s work, an invitation to join the Joint Study Group was issued to the Scottish Episcopal Church.
The Scottish Episcopal Church was then involved in those new talks up until 2013. At that point, the other two churches expressed a desire to enter into a deeper ecumenical arrangement. The Faith and Order Board considered the matter carefully but did not believe it was appropriate to enter a tripartite “ecumenical” agreement where one of the parties was the Church of England because the Scottish Episcopal Church is already in full communion with the Church of England. The Board suggested instead that the three-way talks might continue, aimed not at forming an ecumenical agreement but rather at enriching common life and mission across the three churches. Therefore, it suggested alternative ways of proceeding on a tripartite basis.
However, the other two churches were keen to move towards some form of ecumenical agreement. It was at this point that the Scottish Episcopal Church ceased to be a full participant in the talks, albeit we were invited to appoint an observer, and duly did so. The then Convener of Inter-Church Relations Committee took on that role with his last involvement being at the final bilateral meeting in late 2014 where a draft of the report was under discussion.
A joint statement by the Church of Scotland and Church of England setting out the Columba Declaration (which forms only the final part of the report) was unexpectedly issued just before Christmas 2015, in response to a press query, and we became aware of this on Christmas Eve. The final form of the full report, however, was embargoed until the 29th January 2016.
Since the issue of that statement, we have been in direct contact with both the Church of Scotland and Church of England and have obtained a copy of the final report Growth in Communion-Partnership in Mission. We have been able to ask a number of initial questions which have been helpfully answered jointly by the Church of Scotland and the Church of England.
In the report it is stated that a response from the Scottish Episcopal Church would be welcomed. The Faith and Order Board at its meeting on 21st January agreed to remit the Scottish Episcopal Church’s detailed examination of the report to the Inter-Church Relations Committee and to ask that Committee to formulate a response for consideration by the Faith and Order Board in September 2016 (which will be the first meeting of the Board after this year’s Church of England Synod and the Church of Scotland General Assembly). This will include consideration of the concerns which the publication of the Columba Declaration, without the benefit of the full report, had prompted before Christmas. The Board believes that publication of Growth in Communion-Partnership in Mission now provides an opportunity to build on the warm relations which the Scottish Episcopal Church already enjoys with the Church of Scotland and very much looks forward to continuing discussions. The Board similarly looks forward to strengthening our relationship and mutual regard with the Church of England.
The report of the Church of Scotland and Church of England Joint Study Group can be read here.
A press release issued today by the Church of Scotland can be read here.
Our earlier coverage of the Columba Declaration is here, here and here.
The Church of England released the Report on the Church of England-Church of Scotland Joint Study Group (GS 2016) today; the Columba Declaration comprises Chapter IV of the report.
4 CommentsThe Church of England’s usual pre-synod press release has been issued today, and is copied below.
The remainder of the papers have also been published online, and I have updated my list here.
Agenda for February 2016 General Synod
29 January 2016
The General Synod of the Church of England meets in London in February for a three day meeting from 2.30 pm on Monday 15 February until 5.00 pm on Wednesday 17 February. This will be the first full-length meeting of the newly-elected General Synod since its inauguration in November 2015.
The agenda for the meeting can be found here. The majority of the papers have been released today. A major theme of this group of sessions will be taking forward the next stages of the Archbishops’ Renewal and Reform initiative. On Wednesday 17 February the various Task Group leads will be giving an overview to Synod on their plans for the coming year. Specific items related to Renewal and Reform feature on the February agenda.
One key aspect of Renewal and Reform is the introduction of legislative changes to make it easier for parishes and dioceses to organise themselves to facilitate mission and growth. This is known as the Simplification work stream. On Monday 15 February legislation will come before Synod to simplify the Church’s rulebook to reduce regulatory burdens in the form of the Draft Mission and Pastoral etc. (Amendment) Measure (GS2014). On Tuesday 16 February, Synod will be asked to endorse plans to introduce an ‘Enabling Measure’ to make it easier to update Church legislation in the future as required on an on-going basis (GS 2018).
