The Anglican Methodist Covenant
York Report 2011.
July’s agenda may have appeared thin, it did however give opportunities to meet in groups, build relationships and understanding particularly for new members. It covered annual reports alongside Ecumenical and wider issues one of which was the Bishop of Christchurch New Zealand telling of the earthquakes and their continuing need for support and prayer.
Legislative Business
Following on from an extended session of Group work the Synod settled down on Saturday afternoon for a long session of a variety of legislative items. These included pension arrangements for the Dean of Sodor and Man and payments to the Churches Conservation Trust. But of particular relevance to most of us were the ‘Draft Marriage (Amendment) Measure’ and the Parochial Fees Order. The Marriage (amendment) Measure sought to deal with some ‘elephant traps’ created by the original measure –permitting marriage by connection. The amendments sought to ensure that people marrying by connection have the same legal position as those marrying by right of residence.. A further proposed amendment seeks to give permission for the Banns to be called at the ‘principle service’ (whichever one has the largest congregation!) and also at one other service if pastorally desired each week. (This draft measure was revised over the weekend and approved without further debate on the Monday).
The Parochial Fees Order caused more difficulties than the amendments to the Marriage Measure. The new Order followed the approval by Synod in February of a new measure for Parochial Fees and how they are set. The Fees are now set for the Pastoral Offices over a 3 year period. They will also replace the ‘Incumbents Fees;’ with a Fee to be collected by the ‘DBF’. The measure also introduces a clear and simple (and universal) fee that covers all services provided by the Parish – including the building, administration, vergers, heating, lighting etc. The only additional charges a Parish may legally now make are for ‘3rd party’ provision such as bell ringers, flower arrangers, organist, choir etc. It was this ‘one size fits all’ that caused the concern. The proposed Fee of £425 for a Wedding was considered too high by some of the parishes in poorer communities; too low by those with large ‘barns’ to light and heat; and was felt to be impossible to find a figure that would work for all. This has been a constant concern voiced through the process of the measure and the figures proposed merely confirmed the fears members had expressed.
Likewise a flat rate for Funerals on the same principles of £150 whether in Church or at the Crematorium was considered too high by some and too low by others. There were a large number of amendments proposed offering various raising or lowering of rates, but before these could be considered the Synod rejected the whole Order by 166 votes against to 134 in favour with 18 abstentions. We wait to see what is proposed at the February Synod, but in the interim the 2011 figures remain in force.Bob White
A Diocesan Motion concerning Mission Action Planning(1) that rang a lot of bells and sounded as if the thinking behind it had a lot in common with our own M4M programme. The basic suggestion was that the national church should develop a mission strategy and a co-ordinated approach to how we all do mission. Much of the debate centred around the process and who should be doing it rather than precisely what we should do or how we should set about it. It restated much of what the AB Canterbury expressed in his 'Challenges for the New Quinquennium" Generally Synod indicated that it would be more helpful for the central church to strengthen what is already being done in many Dioceses (including ours) by pooling resources, ideas and creating helpful links than to start a new piece of work.Debbie Sutton
Mission Action Plans(2) After a long and protracted debate, largely concerned with whether a methodology that had worked so well in parishes could be transferred tothe national structures, and with two significant amendments, Mark Ireland's private members motion was passed.This means that The Archbishop's Council, recognising the urgent missionary task to reverse decades of numerical decline and make new disciples in every community in our Land,is charged to work with the House of Bishops to develop a national mission strategy that will support, dioceses, deaneries and parishes in their own church growth and mission planning.Tim Jessiman
The Anglican Methodist Covenant.(1)On Sunday afternoon Synod discussed an interim report from the Joint Implementation Commission established under the Anglican Methodist Covenant called Moving Forward in Covenant. This was another update in what to some seems like a painfully slow process in the long walk towards closer union with each of our churches described by one speaker as “moving forward with the handbrake on”. The new idea in this report was Covenant Partnerships in Extended Areas which provides a permissive framework in which joint mission strategies and joint deployment of ministry can be developed. Speakers mostly received this warmly although there was caution expressed from some quarters on the “elephant in the room” which is to do with interchangeablity of ordained ministries. It still feels like there is a long way to go. Lucy Docherty
The Anglican Methodist Covenant.(2)Arguably the most significant development in a report synod took note of from the Council for Christian Unity was the discussion and recommendations regarding "Covenanting Partnerships". This envisaged larger groupings of parishes and Methodist churches covenanting to work together.A furtherdevelopment from Local Ecumenical Partnerships of individual parishes the encouragement given by synod could see clusters, deaneries, even dioceses covenanting with Methodist Circuits and Districts.Tim Jessiman
