Updated 24 January to include second batch of papers
The first batch of papers for next month’s meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod are now available online. The remaining papers will be issued on 24 January and I will add links when these become available.
Papers with a note of the day scheduled for their consideration are listed below the fold. Synod meets from Monday 10 to Thursday 13 February in London.
The Agenda is here and the Report by the Business Committee (Guide to the February 2020 group of sessions) is here.
Synod members reading this might like to note that the deadline for the submission of questions is 12 noon on Wednesday 29 January 2020.
GS 2131A – Draft Diocesan Boards of Education Measure – Revision Stage [Wednesday]
GS 2136A – Draft Cathedrals Measure – Revision Stage [Tuesday]
GS 2136Y – Draft Cathedrals Measure – Report of the Revision Committee [Tuesday]
GS 2149A and GS 2149B – Diocesan Synod Motions – Through His Poverty [Thursday]
GS 2150 – Agenda
GS 2151 – Report by the Business Committee [Monday]
GS 2152 – Draft Channel Islands Measure – First Consideration [Monday]
GS 2152X – Draft Channel Islands Measure – Explanatory Notes [Monday]
GS 2153 – The Clergy Covenant for Wellbeing Act of Synod 2020 [Monday]
GS 2154 – Deanery Synod Term Limits [Tuesday]
GS 2155 – Church Representation Rules (Amendment) Resolution 2020 [Tuesday]
GS 2155X/2164-67X – Election Rules Explanatory Notes [Tuesday]
GS 2156A and GS 2156B – Private Members’ Motion: Windrush Commitment and Legacy [Tuesday]
GS 2157 – 56th Report of the Standing Orders Committee [Tuesday]
GS 2158 – Safeguarding: Response to Recommendations in IICSA May 2019 Investigation Report [Wednesday]
GS 2159 – Climate Emergency and Carbon Reduction Target [Wednesday]
GS 2160A and GS 2160B – Private Members’ Motions: End to Paupers’ Funerals [Wednesday]
GS 2161 – Children and Youth Ministry [Wednesday]
GS 2162 – General Synod Elections 2020: Allocation of Seats [Wednesday]
GS 2163A and GS 2163B – Private Members’ Motions – Legal Aid Reform [Thursday]
Deemed Business
GS 2164 – House of Laity Election Rules 2020
GS 2165 – Clergy Election Rules 2020
GS 2166 – Convocations (Elections to Upper Hosue) Rules 2020
GS 2167 – Single Transferable Vote Rules 2020
GS 2168 – Care of Cathedrals (Amendment) Rules
GS 2169A – Draft Scheme Amending the Diocese in Europe Constitution
GS 2169X – Explanatory Notes for the Draft Scheme Amending the Diocese in Europe Constitution
Contingency Business
GS 2170A and GS 2170B – Contingency business – Diocesan Synod Motion – The Wealth Gap
Other papers
GS Misc 1235 – Living in Love and Faith and the Pastoral Advisory Group
GS Misc 1236 – List of Speakers, July 2019
GS Misc 1237 – Table of Legislative and Non-legislative Business Transacted
GS Misc 1238 – Summary of Decisions by the House of Bishops and Delegated Committees
GS Misc 1239 – Report on the Archbishops’ Council’s Activities
GS Misc 1240 – The Church of England’s Ecumenical Relationships: Annual Report 2019
GS Misc 1241 – The Report of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Commission on the Relationship of the Channel Islands to the Wider Church of England
GS Misc 1242 – Dioceses Commission Annual Report 2019
GS Misc 1243 – The 47th Report of the Central Stipends Authority
GS Misc 1244 – Feedback from the July 2019 Group of Sessions
GS Misc 1245 – Recent Appointments
GS Misc 1246 – The Church of England Covenant for the Care and Well-being of Clergy – A Document for Reflection and Action
GS Misc 1247 – General Synod Elections 2020 – Notes for the Guidance of Diocese
GS Misc 1248 – Expected Guidance to be produced to support the draft Measure and the non-legislative recommendations of the CWG Report
First Notice Paper – 56th Report of the Standing Orders
Second Notice Paper – Deadlines
Third Notice Paper – Security
Fourth Notice Paper – Progress of Legislation
Fifth Notice Paper – Erratum
Sixth Notice Paper – Financial Statement
Seventh Notice Paper – General Information
Eighth Notice Paper – Motions and Amendments
Ninth Notice Paper – Errata
Tenth Notice Paper – Questions Errata
