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Report of Proceedings 2017 General Synod July Group of Sessions

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Report of Proceedings 2017 General Synod July Group of Sessions Volume 48, 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 & 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 Synodical Secretary of the Convocation of York The Ven. Alan Wolstencroft Registrar Ms Caroline Mockford Transcript from the Shorthand Notes of: W B GURNEY & SONS LLP 83 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0HW Telephone Number: 0203 585 4721/22 CONTENTS INTRODUCTIONS .......................................................................................................... 1 WELCOME TO ANGLICAN AND ECUMENICAL GUESTS ............................................ 1 REPORT BY THE BUSINESS COMMITTEE (GS 2060) ................................................ 4 DRAFT AMENDING CANON NO. 36 (GS 2029B) ........................................................ 14 DRAFT AMENDING CANON NO. 37 (GS 2029BB)...................................................... 14 AFTER THE GENERAL ELECTION, A STILL SMALL VOICE OF CALM ..................... 17 QUESTIONS ................................................................................................................. 52 PRESENTATION FROM THE HOUSE OF BISHOPS ON THE PROPOSALS FOR THE PASTORAL ADVISORY GROUP ON HUMAN SEXUALITY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHING DOCUMENT (GS Misc 1158) ............................................................ 104 PRESENCE & ENGAGEMENT: REPORT FROM THE ARCHBISHOPS’ COUNCIL’S MISSION AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL (GS 2063) ............................................ 116 DRAFT LEGISLATIVE REFORM MEASURE (GS 2027B) ......................................... 129 DRAFT STATUTE LAW (REPEALS) MEASURE (GS 2030B) .................................... 135 DRAFT PENSIONS (PRE-CONSOLIDATION) MEASURE (GS 2032B) ..................... 139 INTRODUCTORY SESSION ON FORMS OF NATIONAL SUPPORT FOR LOCAL CHURCHES ................................................................................................................ 142 PRESENCE & ENGAGEMENT: REPORT FROM THE ARCHBISHOPS’ COUNCIL’S MISSION AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL (GS 2063) continued ........................... 146 NATIONAL SUPPORT FOR LOCAL CHURCHES: REPORT FROM THE ARCHBISHOPS’ COUNCIL (GS 2069) ....................................................................... 150 CONVERSION THERAPY (GS 2010A AND GS 2070B) ............................................ 171 APPOINTMENT TO THE ARCHBISHOPS’ COUNCIL (GS 2061) .............................. 195 WELCOMING TRANSGENDER PEOPLE (GS 2071A AND GS 2071B) .................... 197 INTERIM REPORT ON THE REVIEW OF THE CROWN NOMINATIONS COMMISSION (GS MISC 1159) ................................................................................. 218 CLERGY WELLBEING: REPORT FROM THE HOUSE OF CLERGY (GS 2072) ..... 227 SCHOOLS ADMISSIONS CODE (GS 2073A AND GS 2073B) .................................. 246 COST OF APPLYING FOR CITIZENSHIP (GS 2074A AND GS 2074B) .................... 263 THE WORK OF THE ELECTIONS REVIEW GROUP: REPORT FROM THE BUSINESS COMMITTEE (GS 2075) .......................................................................... 274 PRESENTATION BY THE ELECTIONS REVIEW GROUP ........................................ 283 DRAFT AMENDING CANON NO. 36 (GS 2029B) ...................................................... 295 DRAFT AMENDING CANON NO. 37 (GS 2029BB).................................................... 295 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHURCH COMMISSIONERS ....................................... 307 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ARCHBISHOPS’ COUNCIL (GS 2058) ......................... 311 THE ARCHBISHOPS’ COUNCIL’S BUDGET (GS 2076) ............................................ 320 FAREWELLS .............................................................................................................. 336 PROROGATION ......................................................................................................... 