General Synod Questions
Updated Friday
The Questions (and answers) for this weekend’s meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod were sent to Synod members today. They can be found online here: Questions NP1.
The Business Committee has scheduled two hours for Questions at the July 2023 Group of Sessions of the General Synod. This is divided between 75 minutes on Friday 7 July and 60 minutes on Saturday 8 July.
Update
The answers to several questions referred to supplementary information on the noticeboard. This is now available online: Questions NP1 (Annex).
21 CommentsAppointment of Bishop of Winchester
Press release from the Prime Minister’s Office
There is more on the Winchester and Truro diocesan websites.
Appointment of Bishop of Winchester: 6 July 2023
The King has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Truro, for election as Bishop of Winchester.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 6 July 2023
The King has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Truro, for election as Bishop of Winchester, in succession to The Right Reverend Dr Timothy Dakin, following his retirement.
Philip was educated at Southampton University and Magdalen College, Oxford, before training for ministry at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He served his title at St James’, Gerrards Cross and St James’, Fulmer, in the Diocese of Oxford, and was ordained priest in 1989.
In 1992, Philip was appointed Vicar of St James’, West Streatham, in the Diocese of Southwark. Between 1998 and 2006, Philip worked for the Church Pastoral Aid Society during which time he held several roles. From 2007, he served as Chaplain of St Michael’s, Paris, in the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe and, in 2012, he was appointed Chief Executive of the Church Mission Society.
In 2019, Philip took up his current role as Bishop of Truro. He is married to Ruth, a former strategic planner, and they have one adult daughter.
29 CommentsLeaders say only Canon B2 should be used for same-sex blessings
The Church Times reported yesterday that Church organisations urge Bishops not to commend blessings for same-sex couples.
As the story goes on to explain,
…A note at the foot of the letter, which has been sent to every bishop in the C of E, states that “all signatories are leaders of networks/organisations, but are signing in their personal capacities, recognising they cannot claim to speak for everyone that they lead.”
The full text of the letter, including the list of signatories, can be found here.
91 CommentsOpinion – 5 July 2023
David Bagnall ViaMedia.News Let’s Disagree to Agree: Rwanda and Homosexuality
Colin Coward Unadulterated Love How to be a Christian re-imaginer in an era of crisis
11 CommentsISB controversy episode 7
Continuing from episode 6….
1. Ben Bradshaw asked the Second Church Estates Commissioner a question about the ISB in the House of Commons.
2. Francis Martin has interviewed Bishop Joanne Grenfell in the Church Times: Bishop of Stepney: ‘My fury when safeguarding is done badly’
3. There is an update from Gavin Drake which you can read here: When is a report not a report? He writes:
Yesterday, I tabled a “further motion”, or “following motion” to be debated at the General Synod this weekend, about the Archbishops’ Council’s decision to get rid of its Independent Safeguarding Board. The motion – which is available here with a full background briefing – was ruled “out of order” on the basis that the presentation on developments at the ISB, which will take place on Sunday afternoon (9 July) is a “free standing” presentation which isn’t linked to a report. Well, what on earth is GS Misc 1341, a report by the Secretary General of the Archbishops’ Council, Mr William Nye, on recent developments with the ISB, if it isn’t a report?
I’m not easily beaten. And so I’ve amended the motion with a preamble which links it directly with the Annual Report of the Archbishops’ Council. This motion has been tabled and, like yesterday’s motion, has been supported by other Synod members.
I have heard that this one has been accepted as being in order – so Synod members will be able to debate the Archbishops’ Council’s handling of the ISB after all. The new motion is below. I will draft an amended version of the background paper as soon as possible…
The text of the new motion is available on Gavin’s website page. A more easily readable version is available here:Following-Motion-Archbishops-Council-Report (PDF).