On Wednesday 17 February there will be a debate on a motion on the Resourcing Ministerial Education work stream, another element of Renewal and reform. The motion and the accompanying paper sets out plans for new funding arrangements to boost the number of candidates for ministry and a strategy for the continuing enhancement of their quality and deployability (GS 2020). Immediately after this item, there will be a Take Note debate on a report from the Task Group on Resourcing the Future which sets out plans to reorganise the way that the Church distributes money centrally to focus it on driving growth and helping mission in the poorest communities (GS 2021). Linked to these initiatives, there will be a report from the Evangelism Task Group with examples of best practice with regards to Church growth and evangelism (GS 2015).
On Monday 15 February the Archbishop of Canterbury will be giving a Presidential Address which will include a Statement on the outcome of the recent Primates meeting in Canterbury. There will also be an update by the Archbishop’s Director for Reconciliation on the progress in the dioceses of the Shared Conversations on Spirituality, Scripture and Mission. Synod members will have an opportunity to ask questions on the presentation.
On Tuesday 16 February, the Rt Revd Dr Angus Morrison, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland will give a presentation on the Report of the Church of England – Church of Scotland Joint Study Group (GS 2016). This will be followed by a debate on the Report introduced by the Bishop of Chester.
Synod will be debating three Diocesan Synod Motions, two of which are closely related. The first two DSMs from Worcester Diocesan Synod relate to Parochial fees and related costs for weddings and funerals (GS 2017A and 2017B). This will be taken together on Tuesday 16 February. On Wednesday 17 February there will be a Diocesan Synod Motion arising from Leeds Diocesan Synod on the ‘Impact of Sanctions on Benefit Claimants’ (GS 2019A and GS2019B). A further Diocesan Synod Motion from Leeds Diocesan Synod on ‘Blood and Organ Donation’ (GS 2022A and GS2022B) is listed as contingency business.
ENDS
The full agenda can be viewed online here.
3 CommentsThe second circulation papers have now been added below.
Papers in the first circulation for next month’s meeting of General Synod on 15-17 February are now online here in agenda order. Here is a list in numerical order, with a note of the day scheduled for their consideration.
More papers are scheduled for release on 29 January. There appear to be rather more of these than usual. I have included below all those mentioned in the agenda, and I will add links to them in due course.
zip file of all first circulation papers
zip file of all second circulation papers
zip file of all papers
GS 1953D – Amending Canon No.34 [Monday]
GS 2011 – Agenda
GS 2012 – Appointment of the Chair of the Dioceses Commission [Monday]
GS 2013 – Report by the Business Committee [Monday]
GS 2014 – Draft Mission and Pastoral (Amendment) Measure [Monday]
GS 2014x – Explanatory Memorandum
GS 2015 – Report from the Evangelism Task Group [Tuesday]
GS 2016 – Report of the Church of England-Church of Scotland Joint Study Group [Tuesday]
GS 2017A and graph and GS 2017B – Diocesan Synod Motion: Parochial Fees [Tuesday]
GS 2018 – Proposed Enabling Measure [Tuesday]
GS 2019A and GS 2019B – Diocesan Synod Motion: Impact of Sanctions on Benefit Claimants [Wednesday]
GS 2020 – Renewal and Reform: Resourcing Ministerial Education [Wednesday]
GS 2021 – Renewal and Reform: Resourcing the Future [Wednesday]
GS 2022A and GS 2022B – Diocesan Synod Motion: Blood and Organ [contingency business]
Notice papers
Notice Paper 1
Notice Paper 2
Notice Paper 3
Other papers
GS Misc 1129 – Instructions regarding counted votes conducted by electronic means
GS Misc 1130 – The Dioceses Commission Annual Report 2015
GS Misc 1131 – House of Bishops Summary of Decisions
GS Misc 1132 – Report on the Churches Together in England 2015 Forum
GS Misc 1133 – House of Bishops Consultation on Vestments
GS Misc 1134 – Update on Archbishop’s Council activities
GS Misc 1135 – Council for Christian Unity Annual Report
GS Misc 1136 – Central Stipends Authority Annual Report
Group work membership
Group work questions [Tuesday morning]
Members of the new General Synod of the Church of England have been electing chairs of houses and members of various committees. There is a list of the results so far here, including these.
