The official reports, including audio of the entire proceedings, can be found here.
TA will publish some further details of Answers to Questions later today. Meanwhile, Church Society has some notes here.
The Church Times has a brief report here.
Jonathan Petre has a report of the presentation by the Children’s Commissioner, Prof Sir Albert Aynsley Green: Church told to defend youth ‘failed by Britain’.
Alastair Cutting also has a report of this, see Children have more fun – (b) 6July2007.
GS 1650A has been issued, in which it says:
…The Synod agenda already provides for substantial consideration of appointments issues on Monday afternoon. The report Talent and Calling (GS 1650) did not, however, consider the appointment arrangements for diocesan bishops and its recommendations in respect of Crown appointments to cathedral posts were made before this week’s announcement from the Government. The Presidents have decided, therefore, that some change is needed to Monday’s business so that there can be a debate that takes account of the Green Paper.
The Presidents have directed that after item 26 (address from Sir Joseph Pilling) there should be a debate on a motion moved by the Bishop of Leicester [copy below]. This will be place of items 27 and 28 in the agenda.
The new motion will give Synod the opportunity to consider how it wishes to respond both to the Government’s proposals and the recommendations in Talent and Calling.
The new motion is:
That this Synod, noting that proposals in the Government’s Green Paper of 3 July (attached to GS 1650A) will necessitate further discussion with the Church:
(a) welcome the prospect of the Church achieving the ‘decisive voice in the appointment of bishops’ for which Synod voted in 1974;
(b) affirm its willingness for the Church to have the decisive voice in the selection of cathedral deans and canons appointed by the Crown, given the Prime Minister’s wish no longer to play an active role in the selection of individual candidates;
(c) invite the Archbishops, in consultation with the Archbishops’ Council and the House of Bishops, to oversee the necessary consequential discussions with the Government and to report to the February group of sessions, including on the implications for those matters covered by chapter 8 of GS 1650); and
(d) endorse the recommendations in chapter 10 of GS 1650, with the exception of recommendations 20-30, invite those responsible to give effect to them and invite the Archbishops’ Council to report to Synod during 2008 on progress with implementation.
In the light of this direction, the Bishops of Sheffield and Leicester give notice that they do not intend to move items 27 and 28.