The outline of business for the July 2024 meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod was issued today. It is copied below.
GENERAL SYNOD: JULY 2024 OUTLINE OF BUSINESS
Full details of each item will be on the agenda
Friday 5 July
House of Laity to meet 12.15 pm -1.30 pm
2.30 pm – 7.00 pm
Opening worship
Introductions
Presidential Address
Address from Archbishop of Finland and presentation by Finnish confirmands
Business Committee Report
Report from the Wisdom of Trust Working Group
*5.45 pm Questions
Saturday 6 July
8.45 am – 12.45 pm
Opening worship
Special Agenda I: Legislative Business Church Funds Investment – Revision Stage
Special Agenda I: Legislative Business Chancel Repair Liability – Revision Stage
Standing Orders Committee report
Archbishops’ Council Budget 2025 and Apportionment
Questions
2.00 pm – 7.00 pm
Special Agenda I: Legislative Business Clergy Conduct Measure – Revision Stage
Sports and Wellbeing Ministry
Living in Love and Faith: presentation with questions
Sunday 7 July
2.30 pm – 6.00 pm
Special Agenda IV: Diocesan Synod Motions Human Dignity of Disabled Children: Liverpool
Special Agenda I: Legislative Business National Church Governance Measure – First consideration
Special Agenda III: Private Members’ Motions Inquiry into allegations of abuse within the Soul Survivor Network
8.15 pm – 9.45 pm
Archbishops’ Council and Church Commissioners’ Annual Report
Monday 8 July
8.45 am – 12.45 pm
Opening Worship
Update on Safeguarding Independence
Special Agenda IV: Diocesan Synod Motions Foodbanks and Inadequacies in Social Security: Sheffield
2.00 pm – 7.00 pm
Living in Love and Faith
8.30 pm – 10.00 pm
Reserved for deemed items and contingency business
Tuesday 9 July
8.45 am – 1.45 pm
Opening Worship
Special Agenda I: Legislative Business Abuse (Redress) Measure – Revision Stage
Special Agenda I: Legislative Business Chancel Repair Liability Final Approval
Special Agenda I: Legislative Business Church Funds Investment Final Approval
Special Agenda IV: Diocesan Synod Motions Day of Prayer and Action for the Persecuted Church: London
*12.35pm Hearing and Responding to the Voices of Young People
*1.35pm Farewells
*1.45pm Prorogation
Deemed business
Legal Officers (Annual Fees) Order 2024
Ecclesiastical Judges, Legal Officers and Others (Fees) Order 2024
Learning & Development Framework (Safeguarding)
AC Audit Annual Report
* not later than
Contingency Business
Rest Periods for Office Holders (Winchester)
Please note that all timings are indicative unless marked with an asterisk
Deadline for receipt of questions: 1200 hrs Tuesday 25 June 2024
In the meantime Genocide is happening in Gaza. Children, just like your children, are dying in agony from deliberately imposed malnutrition, have their limbs blown off, see their parents murdered and suffer mental anguish that will last their lifetimes.
But the Church of England thinks “Sports and Wellbeing Ministry” is more important.
What would Jesus do ?
Part of me thinks that discussing Sports and Wellbeing Ministry is more important as it is something that the Church can actively do something about, rather than a handwringing motion agreeing that what is going on in Gaza is bad, but which, at the end of the day, will have no practical consequences. I am somewhat reminded of my time as a student when the the National Union of Students would spend large amounts of agenda time discussing the international issue du jour, but little about (for example) student accommodation costs rising faster than loan amounts. Many delegates would give… Read more »
This is a bit unfair. Synod will spend hours discussing the lives of gay people, and also investigate those handsome young men who received an oily massage at Soul Survivor Church. Millions of people choose to play Sport on Sunday rather than attend the CofE. Such people will be overjoyed at the presence of evangelical people turning up to talk about Jesus in the changing room. Many of us are overjoyed not to be members of General Synod. It must be very soul destroying to spend hours – nay years – discussing subjects no one else gives two hoots about.
A) There is no genocide in Gaza: the children of the holocaust are protecting the only liberal democratic State in the region that most of us would be comfortable living in, under the rule of law, from a determined terrorist organisation that makes no secret of its malevolent intent towards our Jewish brothers and sisters. Hamas deliberately hid itself amongst a civilian population which it is content to use as human shields to manipulate public opinion in its favour. We must not reward them for choosing the inevitable consequences of essential defensive urban conflict. B) Nobody cares what the General… Read more »
Jesus said ” Love your enemies, pray for your persecuters” I wonder how the deaths of nearly 40,OOO innocent Palestinian civilians fits in with the Israeli response about which you think Jesus would not be ashamed .
As a matter of historical fact Israel has never been a liberal democracy because 85 percent of the indigenous population were ethnically cleansed in 1948. Without Ethnic Cleansing Israel would not exist as a Jewish State. Let me put it this way. If Britain had expelled 85 percent of British Jews in 1948 would you call Britain a “liberal democracy” ? Of course not ! No state is a “liberal democracy” if it unjustly expels part of it’s population. Of course you can argue that the Church of England should not involve itself with international politics but in which case… Read more »
Yes, the ganging up on Israel is a sign of our times, but we must remember that the World’s Oldest Hatred isn’t going to go away, it will just metamorphose into another ‘reason’. In reality it’s all about politics and who gets the Muslim vote, whether in England or Michigan.
