Here’s what the Church of England has just decided to do…
Redress for victims of child sexual abuse, army chaplaincy, reform of governance, clergy pay and pensions, leadership, festivals, sexuality and assisted suicide. All in five days’ work for those who govern the Church of England!
For the last 18 months I’ve been representing the clergy of Guildford Diocese at the Church of England General Synod. This is the Church’s parliament, where just over 400 representatives chew over issues around Church governance, politics and plans. We met over the weekend of 11–15 July in the relaxing and pastoral surroundings of the University of York campus. The session was sociable and the atmosphere cordial, which has not always been the case.
Redress for abuse victims
Synod approved the Abuse Redress Measure and Rules, first discussed five years ago. This provides for redress for victims of Church-based abuse and is a detailed and substantial measure, which was part of the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. After February’s Synod session, which was dominated by safeguarding and the Makin Review into the abuses of John Smyth, this felt like a concrete achievement in the Church’s mission to take safeguarding seriously, to listen to and provide for victims.
Special guests
It is always a privilege to hear from guests from around the Anglican Communion at Synod. We heard speeches from a Brigadier in the British Army (about the role that the Church might play if a war in Europe came about), the Archbishop of Hong Kong, a Bishop from The Episcopal Church, a Bishop from the Lutheran Church of Norway and, most profoundly and powerfully, the Archbishop in Jerusalem, Rt. Revd. Hosam Nouam. I heard him speak at greater length at a fringe meeting the night before. The news from Israel and Gaza is dire; as with all trouble spots, we do well to listen to our Christian brothers and sisters, who often stand in the middle, and Archbishop Hosam’s call to action was clear.
Armed forces chaplains will be able to minister in any local church
Chaplains to our armed forces work hard to provide spiritual support to people often working in very stressful situations. Many of these are from unchurched backgrounds.
Yet, even though armed forces chaplains are generally ordained Church of England clergy, currently they are not able to take services in local churches automatically. Clergy may only take services in churches where they hold a license. If a clergy person from outside the Diocese wants to speak at St Mary of Bethany, I need to seek permission from the Bishop to enable them to do this. However, for armed forces chaplains, they have to apply specially each time they want to get what’s called ‘permission to officiate’, which is bureaucratic and time-consuming, although it does have the advantage of ensuring that a visitor always connects with the diocese where they are serving.
General Synod passed a measure which will enable ordained armed forces chaplains to minister in any Church of England church without applying for separate permission to officiate. Although there was detailed scrutiny of the measure, it was not controversial, and gave us a chance to show our appreciation for this important ministry.
National Church governance will be simplified
Our own Bishop Andrew received final approval from General Synod for his measure to simplify national church governance. Currently there are seven governing bodies of the Church; this will be reduced to four, alongside a wide-ranging package which speaks to the Church’s stated aim to be ‘simpler, humbler and bolder’. This was a major piece of work which will make a difference to many churches on the ground, and will lead to more transparent and accountable decision-making.
Spending on clergy wellbeing
A set of comprehensive spending plans included the pledge of the Church Commissioners to increase clergy stipends and restore clergy pensions to pre-2011 levels. The failure of stipends to keep up with inflation has meant a real-terms pay cut for clergy at a time when it has become increasingly challenging to survive on a stipend alone. The commitments happened in part thanks to a petition organized in super-quick time by several committed clergy. Some 1,500 people joined their Facebook group early this year, rising as high as 2,500 just days later.
The Church Commissioners have seen a huge increase in the value of their endowment through very successful investing since 2011. They have decided to release a large sum of money to restore pensions to the level they would have been, had the changes not been made in 2011. (These changes were made in the light of the financial crisis, where less successful investments limited the Commissioners’ options.) They have released another sum to increase stipends to a new, single, standard level via the dioceses, levelling all of them up to this rather than averaging down.
As these arrangements were being discussed, it was clear that there is a lot of detailed work to do to ensure that there is fairness across the board. For example, recent clergy retirees have missed out on pensions they contributed to, and any correction will need to include them. The Commissioners have begun the detailed work needed to iron out all these problems. Stipendiary clergy should expect to see their stipends increase to the new standard level in April 2026 (provided their local diocesan bishop agrees) and their pensions should be corrected at the same time.