4. The Independent Safeguarding Board has issued a final document: Recent Developments: ISB Response to GS Misc 1341.It begins
This paper is provided in response to GS Misc 1341, which was written by the Secretary General of the Archbishops’ Council, dated June 2023. The paper being presented to General Synod does not reflect the full picture and we provide this document to further inform General Synod members…
And the covering tweet from Steve Reeves says:
As @Jas_Sanghera_KN and I leave our formal roles on the ISB, we wanted to thank those who have engaged with us. We also wanted to demonstrate our commitment to transparency and honesty, by sharing additional context in light of recent Synod briefings.
5. Gavin Drake has now published his revised briefing paper.
6. Rosie Dawson at Religion Media Centre has written Archbishops’ Council blocked safeguarding governance review.
7. Anglican Futures has published When the Church fails – should the Government intervene?
8. Eastern Eye has published Exclusive: Church of England victimises whistle blowers.
ISB controversy episode 6
Earlier posts in this series were listed at the head of episode 3, then episode 4 follows, and the most recent past episode 5 is here.
1. ViaMedia.News has this morning published an article by Martyn Percy: The Foundations for Ecclesial Instability: the Rock on the Sands.
2. The Archbishops’ Council has issued invitations to abuse survivors and organisations of survivors to meet online this week with council members. Details are here (PDF format). Some survivors have objected to these meetings on various grounds. See for example this tweet. (alt version in Comments).
3. I discovered that my earlier link to GS Misc 1341 was broken. I have repaired it, but here it is again:
GS Misc 1341 Independent Safeguarding Board: recent developments. This is the official Archbishops’ Council explanation for recent events. The link inside this paper to GS 2215 also appears to be broken at present, so here is a local copy: GS 2215 Safeguarding June 2021. But perhaps more useful now is the original unnumbered paper released on 25 February 2021, written by Malcolm Brown, Independent Safeguarding Structures for the Church of England Proposed Interim Arrangements – 2021 (Phase 1). I would strongly recommend that all General Synod members review this paper before the weekend. Also of interest is the earlier 15 December 2020 press release.
4. Gavin Drake has tabled a following motion for General Synod to consider. The wording of the motion is:
This Synod —
- is dismayed by the recent decision of the Archbishops’ Council to disband the Independent Safeguarding Board and terminate the contracts of its members;
- notes that a Serious Incident Report has been made to the Charity Commission in respect of this governance decision;
- recognises and laments that any working relationship between many survivors and victims with the Archbishops’ Council has been broken;
- in consequence, calls upon the Archbishops’ Council, working with its Audit Committee, to commission an independent inquiry led by a senior lawyer (judge or King’s Counsel) into the safeguarding bodies, functions, policies and practice in and of the Church of England, to report within a maximum period of 12 months, and
- requires that the report of that Inquiry be fully debated by the Synod to enable it to make decisions about future safeguarding in the Church of England.
He has also written a background briefing paper which needs to be read in full by every General Synod member (9 pages).
5. The Church Times has published a report on Gavin Drake’s motion, see Hattie Williams Synod motion seeks debate on ISB affair and inquiry by a senior lawyer.
6. Rosie Dawson has written for The Living Church Synod Members Expect Heated Discussion of Safeguarding.
7. Religion Media Centre has published this by Tim Wyatt: Timeline: how the CofE has tried to stop sex abusers
Elliot Review Redux
Readers with long memories may perhaps recall an article from 2020 on Surviving Church by Gilo titled Thoughts on the Elliott Review ‘translation’ by Archbishops Council.
It has taken another three years to begin to get at the truth concerning this. The letter linked below has recently been sent to both archbishops.
Opinion – 1 July 2023
Tim Chesterton Inclusive Evangelicals From Rejection to Affirmation: My Personal Journey
Archdruid Eileen The Beaker Folk of Husborne Crawley “A Recipe for Red Tape” – the New Church of England Dioceses
39 CommentsGeneral Synod – previews of business
Updated Saturday, Monday and Wednesday
Both the Church Times and Law & Religion UK have been looking at items on the agenda for the forthcoming meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod.
