Report of Proceedings 2016 General Synod July Group of Sessions
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Report of Proceedings 2016 General Synod July Group of Sessions Volume 47, No. 2 Officers of the General Synod Presidents The Archbishop of Canterbury The Archbishop of York Prolocutors of the Lower Houses of the Convocations Canterbury York The Revd Canon Simon Butler The Ven Cherry Vann The House of Laity Chair Vice-Chair Canon Dr James Harrison Canon Elizabeth Paver Secretary General Mr William Nye LVO Clerk to the Synod Chief Legal Adviser and Registrar Dr Jacqui Philips Mr Stephen Slack Secretary to the House of Bishops Legislative Counsel Mr William Nye LVO Mr Christopher Packer Secretary to the House of Clergy Deputy Legal Adviser Mr Jonathan Neil-Smith The Revd Alexander McGregor Secretary to the House of Laity Mr Nicholas Hills Officers of the Convocations Synodical Secretary of the Convocation of Canterbury Revd Stephen Trott Registrar Mr Stephen Slack Synodal Secretary of the Convocation of York The Ven Alan Wolstencroft Registrar Ms Caroline Mockford Contents Full Synod: First Day (Friday 8 July) Introductions and Presentations 1 Welcome to Anglican and Ecumenical Guests 2 The EU Referendum 5 Presentation by the Archbishop of York on his Pilgrimage of Prayer 26 Report from the Anglican Consultative Council in Lusaka, April 2016 31 Report by the Business Committee (GS 2024) 35 Appointments to the Archbishops' Council 42 Church Commissioners’ Annual Report 44 Questions 47 Second Day (Saturday 9 July) Legislative Business: Draft Mission and Pastoral etc (Amendment) Measure 91 Draft Legislative Reform Measure 112 Draft Inspection of Churches Measure 122 Draft Amending Canon No. 36 129 A Vision and Narrative for Renewal and Reform 144 A Church of England Vision for Education: Report 159 Nurturing and Discerning Senior Leaders: Report 175 Archbishops' Council's Annual Report 187 The Archbishops' Council's Budget and Proposals for Apportionment for 2017 192 Prorogation 206 Full Synod: First Day Friday 8 July 2016 THE CHAIR The Archbishop of York (Most Revd & Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu) took the Chair at 2.30 pm. The Chair: Good afternoon, members of Synod. I would like to thank those who are leading the continuous praying presence for Synod today. The day will start with a short period of worship led by the Synod Chaplain, the Revd Michael Gisbourne, after which the first item of Synod business for today will begin. Revd Michael Gisbourne (Chaplain to the General Synod) led the Synod in an act of worship. Introductions The Chair: Thank you very much, Michael. We now come to Item 1. In a moment, I am going to read out the names of the new members of the Synod or those here in a new capacity. Please stand in your places when I mention your names and remain standing, so that we can greet them all with applause at the end. The new members are: The Rt Revd Martyn Snow, Bishop of Leicester; the Rt Revd Dr Michael Ipgrave, Bishop of Lichfield; the Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft as Bishop of Oxford; the Revd Dr Patrick Richmond replacing the Ven Jan McFarlane from Norwich, who was consecrated Bishop on the Feast of St Peter and St Paul. Are you the only one? We will greet you in the name of the Lord. The Bishop thinks he is responsible for Leicester winning the Football League. It is possible, it is quite possible. Presentations The Chair: Item 2, Synod, I can report that the Lower House of the Convocation of Canterbury and the Lower House of the Convocation of York have elected, respectively, their Pro-Prolocutors and their two Deputy Prolocutors. They are for Canterbury the Revd Prebendary Stephen Lynas and the Revd Jane Morris, who unfortunately is unable to be here due to illness, so we will remember her in our prayers; and for York, the Revd Canon Paul Ayers and the Revd Paul Benfield. Could I invite the Archbishop of Canterbury to join me on the platform to greet them? Could I also invite the Prolocutors of Canterbury and York to come to the platform to present, respectively, the Revd Prebendary Stephen Lynas, Pro-Prolocutor of Canterbury; and the Revd Canon Paul Ayres and the Revd Paul Benfield, Deputy Pro-Prolocutors. Revd Canon Simon Butler (Southwark): Your Grace, I have found someone in the Church of England with a sillier title than mine and so I present to you the Revd Prebendary Stephen Lynas, newly elected Pro-Prolocutor of the Convocation of Canterbury. The Archbishop of Canterbury (Most Revd & Rt Hon Dr Justin Welby): Oh, I thought you were looking at me because you were talking to him. 1 Introductions and Presentations Friday 8 July Revd Canon Simon Butler (Southwark): No. Newly elected Pro-Prolocutor of the Lower House. Ven Cherry Vann (Manchester): Archbishop, I present the Revd Canon Paul Ayers to you, newly elected Deputy Prolocutor of the Convocation of York. I also present the Revd Paul Benfield to you, newly