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General Synod backs code of conduct for Parochial Church Councils
General Synod has voted in favour of a motion asking the Archbishops’ Council to explore a Code of Conduct for Parochial Church Council (PCC) members and lay volunteers.
The motion, brought by the Diocese of Chelmsford, sought to address an imbalance of accountability in relationships where lay volunteers currently face no significant consequences for persistent departures from acceptable standards of behaviour.
An introductory paper explained that, whereas clergy are subject to the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM) process, there remains no proportionate and accessible means by which laity can be held to account for their actions.
The paper cited National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) advice that, while disagreement is a healthy part of decision making, it was recommended that charities should use a code of conduct for their trustees.
It highlighted instances of uncooperative or aggressive behaviour in meetings over a long period, where there was no mechanism to remove a member from the PCC.
Introducing the motion, the Revd Dr Sara Batts-Neale from Chelmsford Diocese said: “When [things] do go wrong, there is currently no way to change the composition of a PCC. There is a lack of clear accountability.
“We seek a review into a code of conduct to encourage healthy cultures, and to give a possible remedy for intransigent behaviours that damage people, the church, and hinder our ability to share the good news of Christ Jesus.”
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General Synod backs call for ‘crucial resources’ to remain available for racial justice work
The General Synod has heard that more work needs to be done for the full inclusion of Global Majority Heritage (GMH) people in the Church of England.
Synod members commended the outcomes in From Lament to Action, the report from the Archbishops’ Racial Justice Taskforce. It sets out a series of recommendations for the Church on racial justice in the areas of participation, governance, training, education and young people.
Introducing the debate at the Synod, the Bishop of Dover Rose Hudson-Wilkin said the C of E cannot just pay ‘lip service’ to racial justice, but needs to ensure the right resources are available for this work.
“I do not believe that there are no GMH clergy with a vocation or a calling to become a diocesan, to become incumbents, deans, archdeacons. I am not convinced that there are no GMH individuals with a desire to be diocesan secretaries or TEI principals.”
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General Synod backs legislation to prevent bullying by lay officers
General Synod has asked for legislative proposals to allow lay officers found guilty of bullying to be disqualified from holding office.
The motion was brought by the Ven Mark Ireland, Archdeacon of Blackburn. It wanted to address an imbalance of accountability in relationships, where lay volunteers currently face no significant consequences if found to have exhibited bullying behaviour.
Whereas clergy are subject to the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM) process, there is currently no proportionate and accessible means by which laity can be held to account for their actions.
The archdeacon spoke of the impact upon the mental health, physical health and sense of Christian Community of a parish when a churchwarden or lay officer is exercising controlling or bullying behaviour.
The archdeacon said that bullying behaviour is not tolerated in other areas of society. Other organisations have clear policies and procedures in place, for when instances of bullying and harassment do occur.
This motion was separate to an earlier motion agreed by General Synod, regarding abusive members of parochial church councils and lay volunteers.
The archdeacon said: “Bullying and harassment are unacceptable behaviours in any environment – and especially in the Church.
“Yet since I first raised this difficult and sensitive issue, I have been inundated with stories from victims and survivors, stories which have moved me sometimes close to tears.
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General Synod calls for redoubling of efforts to create new churches on estates
The C of E needs many more leaders from working class backgrounds and deprived communities, the General Synod was told.
The Synod also re-committed the C of E to setting up a church on every significant social housing estate.
Members also backed moves to double the number of young active Christians on housing estates. It wants young people from estates and low-income communities to be trained as children’s and young people’s leaders, among other forms of ministry.
All in all, the Bishop of Blackburn, Philip North, called on the Church of England to reverse the “slow erosion” of Christian life on estates.
Dioceses and Theological Education institutions (TEIs) – where people are trained for ordained ministry – should be encouraged to consider more ways of training lay and ordained leaders from estates and deprived communities, he said.
“Estates churches and the wider church desperately need leaders called from our estates and deprived communities,” he said.
He added: “I’m convinced that there is an underground army of evangelists and prophets out there which a culturally middle-class church is simply missing.”
New estate churches have been planted by all Anglican traditions, he said, and a number of dioceses, such as Southwark, Norwich, London and Southwell and Nottingham have appointed advisers.
He added that around £100 million of Lowest Income Communities Funding and £40 million in Strategic Development Funding has been allocated to estates or economically deprived communities.
Bishop Philip said the Synod had a chance to acknowledge and thank a “remarkable” group of lay people and priests who minister on estates.
He said the work on estates churches had been “utterly beautiful” in the face of multiple challenges including the pandemic and increasing levels of poverty and destitution.
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Living in Love and Faith: ‘the work goes on’ Bishop Martyn tells General Synod
Firm proposals for a settlement to enable the C of E to move forward together amid deep differences on questions of sexuality and marriage will be developed over the next few months, General Synod has heard.
The Bishop of Leicester, Martyn Snow – the lead bishop for the ‘Living in Love and Faith’ process – spoke of the growing desire in parishes for the C of E “to reach agreement and get on with serving our nation.”
This General Synod was the first since the prayers of dedication, thanksgiving and seeking God’s blessing for same-sex couples (known as Prayers of Love and Faith) came into use during public worship in the Church of England.
Separate proposals for special standalone services for same-sex couples to be formally authorised under canon law are also under consideration, alongside questions including clergy entering same-sex marriages and whether new structures may be needed to hold the Church together in a new context.
The debate concluded without a vote on the main motion after Synod members agreed to a procedural motion to move to next business.
Speaking after the debate, Bishop Martyn said: “We’ve had an opportunity for an open, thoughtful – and gracious – debate about how we might move forward together as a church in the next stage of the implementing our decisions on Living in Love and Faith and the work of reconciliation amid our divisions.
“However, there is more work to be done to develop concrete proposals on really important questions we face and a number of people thought it would not be helpful to proceed to a vote without those concrete proposals. I can see the logic in that.
“I was struck by the generous and gracious tone of the debate and I’m grateful to Synod members. I believe my brothers and sisters on Synod would not have been here if they did not believe that some degree of communion is still possible. That gives me great hope and great reassurance that we will find a way through this.
“What I’m picking up very clearly though is a growing desire in parishes for the Church of England to reach agreement and get on with serving our nation.
“So that will be my priority in the next few months as we seek to develop concrete proposals before the next meeting of Synod this summer.”
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Cathedral attendance has continued its post-pandemic bounce back
Attendance at Church of England cathedrals has continued to bounce back following the pandemic, according to the latest statistics.
Figures show that adult usual Sunday attendance rose 60% between 2021 and 2022 for the 42 Church of England mainland Cathedrals to 12,300 adults. A total of 28,200 people including children attended services every week, according to Cathedral Statistics 2022.
Over the year there were 584,000 attendances at specially arranged services – not included in average weekly attendance – such as school services. The number of special services stood at 2,100. The total reported attendance at Christmas services stood at 104,000.
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Visit the C of E online page
There is now a range of digital resources for to you connect with God at this difficult time. These include:
Time to Pray app (https://www.chpublishing.co.uk/apps/time-to-pray) which is free and has an accompanying daily audio offering on SoundCloud and iTunes.
Mental health reflections (https://www.churchofengland.org/faith-action/mental-health-resources/supporting-good-mental-health)
Tips to tackle isolation (https://www.churchofengland.org/faith-action/mental-health-resources/dealing-loneliness-and-isolation-five-top-tips)
Finally, there are the Church’s smart speaker apps, which provide a range of Christian resources. https://www.churchofengland.org/our-faith/our-smart-speaker-apps In March alone, the number of people using the Alexa app rose by more than 70 per cent.
More details at: https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/church-online
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