Church Times
- Disinvestment, blessings and safeguarding on Synod agenda for July
- New Clergy Conduct Measure to get its first airing in Synod
- Faculty restrictions could be eased to help churches cut carbon
- General Synod to consider rule change for ‘contested heritage’ memorials
- Blessings: July Synod will see new prayers, but must wait for main debate in November
- Instead of closure, churches might be allowed to ‘lie fallow’
- Three opportunities to discuss climate change at General Synod
Law & Religion UK
Updates
Colin Coward
Law & Religion UK
The Telegraph
- Churches could be rented out or left ‘fallow’ as congregations dwindle
- Church considers defrocking bishops and priests guilty of abuse
Church Times
15 CommentsISB controversy episode 5
Updated again Saturday morning
Previous episode here.
1. BBC Hardtalk has broadcast an interview with the Bishop of Dover, Rose Hudson-Wilkin. This covers many other topics, but one small segment deals with safeguarding in general and the ISB in particular. You can find that starting at 12.30. Bishop Rose said she disagreed with both the Bishop of Birkenhead, Julie Conalty, and with Andrew Graystone, on this topic. Transcript now available.
2. The English Churchman has published this article: The End is Nye?
3. The National Secular Society has published NSS urges Charity Commission to investigate CofE safeguarding
4. Via Media.News has published: Archbishops’ Council: Reset Required by Gilo
5. The Church Times has several relevant items, first of all four relevant Letters to the Editor, under the heading Disbanding of the Independent Safeguarding Board. They are from: nine survivors, another survivor who had an ISB case review pending, David Lamming, and Vasantha Gnanadoss.
6. Church Times: Angela Tilby: Archbishops’ Council is too powerful
7. Church Times: Opinion: Radical changes need the General Synod’s scrutiny
8. Civil Society Charity Commission mulls intervention at Archbishops’ Council
…The Commission said the charity reported itself to the regulator and it is considering its response.
A spokesperson for the regulator said: “In line with our guidance, the Archbishops’ Council has reported a serious incident in relation to these matters. We will engage with the trustees to determine whether a regulatory response is required”.
A Church of England spokesperson said: “The Archbishops’ Council has already submitted a Serious Incident Report to the Charity Commission in relation to the independent safeguarding board, in line with the reporting criteria of the Charity Commission…
9. There is a change.org petition Safeguard victims in the Church of England – ask the Charity Commission to intervene now!
56 Comments
Opinion – 28 June 2023
Martine Oborne ViaMedia.News Thirty Years of Women Priests in the Church of England and Still Two Thirds of Paid Posts Are Held by Men
Mike Higton kai euthus Disagreement, Conscience, and Harm
Charlie Bell ViaMedia.News Trust and Transparency – it’s Time for Change
64 CommentsAppointment of Dean of Carlisle
Press release from the Prime Minister’s Office
There is more information on the Carlisle diocesan website.
Appointment of Dean of Carlisle: 28 June 2023
The King has approved that The Reverend Jonathan Brewster be appointed as Dean of Carlisle.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 28 June 2023
The King has approved the nomination of The Reverend Jonathan Brewster, Interim Mission Community Leader, Cartmel Peninsula, in the Diocese of Carlisle, for appointment as Dean of Carlisle, in succession to The Very Reverend Mark Boyling following his retirement.
Jonathan was educated at University College, Buckinghamshire and King’s College, London, and trained for ministry at Trinity College, Bristol. He served his title at St John’s, Great Horton, in the Diocese of Bradford (now in the Diocese of Leeds) and was ordained priest in 1995.
In 1998, Jonathan was appointed Chaplain at Westminster University, in the Diocese of London. From 2003, he served as Vicar at Christ Church with St John and St Saviour, Highbury and, from 2014, additionally as Area Dean of Islington. In 2017 he was appointed Canon Treasurer at St Paul’s Cathedral.
Jonathan was appointed to his current role as Interim Mission Community Leader, Cartmel Peninsula, in the Diocese of Carlisle, in 2021.
