General Synod Report: July 2015

The General Synod 2010 – 2015 is no more: the Synod that will go down in history for passing the legislation to open the episcopate to women.

We will not easily forget the roller coaster journey from the fall of one Measure to the passing and implementation of its successor.

But it is done and we already have women who are bishops amongst us and are delighted to have + Alison, Bishop of Hull, with us today and we will look forward to welcoming + Christine, as Bishop of Newcastle, at the end of November.

After so many years I pray that we really have come to a position where everyone in our can be encouraged and enabled to flourish: those who have longed to see women in all orders of ministry and those who struggle with this development. Let us pray that we will treat one another carefully in these early days, that we will continue to encourage one another and pray with and for one another.

So what actually happened over these days in York when the General Synod met for its summer session?

Well, there was a real ‘end of term’ atmosphere: finishing off and tidying up lots of bits of business and loose ends of legislation but there were also farewells and parties!

Synod welcomed ecumenical guests including Antje Jackelen, the Lutheran Archbishop of Uppsala and Primate of the Church of Sweden, who addressed synod.

• We AT LAST approved some simple alternative texts for parts of the Baptism liturgy.

• We gave final approval for the Safeguarding and the Clergy Discipline Measure.

• The process of Faculty Simplification was continued.

• We approved the Clergy Code of Conduct.

• We agreed that in certain circumstances children could be involved in the administration of Holy Communion.

• We endorsed the report from the World Council of Churches: ‘The Church: Towards a Common Vision’

• And a Private Members Motion on Senior Leadership enabled a frank discussion on the Faith and Order Commission Report.

• There was a presentation on the work of the Church Commissioners and

• a powerful presentation on the experience of minority ethnic Anglicans: still too often negative in our church today.

Most significantly, we spent the whole of the last day talking about the environment. Following Paula Gooder’s excellent presentation on the material (a real highlight of the Synod), we met for Bible study in small groups.

We agreed some far – reaching proposals to help the Church prepare for the Paris Summit on Climate change at the end of the year:

• Endorsing the World Banks’s call to end fossil fuel subsidies

• Looking at investment policy across the churches capital funds

• And encouraging leadership training within the churches on eco issues as well as endorsing the work of the “Shrinking the Footprint” campaign.

The debates were excellent: thoughtful and well-informed.

In our ‘farewells’ we said a formal goodbye to Bishop Michael Perham, former Bishop of , and to Jonathan Gledhill, the Bishop of Lichfield.

Worship at and with Synod was wonderful, as usual and special thanks go to St Michael Le Belfry for leading some excellent worship one evening and to for the marvellous Sunday morning service.

So, now we move forward into a new quinquennium: looking forward to the Inauguration of General Synod later in November.

This Synod too will shape the future of the Church of England through its Reform and Renewal programme:

• Hopefully enabling the development of the discipleship and ministry of many more people.

• Encouraging a wider variety of people to test their vocation to ordained ministry.

• Decisions will be made about releasing some of the Church Commissioners’ capital assets to support the current and future mission of the Church.

• Simplifying our structures and regulations to move on from those things that hold us back

• And proposals for identifying and training those with the potential for senior leadership.

That was the synod that was, now we look forward in hope and faith to the new future that God is leading us in to.