Conversations with the UR Church.In a move to heal the past and build the future, there is to be a joint act of worship in 2012, the anniversary of both "the Great Expulsion" or "Act of Uniformity" in 1662 and the 40th Anniversary of the inauguration of the UnitedReformChurch. The service will include a joint act of penitence for perpetuating the divisions of the past, a desire for the healing of memories and an act of commitment to work more closely in the future. Following on from this there is hoped to be a new climate from within which further joint work will be undertaken on topics concerning ministry and authorityin the church.Tim Jessiman
House of Laity Elections.This was a debate on a motion put forward from The London Diocesan Synod. They are asking for a thorough review of the election process for the Houses of Laity of both General Synod and Diocesan Synods. The particular issue is whether the electorate should be some other body of persons other than the lay members from Deanery Synod. There were very mixed views on this motion reflected in the comments from members but a general consensus emerged to support the principle of a review provided that it tied in with the general review already being conducted by the Business committee. One comment was that this process will offer opportunity for a wider engagement with the laity at a crucial time for the C of E. However, interestingly, when it came to the vote the House of Laity were the least enthusiastic about voting for a review of current electoral processes, possibly because it may have the biggest effect on them in the future! Lucy Docherty
Consequences of the Government’s Higher Education funding changes for theological trainingAs Readers are aware, universities have increased the tuition fees to students. What you may not have realised is that this has a direct impact on the training of futureclergy, who study in our training institutions for university validated certificates and degrees. This meansthat the Church can expect a significant hike in costs - over £1million per annum in fact, if it does nothing.
The purpose of this debate was to highlight the problem of additional training costs; to authorise certain increases in fees as a short term measure (but to a capped level below what training institutions want) and allow the Church to explore new validation arrangements for the medium to long term. As part of the package, maintenance grants are effectively restricted to those who are 50 years or below as they will have a reasonable period of stipendiary ministry. In the debate, led by the Bishop of Sheffield, there was general agreement that our clergy needed good quality theological training, with a robust academic dimension to it. At the end, the Synod voted overwhelmingly to back the proposals, which seemed to be sensible and proportionate under difficult circumstances.Philip Cochrane
Bradford Diocesan Synod sought to remove the requirement for Confirmation before Communion for Baptized adults. Their argument was based around the idea that the Mission of churches was being hindered by the regulations. Many churches were already ignoring the regulation and therefore we should change it. Views were given from both perspectives both however agree preparation was still required. The Bishop of Chelmsford received applause from synod by saying we currently have preparation before Communion it is called Confirmation! After a failed amendment a call to move to next business was approved which means the current Canon B15A1 will remain unchanged. Sue Rodgers
Additional Eucharistic PrayersGiven that, in addition to the Book of Common Prayer, we have eight different Eucharistic prayers, you might wonder why Synod was considering two others! The answer is that we need something more helpful for children and the two prayers under consideration are not intended for regular Sunday use, but rather for when large numbers of children are gathered.I myself don’t see an easy use for these Prayers if they are not to be used on a Sunday, but the comments of the Synod would suggest that others could see the benefit of them. The texts had been tested in hundreds of parishes around the country, and one in particular follows a Seder style question and answer style following the Jewish tradition. Important points about the applicability with all ages who have special learning needs; needing to include reference to the Ascension (and Pentecost?) and perhaps some less patronizing texts were all well made. A useful debate which I think will improve the end product – anything that can assist in the learning and engagement of all God’s people is a great thing!Philip Cochrane
Presence and Engagement for allThis debate focussed on the work of the Church, with ecumenical partners, in multi-faith contexts. The Church has been active in its strategy’ most notably having regional Presence & Engagement centres (initially the St Philip’s Centre in Leicester and Bradford Churches for Dialogue and Diversity, and complemented more recently with the London Presence and Engagement Network and the new Faithful Neighbourhoods Centre in Birmingham). There is now a dedicated website debate noted that the Church had attracted £5miliion in government funds over three years and set out key priorities for the future to ensure that insights and funding are secured and can develop. This work is not theoretical; it is deeply practical and makes a tremendous difference where there are high concentrations of different faiths living close to each other.Philip Cochrane
As with all GS debates the relevant papers and audio files are available at:
In November our Diocesan Synod is being asked by General Synod to vote on the Legislative process for Women in the Episcopate which Deaneries have discussed at their recent synods. General synod members will be happy to answer any questions you may have on this or other issues. Sue Rodgers
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