5 CommentsISB controversy episode 4: Dispute Notice
Latest Update Wednesday afternoon
1.Briefing Note: Dispute Notice – Key Points
This briefing outlines the key points of the Dispute Notice issued by Jasvinder Sanghera CBE and Steve Reeves MBE on 24th May 2023.
Update: The full text of the PDF is copied below the fold.
2. Today, Monday, on BBC Radio 4 WATO, there was an interview with Jasvinder Sanghera, which you can listen to over here, starting at 33.45, in which she refutes the claims made in earlier radio interviews by Alison Coulter and Stephen Cottrell. Transcript now available here.
3. A notice was posted on the website of the ISB: Statement from Independent Safeguarding Board
You will be aware of the announcement from the Archbishops’ Council regarding the Independent Safeguarding Board.
We will continue to honour any reviews or complaints that are underway or are due to start. We will be in contact as soon as possible with survivors and complainants and reviewers to ensure these are completed.
The ISB is working with the Archbishops’ Council to put in place alternative arrangements to handle complaints while work is undertaken to develop an independent oversight body for safeguarding. Once the detail is in place an announcement will be made.
4. Surviving Church has published an article: Was the Independent Safeguarding Board ever Independent? The Archbishops Set Out Their Position to a Complainant
5. Premier Christianity has published an interview with Jasvinder Sanghera: ‘The Church of England is not survivor focused when it comes to safeguarding’
6. Church Times news article by Francis Martin: Row over Independent Safeguarding Board continues
This covers much of the same information as the items above, but with some important additional details.
ISB controversy episode 3
Episode 1 was this: Archbishops’ Council terminates contracts of ISB members
Episode 2 is here: ISB controversy continues
Today, the BBC Radio 4 programme Sunday carried a segment in which three people were interviewed by William Crawley: Jane Chevous from Survivors Voices, Jasvinder Sanghera one of the sacked ISB members, and the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell.
The BBC programme is here: go to 31 minutes, 45 seconds for the start of this item. A transcript of the interview is available here.
Professor Nicholas Adams wrote a very detailed analysis of this interview on his Facebook page, and has kindly allowed me to reproduce his comments, which are here in a PDF, include suggestions for what the archbishop might more helpfully have said. Do read it all.
Earlier last week, Justin Humphreys, of the safeguarding consultancy thirtyone:eight wrote about the Archbishops’ Council’s action in this article: Why true independence matters when it comes to safeguarding. Here is a part of it
The sad news of the departure of the members of the Church of England Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB), who have persistently pursued their mandate to provide independent oversight and support the work of the Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team, is a significant setback in the progress made. It also highlights serious flaws in the way the Independent Safeguarding Board is structured in that it reports into the same body, the Archbishops Council, who oversee the day-to-day national and regional safeguarding operations that the Board has been set up to scrutinise. If a body is to exercise true independence, it must be fully independent and free from the structures and influences that it is created to oversee.
Justin Humphreys, Chief Executive at Thirtyone:eight comments, ‘While the Church of England considers its next steps, the instinct to quickly rush to “reset” the existing model should be resisted. Time should be taken to properly learn the lessons of what went wrong and why, and with the help of appropriate external expertise they must give time to understand what is needed to ensure a true and fully independent review of its safeguarding operations. This process should include victims, survivors and those with lived experience. To simply recreate what was, would be a travesty and would almost certainly be doomed to the same outcome as the arrangements we have just seen collapse.’
Helen King has written: The Independent Safeguarding Board: a ‘reset’?
32 CommentsOpinion – 24 June 2023
Archdruid Eileen The Beaker Folk of Husborne Crawley Revised Church of England Ministerial Training Curriculum
Fergus Butler-Gallie New Statesman Why vicars are revolting
“Front-line clergy are turning against an increasingly managerial Church of England.”
Huw Spanner Church Times Clergy retirement: Insights into the Church’s silver service
“There are dioceses in which retired priests preside at as many as half the eucharists celebrated. Huw Spanner hears about being relied on”
Dean of Guildford to retire
The Very Reverend Dianna Gwilliams has announced that she will retire as Dean of Guildford at the end of her ten years of service in September 2023. She will have her last evensong on Sunday 17th September to mark her final day in the Diocese.