Prolocutor of the Lower House of the Convocation of Canterbury
The Revd Canon Simon Butler (Southwark)Prolocutor of the Lower House of the Convocation of York
The Ven Cherry Vann, Archdeacon of Rochdale (Manchester)Chair of the House of Laity
Canon Dr Jamie Harrison (Durham)Vice-Chair of the House of Laity
Canon Elizabeth Paver (Sheffield)
There are more results to come.
0 CommentsThe outline timetable for the February General Synod of the Church of England has been published today, and is copied below. The full agenda and other papers will be published on Friday 22 January 2016.
GENERAL SYNOD: FEBRUARY 2016 GROUP OF SESSIONS
Timetable
Monday 15 February
2.30 pm – 7.15 pm
2.30 pm Opening Worship
Presentation of officers (Prolocutors of the Convocations of Canterbury and York, Chair and Vice-Chair of the House of Laity)
Report by the Business Committee
Presidential Address by the Archbishop of Canterbury
Legislative Business
Enactment of Amending Canon No 34
Mission and Pastoral etc (Amendment) Measure – First Consideration
Initial presentation on the Shared Conversations followed by Q&A
*5.45 pm Questions
7.00 pm Evening worship
Tuesday 16 February
9.15 am – 1.00 pm
9.15 am Worship in small groups followed by Group Work on Evangelism
11.30 am Presentation from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Chair of the Evangelism Task Group, followed by a ‘take note’ debate on a Report from the Evangelism Task Group
2.30 pm – 7.15 pm
2.30 pm Presentation from the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Debate on the Report of the Church of England – Church of Scotland Joint Study Group
Diocesan Synod Motion: Parochial Fees
*5.30 pm Motion on the proposed Enabling Measure
7.00 pm Evening worship
Wednesday 17 February
9.15 am – 1.00 pm
9.15 am Holy Communion
10.45 am Diocesan Synod Motion: Impact of Sanctions on Benefit Claimants
Update on Renewal and Reform – (Presentation by Task Group Leads followed by Q&A)
2.30 pm – 5.00 pm
2.30 pm Renewal and Reform:
Resourcing Ministerial Education: debate on a motion from the Archbishops’ Council
Renewal and Reform:
Resourcing the Future: ‘take note’ debate on a Report from the Archbishops’ Council
5.00 pm Farewells
*5.15 pm Prorogation
Contingency Business:
Diocesan Synod Motion: Blood and Organ Donation
The official record of Business Done
Electronic Voting Results for the motion on the migrant crisis
There are a number of videos of Synod business here.
The December issue of InReview includes reports from Synod.
Election addresses for the Election of Chair, Vice-Chair and Two Members of the Archbishops’ Council by the House of Laity
[Read the Covering Document to see who is standing for what.]
press reports
Tim Wyatt Church Times UK is castigated for weak response to Syrian migration
The Garstang Courier Vicar made chaplain of church’s highest governing body
some blogs
Stephen Lynas
Her Majesty’s a very nice girl
Negotiations and love songs
Anderson Jeremiah
How the Church of England is trying to make itself relevant again
The Church of England’s vote to effectively back military action is a shocking mistake
Updated on Friday to add questions 36 and 37 and their answer below the fold
In the Questions session at this week’s General Synod the Secretary General was asked about turnout in the recent elections to Synod. In reply he gave these figures, together with those from 2010 for comparison.
