Longstanding evangelical Synod member Sarah Finch writes: Newly-elected evangelical members of General Synod are getting into their stride - or so it seems to this correspondent.
Growing in confidence, they speak of their own faith in the Lord Jesus, and refer to Scripture. The report ‘Setting God’s People Free’, about local churches helping people be missionary disciples, Sunday to Saturday, was so warmly welcomed by one young woman that she raised her arms in the air! Such enthusiasm is rare.
There were sobering debates on human trafficking and the persecuted Church, racial justice and safeguarding, with updates on new structures to help the Church tackle these issues more effectively – the Racial Justice Commission, the Independent Safeguarding Board. We debated the remuneration of clergy, and the Faculty Jurisdiction Amendment Rules – churches can be very chilly if replacing a fossil-fuelled boiler means waiting for a faculty.
How should we think about these practical matters? (One new member was shocked that Jesus was mentioned so little in Synod, and another wondered why we weren’t debating urgent matters like falling church attendance.) Early one morning, when evangelical members met as usual to pray and to plan, we looked at Exodus 26, where detailed instructions are given for making the tabernacle. We registered that details do matter to God, and so these detailed, practical matters need care. A cheering thought.
Why I took a stuffed parrot to CofE Synod
The General Synod of the Church of England has engaged over decades in a cycle of groundhog-day debates about human …