6 CommentsISB controversy continues
Updated yet again Tuesday afternoon
Two dismissed members of the now defunct Independent Safeguarding Board dispute the claims made by the Archbishops’ Council. See this report in the Church Times: Hundreds support us, say sacked members of Independent Safeguarding Board.
A synod paper published today, GS Misc 1341, is titled Independent Safeguarding Board: recent developments. I do recommend reading this document, which will be among those discussed at the General Synod on Sunday 9 July.
The BBC lunchtme radio news programme. The World At One, carried interviews with Bishop Julie Conalty, Deputy Lead Bishop for Safeguarding. and Alison Coulter, an elected lay member of the Archbishops’ Council.
A full transcript is available here (not yet checked for accuracy against recording). The BBC’s own audio recording is available here.
Other audio recordings (courtesy of Mandate Now) can be found here (Conalty) and here (Coulter).
See also
- Premier Christian News: ‘I don’t entirely trust the Church’ says deputy safeguarding bishop
- ITV News at Ten: Church of England sparks outrage after sacking its own panel looking into abuse and here is a transcript.
- Telegraph: Bishop ‘doesn’t entirely trust’ Church of England as it sacks own panel investigating abuse
- Premier Christian News: C of E hits back after claims its safeguarding is unsafe and not to be trusted
- Times Radio Cathy Newman with Times Radio Drive (from around 02:14:14) 23 June Transcript now available here.
earlier press coverage:
- Church Times: Independent Safeguarding Board disbanded and its members sacked as Church ‘resets’
- BBC: Church of England sacks independent abuse panel
General Synod papers published
The Church of England has published the papers for next month’s meeting of its General Synod, which meets in York from 7-11 July. I have linked to them all below the fold, but these three, in different ways, give an outline of the business.
Outline of Synod Business [This is not totally up-to-date.]
Agenda July 2023 (GS 2296)
Report from the Business Committee (GS 2297)
General Synod press release
The Church of England’s General Synod will meet for its July 2023 group of sessions between 7 and 11 July at the University of York. In anticipation the following press release was issued today.
Church Commissioners and Church of England Pensions Board announce fossil fuel disinvestment
The Church Commissioners and Church of England Pensions Board today each announced they will independently disinvest from fossil fuels this year, as the Church of England’s National Investing Bodies (NIBs) reported back to the General Synod on progress against a 2018 Synod motion, which set out a five-year strategy to invest in climate solutions, engage with high carbon emitting companies, and disinvest from fossil fuel companies not aligned with the Paris Agreement.
The report to Synod from the NIBs on their “Approach to Climate Change” presents the progress that has been made by the NIBs in response to the Synod motion, but notes that, while some companies have made significant progress, no fossil fuel company has passed the 2023 hurdles set by the NIBs. Today, the Church Commissioners for England and the Church of England Pensions Board each announced their intentions to disinvest accordingly.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said: “The climate crisis threatens the planet we live on, and people around the world who Jesus Christ calls us to love as our neighbours. It is our duty to protect God’s creation, and energy companies have a special responsibility to help us achieve the just transition to the low-carbon economy we need.”
“We have long urged companies to take climate change seriously, and specifically to align with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and pursue efforts to limit the rise in temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. In practical terms that means phasing out fossil fuels, investing in renewables, and plotting a credible path to a net-zero world. Some progress has been made, but not nearly enough. The Church will follow not just the science, but our faith – both of which call us to work for climate justice.”
The General Synod meets for its July 2023 group of sessions between 7 and 11 July at the University of York.
As well as a presentation from the NIBs, the July Synod agenda will include a motion on safeguarding redress following the publication of outline proposals for the Church’s national redress Scheme earlier in the week noting the importance of redress for survivors and victims and the allocated funding of £150 million from the Church Commissioners to be released once the key parameters of the Scheme are in place.