| percentages | 2015 | 2010 | ||
| Canterbury | ||||
| Average overall | 51.88 | 51.32 | ||
| Average clergy | 56.86 | 55.91 | ||
| Average laity | 46.91 | 46.74 | ||
| Highest turnout clergy | 67.96 | (Birmingham) | 75.00 | (Ely) |
| Lowest turnout clergy | 45.60 | (Hereford) | 43.20 | (Bristol) |
| Highest turnout laity | 72.10 | (Guildford) | 64.13 | (Chelmsford) |
| Lowest turnout laity | 29.82 | (Hereford) | 37.83 | (Lincoln) |
| York | ||||
| Average overall | 48.18 | 50.35 | ||
| Average clergy | 52.49 | 57.23 | ||
| Average laity | 43.87 | 43.48 | ||
| Highest turnout clergy | 69.00 | (Sodor & Man) | 73.90 | (Sodor & Man) |
| Lowest turnout clergy | 39.86 | (Liverpool) | 46.50 | (Liverpool) |
| Highest turnout laity | 56.96 | (Chester) | 54.70 | (Sodor & Man) |
| Lowest turnout laity | 34.74 | (Liverpool) | 36.30 | (Liverpool) |
Updated Thursday morning
Business on Wednesday 25 November
Church of England press releases
Concern for the planet is not a Christian ‘add-on’, Archbishop of York tells Synod
General Synod backs work to help vulnerable refugees [See below the fold for the text of this press release]
Synod agrees to cut red tape to secure future for vulnerable churches
Official brief summaries of the day’s business
General Synod November 2015 – Wednesday AM
General Synod November 2015 – Wednesday PM
Archbishop of York’s Climate Change Presentation at Synod
Press reports
Harriet Sherwood The Guardian Justin Welby says UK military action in Syria ‘almost inevitable’
Antony Bushfield Premier Synod votes to back “military force” to create safe route for refugees
Florence Taylor Christian Today Justin Welby endorses use of force in Syria
Independent Catholic News Coptic Bishop speaks on migration crisis during CofE Synod
Ruth Gledhill Christian Today Churches launch call to prayer to reverse negative views of Jesus and Christianity
John Bingham The Telegraph Rural vicars ‘drowning’ amid battle to keep empty churches open
8 CommentsUpdated Wednesday morning and evening
The Tenth General Synod of the Church of England was inaugurated this morning (Tuesday) with a service in Westminster Abbey, after which Synod members moved to the Synod chamber in Church House for an address by The Queen.
Report by the Abbey: HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh attend Synod service
Text of the sermon at the Abbey by Fr Raniero Cantalamessa, Preacher to the Papal Household
Archbishop [of Canterbury] welcomes The Queen to General Synod
Text of The Queen’s speech at the Inauguration of the Tenth General Synod of the Church of England
Speech of Thanks to Her Majesty The Queen from the Archbishop of York
Reports on the morning’s activities
Gavin Drake for the Anglican Communion News Service: Queen Elizabeth speaks on Christian Unity and Primates Meeting
John Bingham The Telegraph Queen tells CoE to learn art of peacemaking amid splits over sexuality
BBC News Queen calls for unity at Church of England general synod
Madeleine Davies Church Times ‘Our persecutors already see us as one’, Papal official tells Synod
Sean Smith The Tablet Church of England should be bridge between Catholics and Evangelicals, Pope’s preacher tells synod
Reports from the afternoon
Text of Archbishop of Canterbury’s presidential address
Official brief summary of the afternoon’s business: General Synod November 2015 – Tuesday PM
Harriet Sherwood The Guardian Church of England could scrap reading of marriage banns
John Bingham The Telegraph Ditch the mitre? I’d look ‘underdressed’ in inner city, says bishop
Harriet Sherwood The Guardian How the mitres have fallen: bishops’ headwear is personal choice, says C of E
Updated Monday evening
The General Synod of the Church of England meets on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The papers are linked here and there is an outline of the agenda here.
The questions and answers have been published this morning.
Here are some recent online articles.
Bishop of Sheffield Reform and Renewal: the Noddy and Big Ears Guide
Harriet Sherwood The Observer Welby bids to defuse Church of England’s ‘demographic time bomb’
Gavin Drake Anglican Communion News Service C of E proposes to repeal obsolete Medieval laws
This refers to this paper GS Misc 1128 – Consultation on possible Statute Law (repeals) Measure. The consultation closes on 29 January 2016.