Questions around the bishops’ leadership
One of the more controversial debates was in response to a Private Member’s Motion urging a fully independent governance review of the House of Bishops, rather than the independently led one they have agreed to. Over the last few years, questions have emerged about the culture among the bishops, especially since the start of the Living in Love and Faith process. We were arguing over a fairly minor point: the review will be independently led rather than fully independent; those advocating for the latter will hope that the bishops were listening carefully to the debate.
New festivals
In a pilot for future work, two new festivals were approved for the Church of England: God the Creator and the 21 Martyrs of Libya. Creationtide has become an established part of the year in many churches, including St Mary of Bethany, each September. The first new festival will add some official liturgy to our celebrations of creation. The second will recognize a 21st-century atrocity where Coptic Christians in Libya were murdered by Islamists, enabling the Church of England to reach across our denominational divide. These straightforward changes pave the way for a more thorough revision of Common Worship, the Church of England’s official suite of liturgy, going forward.
Celebrating Church revitalization and Thy Kingdom Come
There were two encouraging presentations: firstly about the Church’s investment in growth and revitalisation, which has seen a large amount of money released to enable mission and ministry in places where the Church has faced particular challenges. We heard several stories of churches which have been turned around with the help of national Church of England funding, and there are several examples here in Guildford Diocese. This national funding is not just handed down; dioceses and parishes bid for it, so there is strong local accountability.
The second presentation celebrated ten years of Thy Kingdom Come, the season of prayer from Ascension Day to Pentecost, which has had a remarkable journey from small roots to a major worldwide movement with events in over 140 countries. Sadly there was no mention of the major role of our former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, whose support was instrumental in the creation and growth of the event.
Election rules for 2026
General Synod elections for clergy and laity take place in a year’s time, and Synod passed the rules necessary to make these work efficiently. Those elected will serve from autumn 2026 to summer 2031. All licensed clergy and lay members of deanery synods are eligible to vote.
Vocations and the replacement of Issues in Human Sexuality
On the final day of meeting, Synod debated a private member’s motion to remove Issues in Human Sexuality from the vocations process in the Church. When someone is exploring a call to ordained ministry in the Church of England, they are interviewed about their obedience to the Church’s teachings on sex and marriage. At ordination they are required to abide by them. Issues is the document which outlines what this looks like.
Issues was written by the bishops in 1991 in language which is now out of date, as a restatement of the Church’s historic position with regard to sexuality. It was not intended to govern the discernment process for ordinands nor the conduct of clergy. As part of the debate around Prayers of Love and Faith, both traditionalists and liberals agreed that Issues should be replaced by up-to-date guidance. As the LLF process is taking a long time, there was pressure for Issues to be retired more quickly. Synod agreed to its replacement by the more familiar and very widely used Guidelines for Professional Conduct of the Clergy, updated in 2015 and currently being revised again, at least until a permanent replacement is made through the LLF process.
This debate was notable for its genial tone of agreement, a marked improvement on previous discussions, after a weekend where liberals and traditionalists had had many discussions over meals and cups of coffee. The House of Bishops is due to discuss LLF in October with a view to bringing proposals to Synod in February 2026.
Assisted suicide
We finished with a well-informed debate about the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which recently passed in the House of Commons and is being debated in the House of Lords. The Lords Spiritual (the bishops in the House of Lords) are united in opposition, and so was Synod, as in previous debates on the subject, with only around 30 dissenters. The debate gave an opportunity for healthcare professionals among the laity, clergy, bishops and disabled people to share their concerns and to advocate strongly for higher budgets and better provision of palliative care. We were reminded of the Church’s key role in pioneering palliative care through the work of Dame Cicely Saunders and St Christopher’s Hospice.
An interesting constitutional point: although the Bill has passed in the Commons, the Lords can vote it down or amend it. If it was a government-sponsored bill, the Lords would not be expected to reject it; as it is a private members’ bill, and one on an issue not mentioned in Labour’s last election manifesto, this convention is not observed.