Summer update: Save the Parish Conference and General Synod - Part 2

-

 The Rev Marcus Walker, Chairman, Save the Parish, writes about July's General Synod at York....

The meeting of General Synod at York was widely seen to be one of the most fractious meetings anyone can remember. There were three elements of the session on which Save the Parish focused its attention. The first was a motion about parochial ministry. It was fairly 'motherhood and apple pie' but it gave us the opportunity to highlight the complete failure of the Archbishops' Council to follow the terms of the Church Commissioners' endowments - which are supposed to be spent on supporting the stipends of priests in the poorest parishes of the country. You can read an article here about what we were trying to do in this debate, which was written for the Critic. We have also spliced together a video explaining the issue and showing the short debate that was allowed on the topic.

Watch our video on parish funding

The other big issues which Save the Parish was involved with were the developing plans for transforming the governance of the Church of England. This governance review will be returning many times over the next few years as its plans are turning into legislation. Many STP members have been involved in the reference group but the ability for us to debate any of it was hugely limited by having only 24 minutes to discuss the entire plan (with seventeen proposals), seeing only four speeches allowed, all of which were in favour of the proposal. There is much work to do.

Reforms to the Mission and Pastoral Measure were also debated at this synod. This was originally the infamous GS2222, which was one of the reasons Save the Parish was founded. This is a completely different plan, which may or may not improve the relationship between parish and diocese depending on how the legislation looks at the end. Sadly both of our proposals fell that day: that parishes should have equal access to legal advice as dioceses when facing merger or closure (diocesan advice being funded out of the parish share, after all) and that there should be no reductions in the rights of representation when proposals are being put to parishes. There is much more work to do here too.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Save The Parish Cornwall responds to Diocese of Truro statement

-
Image
Save The Parish Cornwall issues the following response to a regrettable statement by the Diocese of Truro published on its website on 5 March 2024. The Diocese misleadingly says that Save The Parish Cornwall is 'targeting clergy' and providing inaccurate clergy figures. Save The Parish Cornwall’s recent analysis of clergy numbers in the Diocese shows that there were just 39 priests for Cornwall’s 200 plus parishes and 300 churches at the end of December 2023 - according to figures supplied by Church House sources at the end of January 2024. A further 19 other incumbencies remained vacant. Stipendiary priests in Cornwall at the end of December 2023, and their locations: data supplied by Church House sources to Save The Parish Cornwall at the end of January 2024. There was, therefore, one stipendiary priest to 15,000 people: the population of Cornwall is just over 600,000. The number of stipendiary priests in Cornwall at the end of December 2023 was 39. Save The Parish Cornw
Read more

Save The Parish Cornwall calls for a moratorium on the Bishops' divisive On The Way plans

-
Image
Click here to read our dossier, published today to coincide with a meeting with the Bishop of St Germans, the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson, and Diocesan Secretary Rev Simon Cade. It contains testimonies from people across Cornwall who are dismayed and alarmed at the Bishops' On The Way plans that will change the nature of the Church of England in Cornwall forever. Bishop Hugh has the power to press the 'pause' button as the controversial plans attract national attention. We are urging him to have the courage to do so. How does healing of the church of Cornwall now happen?  Many have been badly hurt and threatened…. Can a safe place be created where all might flourish? We are calling for a moratorium, an increase in clergy numbers, a halt on the sale of parsonages and an end to oversight ministry.
Read more

Cornwall's Bishops in tailspin after BBC Sunday Politics coverage

-
Image
Cornwall’s Bishops have been stung by hard-hitting coverage on BBC Sunday Politics South West of their controversial On the Way cost-cutting programme which is cutting clergy numbers, merging parishes and threatening church closures. In a 1200-word statement on the Diocese of Truro website , and an accompanying letter to all churches, the Bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Philip Mounstephen, and the Bishop of St Germans, the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson, complain about many aspects of the report ( click here to view the report ). The problem is, as so often with the Diocese of Truro statements, rhetoric does not coincide with reality. Truro complains (on the Diocesan website): “The report lasted just under five minutes but…. Much of the time was given to four speakers from a campaign group, three of whom have no connection with the church in Cornwall or with wider Cornish society." Save The Parish Cornwall explains: The four actually included two well-respected SouthWest MPs who are i
Read more