341 Full Synod: First Day Friday 7 July 2017 THE CHAIR The Archbishop of York (Most Revd & Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu) took the Chair at 2.31 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, Revd Michael Gisbourne, after which the first item of Synod business for today will begin. We are in your hands. Revd Michael Gisbourne (Chaplain to the General Synod) led the Synod in an act of worship. ITEM 1 INTRODUCTIONS The Chair: We come to Item 1. Two Bishops will not be present at this group of sessions: the Rt Revd Dr Pete Wilcox, Bishop of Sheffield replacing the Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft; the Rt Revd Peter Eagles, Bishop of Sodor & Man replacing the Rt Revd Robert Paterson. Also, I want to announce that Revd Clinton Langston also will not be here from the Armed Forces, replacing now the new Bishop of Sodor & Man. 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, would they stand in their places when I mention their names and remain standing so that we can greet them all with applause at the end? The new members are: Revd Caroline Ralph, Bath & Wells, replacing the Ven. Andy Piggott; the Revd Canon Martyn Neale, Guildford, replacing the Revd Dr Philip Plyming; Mr Richard Jones, Salisbury, replacing Ms Christine Corteen; Ms Tracey Byrne, Southwell & Nottingham, replacing Canon Pam Bishop. May we please greet them all with applause? ITEM 2 WELCOME TO ANGLICAN AND ECUMENICAL GUESTS The Chair: On the Archbishop of Canterbury’s behalf and on my behalf and the rest of Synod, we welcome our new ecumenical representatives. We also welcome a new ecumenical representative, the Revd Dr Andrew Prasad, United Reformed Church. May I invite you to stand so that we can greet you? There are three ecumenical guests who are attending just for the group of sessions, including three Anglican ones. They will be seated on the floor of the hall to the left again. Please greet them in the same way. 1 In addition to our nine ecumenical representatives who are with us at each group of sessions, in July we always have some additional Anglican and ecumenical guests. Like the nine ecumenical representatives, they attend on one occasion only and do not have the right to speak. If you ever wanted to be in purdah, this is it. 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 the Rt Revd Dr Matti Repo, Bishop of Tampere of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland. The Revd Dr Matti Repo has been the Bishop of Tampere of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland since 2008. Previous appointments included serving as an Executive Secretary for Theology in the Church of Finland’s Department for International Relations, which involved responsibility for dialogue with other churches. During this time, he also served as the Lutheran CORE Secretary of the Porvoo Contact Group. A participant in domestic and international ecumenical dialogues with Anglican, Orthodox, Catholic, Methodists, Baptists and Pentecostal traditions, he has been a member of the Churches in Dialogue Commission of the Conference of European Churches and as an adviser to the Council of the Lutheran World Federation. We are going to greet him again, and I will say to him, kiitos paljon. The Rt Revd Dr Armes, Bishop of Edinburgh, Scottish Episcopal Church. Dr Armes has been the Bishop of Edinburgh in the Scottish Episcopal Church since 2012. Prior to this, he was Rector of St John the Evangelist Church, Princess Street, Edinburgh, and Dean of the Diocese of Edinburgh. Before moving to Edinburgh in 1998, he was Area Dean of Rossendale and priest-in-charge of Goodshawe and Crawshawbooth in the Diocese of Manchester. Again, may we greet him, please? Ralf Meister, Landesbischof from Hanover, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover. Ralf Meister is the Landesbischof of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover, which is one of the largest Landeskirchen of the Evangelical Church in Germany. Previously, he served as a General Superintendent of Regional Bishops in Berlin. He has also worked in the Department of Political Theology at the University of Hamburg and has been a longstanding contributor to religious broadcasting on German radio. He is the Co- Chair of the Meissen Commission, which is responsible for developing the commitment between the Church of England and the Evangelical Church in Germany under the Meissen Agreement. May we again, please, greet him? It is with great delight that I invite Bishop Matti Repo of the Church of Finland to deliver a greeting to the Synod on behalf of the ecumenical guests. Bishop Matti, you are expected to speak for ten minutes, but you are not going to be speaking later on so it is all right. The Bishop of Tampere (Rt Revd Dr Matti Repo (Evangelical Lutheran
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