Jonathan Petre Mail on Sunday Wedding banns face axe after 800 years as senior clergy think practice of reading out names ahead of ceremony is ‘antiquated’.
BBC News Marriage banns ‘should be axed’ urges clergy member
Stephen Trott’s motion is contained in notice paper 4, and reads:
“That this Synod, noting the Registration of Marriages Regulations 2015 and the growing burden and complexity of the legal requirements imposed on members of the clergy who conduct weddings in the Church of England, invite the Archbishops’ Council to bring forward draft legislation to replace ecclesiastical preliminaries to marriage by universal civil preliminaries, such as those which have been in operation in Scotland since 1997, when banns were replaced by a Marriage Schedule issued by the civil registrar.”
Update
Stephen Lynas We’ve only just begun…
11 CommentsReaders may recall that at General Synod in July, John Ward asked a Question of the Archbishop of Canterbury, as reported fully here. This in turn followed from a previous Question asked in February, also reported here. The incidents to which reference is made in the questions occurred in September/October 2014 and in October/November 2013.
The guidance document to which the question refers has now been published: ARCHBISHOPS’ GUIDELINES ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF “CHOOSING BISHOPS – THE EQUALITY ACT 2010 (REVISED)” (GS Misc 1044).
This document is dated March 2015, and as explained in its first section, it was revised following the passage of the women bishops legislation in 2014. Presumably therefore there was an earlier version of this guidance issued in 2013, shortly after the issue of GS Misc 1044 itself.
That document dated June 2013 to which this refers is also available on the CofE website as a PDF, and here as a normal web page.
Pages 3 and 4 of this newly published guidance constitute a section entitled: The relevance of a candidate’s previous public statements on human sexuality.
This portion is copied in full below the fold, but you need to read the whole document to get the context. However, you will note that GS Misc 1044 itself contains no reference to this topic.
Updated 10 November to include second circulation papers (GS 2009 and GS Misc 1128)
Papers in the first circulation both circulations for next month’s meeting of General Synod on 24-25 November are now online here in agenda order. Here is a list in numerical order, with a note of the day scheduled for their consideration.
zip file of all first circulation papers
zip file of all second circulation papers
zip file of all papers
GS 2005 – Agenda
GS 2006 – Report by the Business Committee [Tuesday]
GS 2007 – Ecclesiastical Judges, Legal Officers and Others (Fees) Order 2015 [Wednesday]
GS 2007x – Ecclesiastical Judges, Legal Officers and Others (Fees) Order 2015 Explanatory Memorandum
GS 2008 – Report of the Church Buildings Review Group [Wednesday]
GS 2009 – The Migrant Crisis [Wednesday]
The motion to be debated on this subject is contained in notice paper 4.
GS 2010 – Standing Orders (October 2015)
GS Misc 1123 – Constitutions of the Committees of the Archbishops’ Council
GS Misc 1124 – A programme for the renewal and reform of the Church of England [Tuesday]
GS Misc 1125 – A New Enabling Measure
GS Misc 1126 – Public Peceptiions of Jesus [Wednesday]
Annex: Talking Jesus Booklet
GS Misc 1127 – Released for Mission
GS Misc 1128 – Consultation on possible Statute Law (repeals) Measure
Members’ Resources
Although intended for Synod members, some of these Members’ Resources may be of wider interest – in particular the Guide to the General Synod and the Synod Survival Guide.
11 CommentsThe final agenda and the papers for next month’s two day inaugural meeting of the tenth General Synod of the Church of England are published today, along with this press release summarising the agenda. I will publish a list of online papers later today.
HM the Queen to inaugurate tenth General Synod
30 October 2015
HM the Queen to inaugurate tenth General Synod
Synod to debate Migrant Crisis and Church Buildings report and review progress of the Reform and Renewal programme
Her Majesty the Queen will inaugurate the tenth General Synod of the Church of England in Church House, Westminster on Tuesday 24th November.
