Empty seats at Diocesan Synod as Truro's Bishops nod through ten-year 'reform' plan
The alarmingly thin Lay representation in the Church of England in Cornwall was never more evident than on Saturday (20/05/2023) at Truro’s Diocesan Synod when the Bishops’ ten-year Plan for Change and Renewal was ‘noted’ despite brave voices of concern.
Shockingly, senior clergy have allowed just over a third of Lay seats on the Synod to remain vacant: out of a total 55 possible lay representatives, only 35 (63%) are occupied. Yet these are the supposed “voice of the congregations” and allowed to fall silent.
So it was predictable that after debate, with the thin lay presence as usual dominated by the Bishops’ supporters, the Synod at St Martins Church in Liskeard agreed to “note" the plan and nod it through – 42 in favour, three against and no abstentions,
Vivian Hall, a member of the General Synod but also a Trigg Major deanery synod member, led a Lay resistance. He proposed an amendment which sought to dismiss the original motion proposed by the Bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Philip Mounstephen, until the draft plan had gone back to Deanery Synods and PCCs for discussion.
In effect, he was calling for democratic input from ordinary churchgoers into the hugely-radical plan that will change the face and style of centuries of Christian worship in Cornwall forever.
“I believe that it is vital that instead of just getting it authorised, it should have a wider circulation for feedback,” he said. “The document needs widely based exposure as we're talking about the immediate future of evangelism and mission in Cornwall. It should not be limited to a discussion within this body.
“ Perception is important and I fear that the perception is all too often in the churches and deaneries in the Diocese is that things are done in a top down manner….We must do everything that we can to stem such perception and to reach as many members of the church possible to engage with their reactions and strengthen the bonds of trust between US and THEM. We'll set the level straight this afternoon by accepting this amendment.”
Mary Wooding, from Penwith deanery synod, enthusiastically supported Mr Hall.
“I think the amendment should be passed and I will support it,” she said. “My huge concern is that there’s no point in us feeding back any objections, the plan is going to go on regardless. All his [the bishop’s] talk of consultation and participation sounds rather weak and limp to me.
"I would prefer to have a formal directive that the [draft] plan should be discussed. We had too much experience during On The Way of being told that we could write to the bishops and object and raise concerns. We’ve learnt to our cost that our views weren’t taken into account.
"The bishop’s Motion that the plan should be noted means that we give up all real possibility of making any change to it.”
The plan sets in stone Truro’s Bishops’ plans for large benefices with controversial “oversight" ministers – though the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson, Bishop of St Germans, claimed defensively in a rambling presentation that it was not in fact a new term within the Church of England. The news that clergy in Cornwall will now become ‘oversight ministers’ has
come as a surprise to many who are unhappy with the dramatic change in job
description - to 'administrator' rather than 'curer of souls'.
“On the word ‘oversight’, just to make sure everyone knows it is a good biblical word,” Bishop Hugh said, adding, “The Bible uses lots of words to describe ministry including priest, minister, shepherd, pastor, priest. It also uses the word over-seer.”
“I just want to be really clear - praise God for small churches,” Bishop Hugh said. “A small church is not a failed church any more than a satsuma is a failed orange.
"A small church is a beautiful thing called into being by God and uniquely and perfectly equipped to do the thing that it is meant to be and to do which is to be a small church usually in a small community.".
He went on to admit: “We don't know what we need to do yet, because we need to ask people what you want us to do, but we will be doing some work to support small churches because even if our wildest, biggest, most bold prayers all come about and we get answers to them all, we will still have lots and lots and lots of small churches in this diocese because we're a small rural diocese, and praise God for that.”
Save The Parish Cornwall has repeatedly requested clarification on the number of seats – and lay representation – on the Diocesan Synod from Diocesan Secretary Rev Simon Cade, without success.
ends
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