Simon Says ...

As ever, I publish my speech to the General Synod in order to be transparent about my work as an elected member of the General Synod. This speech was on the Legislative Reform Measure   - this Measure would allow the amendment of legislation without going through the full process of a Measure (which takes about two years!).   The Bishop of Rochester introduced the debate with a list of some of the more ridiculous items of legislation that are currently affecting the Church of England. Thank you Chair.   Synod, I welcome the simplification process and this legislation.   I will be voting for it.   Bishop James' examples are clearly things that need to be addressed. However, I want to remind Synod that what the Measure calls 'administrative inconvenience' and an 'obstacle to efficiency' are very much in the eye of the beholder.   The Church of England has held to a long tradition of dispersed authority.   This is ...

Synod began, more or less, in silence as we remembered the 21 Coptic Christians martyred in Libya for their Christian faith on the anniversary of their death.   An important moment.   There was little silence thereafter, as we moved into the normal pattern of debates and presentations.   February was a relatively short Synod, across three days.   It was the first meeting of the newly elected Synod other than the short gathering for its inauguration last November.   This means that there were lots of maiden speeches, lots of new voices to listen to. It means that we the newly elected Prolocutors of Canterbury and York (the chairs of the House of Clergy) and the Chair and Vice-Chair of the House of Laity were presented to us.   It feels like the new Synod is still being run in. Business started with the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Presidential Address .   This was mostly about the Primate’s meeting, and was clear and helpful.   He spoke of...

A response to GS Misc 1048 . In the interest of transparency, I plan to post all my contributions to the General Synod on this blog.  Not always interesting, but useful and above all open. This is my written response to a Synod paper that asked for feedback. General Synod Simplification Group I write in response to GS Misc 1048. I am very supportive of the general thrust of the Group’s work, and of the specific proposals that it has set out in GS Misc 1048.   In particular, I note that the Group has looked at the Church Representation Rules (CRRs) with a view to simplifying them.   It is very good that the CRRs are available free of charge online, and I hope that this will continue to be the policy of the Synod and the Archbishops’ Council. I would like to add two things to their consideration, both relate to the CRRs. 1.          The need for two annual meetings, with a doubling of notificati...