The Inauguration ceremony will follow the Eucharist in Westminster Abbey, at which the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will preside and Fr Raniero Cantalamessa O.F.M. Cap (Preacher to the Papal Household) will preach.
The Agenda for the short meeting of the Synod, which will follow the inauguration, is published today along with the papers.
Synod membership
The Synod has 468 voting members of whom 59 (including the 42 diocesan bishops) are ex officio and 409 have been elected this autumn (9 suffragan bishops, 200 clergy, 200 laity). The House of Bishops has 53 members, the House of Clergy 202 and the House of Laity 213.
53% of the 409 elected members were not members of the last Synod when it was dissolved in July (up from the 2010 figure of 45%). In total 46% of the membership of this Synod is new. The percentage of women on General Synod has increased from 28% in 2005 to 32% in 2010 and 37% in 2015.
The male/female balance has changed from 69/31 in 2005 to 63/37 in 2010 to 58/42 now. For the first time there are slightly more elected women than men in the House of Laity — 50.5% to 49.5% (in 2005 40% of elected laity were women and in 2010 46%). In the House of Clergy, the number of women elected has increased to 32% (from 22% in 2005 and 29% in 2010). Three of the 53 members of the House of Bishops are women: the Rt Revd Christine Hardman, the Rt Revd Libby Lane and the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek.
The average age of the 378 lay and clergy members elected by the dioceses is slightly lower than in 2010, 51 as against 52 among the clergy and 56 as against 58 among the laity. The youngest member of the Synod is Rhian Ainscough, newly elected from the Leicester diocese, who is 19. The longest serving member is David Ashton from Leeds diocese, who has served continuously since 1972.
Tuesday 24 November
Following the service in Westminster Abbey the Queen will address the Synod in Church House. Synod business begins on the Tuesday afternoon. There will be a Presidential Address from the Archbishop of Canterbury. After further formal business, there will be a presentation from the leaders of the Archbishops’ Reform and Renewal Programme.
The presentation will cover the work-streams on Resourcing the Future, Resourcing Ministerial Education, Discerning and Nurturing Senior Leaders, Simplification of church legislation and a newly-launched work stream on Lay leadership. Synod members will have the opportunity to ask questions of the work stream leaders. There will also be the usual Synod question time.
Wednesday 25 November
On the morning of 25 November, there will be a short presentation from the Archbishop of York on the effects of global warming which he viewed on his recent visit to the South Pacific. Following that the Synod will debate a motion moved by the bishop of Durham on the Migrant Crisis. The wording of the Motion and the accompanying background paper will be published nearer to the debate given the rapidly-evolving context. However, it is likely to focus on the responses of the church in parishes and dioceses and to call on the Synod to continue working closely with the government and local authorities to maximise support for those most in need.
After some legislative business, there will be a presentation of the results of recent research on the “Public Perceptions of Jesus”, which was commissioned by the Church of England, the Evangelical Alliance and HOPE (an ecumenical organisation that brings churches together in mission). The report is an important resource for evidence-based mission.
On Wednesday afternoon the Synod will debate a motion, moved by the Bishop of Worcester, John Inge, welcoming the recently published report of the Church Buildings Review, commending it to dioceses, deaneries and parishes and paving the way for the necessary legislative process, once the Archbishops’ Council and Church Commissioners have taken decisions following the current consultation period. The report was produced as one of the elements of the Reform and Renewal programme.
The Synod will conclude with a farewell from the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Secretary General, Mr William Fittall who will be retiring at the end of November after 13 years in post. Mr Fittall will also give a farewell address to the Synod.
Immediately after the end of the Synod the House of Laity will hold a hustings meeting for the election of a new Chair and Vice Chair. The results of those elections and of the elections for the Prolocutors (Chairs of clergy) for the Canterbury and York Provinces will be known just before Christmas.
Ends
[1] This includes a small number of members who were not in the last Synod but have served previously.
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