“Tuesday 11th February: 2.30 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. LIVING IN LOVE AND FAITH AND THE PASTORAL ADVISORY GROUP 7 Presentation under SO 107. Note: The Business Committee has determined under SO 107(3) that this presentation should include an opportunity for questions.” If any of you reading are members of General Synod I should be grateful if one of you would be kind enough to ask the following question: Given the importance of the Living in Love and Faith initiative to so many people, will drafts of the proposed teaching documents be made available to the wider Anglican membership, prior to… Read more »
The Implementation and Dialogue Group’s (commissioned almost 2 years ago now!!) promised report to GS has not materalised. Instead, the House of Bishops, at their Dec 19 meeting, asked to see a further update of the group’s work in May 20. In the meantime, there is to be ‘fringe meeting’ at GS to ‘engage’ with GS members, but presumably with discussions which then need not be minuted or published. For something the Independent Reviewer and the Archbishops felt to be important, this is taking far too long. The reviewer recommended the formation of “a group with balanced membership to review… Read more »
The report was delayed by illness, not by long grass. This delay meant that, for instance, they hadn’t managed to meet with us in London until just before Christmas. There is some final write-up to be done, and some cross-checking of their conclusions with Dioceses they have had dialogue with. There are examples of good practice that need to be refined and put into good shape for publication. No harm in delaying in order to get a better outcome. Regrettable but necessary delay.
‘No harm in delaying in order to get a better outcome’ doesn’t however seem to apply to the Living in Love and Faith report which apparently has to be out by Lambeth?
I tabled the following Private Member’s Motion (PMM) in March 2017 (the day before the Archbishops referred to the Independent Reviewer, then Sir Philip Mawer, the issues arising from the nomination of Philip North to the see of Sheffield): “That this Synod: (a) share the sadness and regret of the Rt Revd Philip North in his decision, announced on 9 March 2017, to withdraw acceptance of his nomination to the See of Sheffield; (b) note the substantial support for Bishop North’s nomination from many women and men, lay and ordained, in the dioceses of both Sheffield and Blackburn, and in… Read more »
Regrettably, as the result of an oversight, the following Private Member’s Motion (PMM) on Eucharistic Presidency, which I tabled in February 2019 and which, so far, has attracted 55 supporting signatures, has been omitted from ‘Special Agenda III – Private Members Motions’ in the February 2020 Agenda (GS 2150): “That this Synod, having regard in particular to: (a) changes in thinking on the role of the laity in leadership in the Church over the past 25 years, and (b) the lack of any Scriptural basis for the Church’s current practice restricting the administration of the sacrament at Holy Communion to… Read more »
David, I very much agree with your motion on so many grounds. Theologically it is right but at a practical level it would also really benefit overstretched parishes.
GS 2149A is a carefully constructed Diocesan Synod paper, highlighting the way church attendance in deprived areas has often fallen at a faster rate than in more affluent areas, and points to a ‘wealth gap’ in the Church of England, and a failure to prioritise the poor and marginal. This has relevance to funding models and priorities in the Church. For example, arguments have been made for channelling funds to already successful church models with buoyant attendance, or trying to replicate those models. On the face of it, there’s some logic to that. However, if funding is streamed to churches… Read more »
While I fully appreciate the point of GS 2160B, that there are already groups working on affordable funerals and support for the bereaved, I’m grateful that ‘paupers’ funerals’ will be on the GS agenda. I feel sure that suitably trained people would be very happy to offer to help.