There will also be an update on the work of the Living in Love and Faith process following Synod’s vote in February. The proposals would not change the Church’s doctrine of marriage but would enable same-sex couples to come to church after a civil marriage or civil partnership for prayers of dedication, thanksgiving and for seeking God’s blessing on the two people.
The update includes refined texts of the proposed Prayers of Love and Faith (See GS 2303) and an outline of progress on developing new pastoral guidance and options for pastoral reassurance.
There will be consideration of recommendations from the National Church Governance Project Board, a review of the Mission and Pastoral Measure and a number of motions from Diocesan Synods.
Motions brought from Diocesan Synods will ask the General Synod to examine its response to the climate emergency (Oxford); discuss the contribution of faith to prisoner rehabilitation (Worcester) and look at fees payable to parishes for marriage services (Blackburn).
Legislative and formal business will include approval of options for churches to use electronic registers to record services, the new Clergy Conduct Measure, faculty jurisdiction (amendment) rules and a new Code of Practice on how to conduct Safeguarding Practice Reviews.
- Find details for the July 2023 group of General Synod sessions here.
3 Comments
Archbishops’ Council terminates contracts of ISB members
Statement from Archbishops’ Council on the Independent Safeguarding Board
21/06/2023
The Archbishops’ Council is committed to developing fully independent scrutiny of safeguarding within the Church of England, to ensure the Church is a safer place for all. This principle was agreed in the run-up to the publication of the report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) into the Anglican Church in England Wales in 2020.
It is therefore with regret that the Council has come to the reluctant conclusion that, despite extensive efforts over recent months, working relationships between two members of the Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB) and the Council have broken down.
The Board – made up of a chair, a Survivor Advocate and a third member – was set up by the Archbishops’ Council in 2021 as the first step towards a new system of independent scrutiny and the intention was always to move to a second phase.
It has been widely reported that there has been a dispute between two members of the ISB and the Council. Members of the Council and our experienced safeguarding professionals have been working constructively over recent months to put the ISB on a more sustainable footing.
Nevertheless, it has now become clear that that this is no longer viable with its current membership and that the dispute itself risks getting in the way of that urgent priority of moving to the next phase of establishing a new independent safeguarding body.
The Council has therefore agreed a reset. This will involve ending the contracts of two of the members of the Board, Jasvinder Sanghera and Steve Reeves, and of the acting Chair, Meg Munn.
The Council will be putting in place interim arrangements to continue the independent oversight of existing case reviews.
Those reviews will be carried out by independent experts qualified to conduct case reviews, just as at present, and they will be independently commissioned.
In the very immediate future, we have asked Meg Munn to provide business continuity for the remaining business of this phase of the ISB’s work. Case reviews will be overseen by one or more independent chairs of Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panels.
The Council will then move swiftly towards the second phase of independent scrutiny. We want to listen to all those with an interest, to learn the lessons of the work of the ISB in the last two years, and to find a way forward to establishing independent scrutiny on a firmer basis. We will engage with victims and survivors, with other independent voices, and with safeguarding professionals inside and outside the Church, to work with the Archbishops’ Council to design a permanent independent oversight structure.
The Council recognises that this news will be concerning and unsettling to victims, survivors and others. Members of the Council will be arranging an opportunity to meet with victims and survivors to hear concerns and discuss the situation.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said: “We bitterly regret that we have reached this point and the Archbishops’ Council has not reached this decision lightly. We know this is a serious setback and we do not shy away from that – we lament it.
“But it is clear that there is no prospect of resolving the disagreement and that it is getting in the way of the vital work of serving victims and survivors. So the Council has very reluctantly concluded that we need a reset so that we can move swiftly towards a new scrutiny body that is fully independent of the Church.
“And in the immediate term we want to reassure victims and survivors that the work of independent case reviews will not stop.
“We recognise that this dispute has damaged confidence. But we believe this is the only way to get independent oversight of safeguarding back on track and move forward as quickly as we can.
“We also recognise that there are lessons for the Archbishops’ Council to learn from this and it is essential that we do so for the future.
89 Comments