elected Deputy Prolocutor of the Convocation of York. Welcome to Anglican and Ecumenical Guests The Chair: We now come to Item 3. We welcome our ecumenical representatives, in particular the following newly appointed ecumenical representatives. After naming them, I will invite them to stand together and then we will greet them both. Please remain seated until I invite you stand. The Very Revd Dr Angus Morrison representing the Church of Scotland and the Revd Dr Claire Potter representing the Methodist Church. May I invite them to stand so we can greet them both. In addition to our nine ecumenical representatives who are with us at each group of sessions, in July we always welcome some additional Anglican and ecumenical guests. Unlike the nine ecumenical representatives they attend on one occasion only and do not have speaking rights. I am going to ask them to stand and invite you to greet each one of them in turn when I have introduced them. On this occasion we welcome Mr Andreas H. Aarflot, adviser to the National Council Department of Church Order, Church of Norway. Remain standing while I say something about you. Mr Aarflot is a political scientist and adviser to the National Council of the Church of Norway with a particular focus on matters of Church order and canon law. He is a member of the governing body of the Conference of European Churches and also serves on the Executive Committee of the Church's Commission for Migrants in Europe. True? God bless you. Thank you very much. Dr Ritchie, Secretary General representing the Representative Church Body, Church of Ireland. Mr Ritchie is the new Secretary General and Chief Officer of the Representative Church Body of the Church of Ireland. A fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and an engineering graduate, he was formerly Executive Director of De Lage Landen Ireland. He is a non-executive Director of Concern Worldwide, having previously worked as an engineer for Concern in Cambodia and Rwanda where he helped to manage the construction of refugee reception centres. We congratulate you, thank you.Landesbischof Ralf Meister (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland) Co-Chair of the Meissen Commission, who will be giving the ecumenical address. Please stand and I will say something about you, Sir. Bishop Ralf Meister is the Landesbischof of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover, one of the largest Landeskirche of the Evangelical Church in Germany. Previously he served as the General Superintendent (regional bishop) in Berlin. He also has worked in the Department of Political Theology at the University of Hamburg and has been a longstanding contributor to religious broadcasting on German radio. Earlier this year he was appointed as the new Co-Chair of the Meissen Commission which 2 Welcome to Anglican and Ecumenical Guests Friday 8 July is responsible for implementing the commitments between the Church of England and the Evangelical Church in Germany under the Meissen Agreement. Of course, the other Co-Chair is the Bishop of Leeds. We greet you most warmly in the name of our Lord. I would now like to invite Landesbischof Ralf Meister to come on to the platform to deliver a greeting to the Synod on behalf of the ecumenical guests. Landesbischof Ralf Meister (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland): Your Graces, members of the Synod of the Church of England, dear brothers and sisters in Christ. It is a great honour to attend this General Synod of the Church of England and to convey to you today the cordial greetings of the Evangelical Church of Germany. I bring to you the greetings of the Council of the EKD, by the Chairman of the Council, Bishop Professor Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, the greetings of the Plenary Church Conference and the Presidium of the Synod, personally from the Chair of the Presidium, Mrs Schwätzer. When I give these greetings I do it as the Bishop of Hanover and there is (you know it better than me probably) a common bond between us because King George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1714 and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, which was the Kingdom of Hanover. Dear brothers and sisters, you come together in turbulent times. I am aware that the decision of the Brexit is a national democratic decision but, with due respect to that, it has an enormous impact on the international, especially the European, situation and for Germany as well. Please allow me to make short remarks about the new fragile European situation and our responsibility as Christians. First, I was irritated that the main reaction in Germany about the Brexit was a discussion about the financial and economic consequences of this Referendum. The European dream was, and is, a dream of humanity and justice and not a question of whether the stock market is placed in London or in Frankfurt or about the future of the single market.