We do know that Christians haven’t emigrated from Israel because of persecution but they have left the Palestinian territories in droves. You can preach the gospel anywhere you like in Israel but you can’t in Gaza. Why is that? These are the real questions that are being evaded.
What nonsense!https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/13/christians-are-in-danger-under-israeli-government-says-holy-land-patriarch&ved=2ahUKEwjwu_ejno2GAxX4X0EAHQ2pCgQQFnoECB4QAQ&usg=AOvVaw0dnbhUsccIU1zdnJ8R2VHE
Yes, that was nonsense that you posted. There are thousands of Christians throughout Israel, including Messianic Jews, and they worship and witness in freedom. I know some of them personally. I am not surprised that Palestinian Christians have left, many for Sydney. Hamas made Gaza a terrifying place to live – as you probably know.
Genuine question, why do all high profile people from Christian backgrounds from the region (Nassim Taleb, Layla Moran to name just two) condemn Israel’s response to October 7?
And since when has Hamas become the same as the civilian population of Palestine who can then be reduced to ‘unfortunate’ collateral damage if they don’t actually happen to be fighters ?
Chritians are free to worship and share their faith in Israel. I know this for a fact. Christians are not free to do so in Gaza, and homosexuals are in mortal danger there.They are not in Danger in Israel.
Hamas is a terrorist organisation. That doesn’t mean Netanyahu will not be arrested when the war is over. You say homosexuals are in danger in Gaza. So too were the thousands of innocent women and children already killed by the IDF. Muslims are human too.
Here is an interview transcript with Dr. David Neuhaus who actually does live there. Neuhaus is Jewish, a convert to Christianity from Judaism, a biblical scholar, born in South Africa and now an Israeli Citizen. (see bio).His views are pained and nuanced–one of the better experientially informed reflections on this situation I’ve read so far. I disagree with your view that ” no body cares” what General Synods may say on this issue. Over here, I’ve had people asking me, why is the church so quiet on this crisis? The challenge is to say something (a) informed and (b) peace… Read more »
Thank you for this transcript, in which Dr David Neuhaus writes, “A poll released in December by the Palestinian Center for Policy Survey and Research found that 72 per cent of Palestinians supported Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel.” Five months on is that figure likely to be higher or lower? Given that the classic tactic of terrorists is to provoke their target into a disproportionate response – and given too that you cannot bomb an idea – 72% support for Hamas is almost certainly an understatement today. As US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, warned (also in December), “The… Read more »
I think it is important to hear voices like that of David Neuhaus who has a direct experiential and analytical knowledge base of the situation. He is a resident, a political scientist, and a theologian. In my opinion the policy toward the middle east on the part of western democracies, led by the U.S., is based on the calculations of strategic realpolitik–not human rights or peace making. In fact, that is true in a number of situations. As for the churches, can religious insights be used for peace making? Note the final paragraph of the Neuhaus interview: (underlining mine). “Troublingly,… Read more »
“I think it is important to hear voices like that of David Neuhaus who has a direct experiential and analytical knowledge base of the situation.” Amen and Amen! Alas, this conflict has joined with our UK culture wars with predictable results. This may be why our bishops are wary of initiating debate on a subject which in the current febrile climate is likely to degenerate into partisanship. How can one maintain disinterest while bombs are raining down – indeed, why would you? The time for informed and non-partisan discussion will come – please God! And when it does I pray… Read more »
Good take on things. Thanks. What I like about the Neuhaus piece is that he is well positioned to provide context, existential but also social, political, religious and particularly historical. An antidote to media snapshots. I agree with your final paragraph about attending to our respective texts. This paragraph also ties in with your earlier observation about partisanship and regional culture wars. In fact, getting some Christian voices on the right to accept that there is such a thing as the three Abrahamic faiths would be a hopeful achievement. Besides Christian supersessionism, one is aware of ‘debates’ between particular Christian… Read more »
Is there a reason why there have been no updates or minutes from the House of Bishops since 19 January. Have they ceased issuing even the bland corporate speak summary, having agreed to be more transparent?
Well, to be fair, Michael H, we do have some brief notes from the March HoB meeting on https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2024-04/hb24sad2.pdf, but they are hardly telling us anything new.
Will General Synod still be meeting when every church has closed and every vicar laid off because the Dioceses have run out of money? Another missed opportunity to ask whether we might do something useful with the £2bn the Church Commissioners have made in the last 10 years (after inflation) that actually supports parish ministry.
If “ANGLICAN leaders have repeated their appeals for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, as international attention stayed fixed on Israel’s military presence in Rafah.” and
“On Tuesday evening, the Archbishop of Canterbury appealed to the Israeli government to “consider the likely atrocious human cost of an incursion into Rafah”.” (see: Archbishop pleads with Israel to consider ‘atrocious human cost’ of incursion (churchtimes.co.uk)
then surely the war in Gaza is a proper subject for General Synod to debate.
The Word of God via the prophet Joel:
Joel 3:1-2 (RSV) 1 “For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehosh’aphat, and I will enter into judgment with them there, on account of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations, and have divided up my land,“