0

Category: General Synod

Vote for me for General Synod

If you know me or have followed me online, you will have heard me talk about the work I have done as a member of General Synod. I am seeking reelection for the next five years and I would be very grateful for your first choice vote if you are clergy in the Diocese of Leeds.

Why should you trust me once more as your representative?

At the bottom of this post you will find my official election address in which I outline the priorities I see for the national life of the Church of England in the coming five years and the previous experience I bring to the role. I am known for the work that I have done for the last ten years advocating for parishes in low income communities and I include one of the speeches that I gave to synod last year. However, I am not a single issue candidate and in my address you will find priorities of parish finance, clergy wellbeing, mission and evangelism and inclusion.

What kind of representative you get if you vote for me?

I take the role of being a clergy representative on General Synod very seriously. Last year a chapter colleague asked me to support the motion to increase pensions for retired clergy. Having been told how important it was for someone as close to retirement as they are, I spent a couple of hours writing a speech to represent their views to synod.

One of my speeches to synod.

Here is a speech I gave about investing in low income communities at York Synod (which is why no one is wearing clericals).

My election address

Thank you

If you have got this far, thank you for taking the time to find out the kind of synod rep I hope to be on your behalf. I have had this website for nearly twenty years so you can find out more about my faith, the music and hymns that I write with my wife and my hobbies and interests by browsing around the site.

If you like what I stand for, I would be really grateful for your first choice vote.

Discussing Working Class Vocations with the Archbishop

“When I had lunch with the Archbishop of Canterbury…” is not a phrase I had imagined ever saying. It was a great privilege to be invited; along with the Working Class Vocations Task Group, to Lambeth Palace to talk with the Archbishop and others who shape ministry pathways in the Church of England. As part of EETG for more than a decade, working class vocations have long been part of our agenda. Thanks to Alex Frost, General Synod have agreed that we must act to ensure that we “raise up a new generation of lay and ordained leaders from estates and working-class backgrounds”. What this highlights is how important it continues to be for our working class voices to be there at General Synod ensuring that our Church of England reflects the country it serves as well as our beliefs about the body of Christ.

Read more

Working Class Vocations and the Church of England

The General Synod of the Church of England debate last week about working class vocations was really encouraging. I was called to speak. Unfortunately, the length of time you had to talk was reduced as I was walking from my seat to the podium so I had to cut from 5 minutes to three on the fly.

Read more