Thinking Anglicans

General Synod – 16 & 17 November 2021

This post will be updated as the meeting proceeds.

The Church of England’s General Synod is meeting today (16 November) and tomorrow. The timetable is here, the papers are here.

Live Video

All sessions are streamed live on YouTube and remain available to view afterwards.

Tuesday morning (Inauguration ceremony)
Tuesday afternoon
Wednesday morning
Wednesday afternoon

Order Papers

OP1 – Tuesday 16 November PM
OP2 – Wednesday 17 November AM
OP3 – Wednesday 17 November PM

Business Done

Tuesday 16 November (PM)
Wednesday 17 November (AM)
Wednesday 17 November (PM)

Official press releases

The Gospel ‘has brought hope’ amid pandemic: The Queen’s message to Synod
Archbishop of York’s Inauguration Speech of the 11th General Synod
Archbishop of Canterbury’s welcome speech to new General Synod
Synod: Archbishop Justin’s remarks on the Church of Ghana
Archbishops’ Presidential Address to Synod
General Synod backs moves to allow dioceses more freedom to share historic wealth with poorer dioceses
Young leaders from Church schools meet General Synod members ahead of first in-person meeting
Synod calls on politicians to reduce wealth gap between the rich and the poor
Vision and Strategy Address – General Synod November 2021
Farewell to the Bishop of Newcastle

Members’ blogs

Andrew Nunn

Noli me tangere
Our break-through God
Stepping into the boat
Money, money, money

New member Luke Appleton has started a new blog. There are too many items to link individually. As backgound his election address is still available.

Press reports

Church Times
Queen’s message to new Synod speaks of gospel hope amid recent hardships
Archbishops challenge new Synod to be humble and bold
Archbishop Welby greeted by silent protest in Synod over Ghanaian Bill
Reduce gap between rich and poor in UK, Synod urges all parties
Synod agrees to take issue of unequal diocesan wealth further

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peter kettle
2 years ago

‘Speaking at General Synod today, the Archbishop of Canterbury said homophobia, including the criminalisation of LGBTQ+ people, is always wrong in any context – and that the Anglican Church in Ghana does not condone the criminalisation of the LGBTQ+ community.’ How does that square with the opening statement of the Ghanaian bishops in October: ‘We, the House of Bishops representing the Anglican Church, Ghana (Internal Province of Ghana) have thrown our weight behind the anti-gay (LGBTQI+) Bill currently before the House of Parliament, Ghana.’ Have I missed a development in the Ghanaian bishops’ thinking, or is the Archbishop of Canterbury just plain… Read more »

Susannah Clark
Reply to  peter kettle
2 years ago

Indeed, and in the same statement they also said: “we will do anything within our powers and mandate to ensure that the bill comes into fruition.

Can we not stop pussy-footing around this and just call it what it is?

Father Ron Smith
Reply to  peter kettle
2 years ago

Is the answer here: “Different message to a different audience?” If so, there is something seriously wrong in our koinonia relationship.

Interested Observer
Interested Observer
Reply to  Father Ron Smith
2 years ago

It’s an old people thing. Jeremy Corbyn tried the same trick: reasonable man of peace for the masses, stronger meat for his supporters. Thirty years ago, when Corbyn and Welby were cutting their ideological teeth, you could get away with that: your supporters discounted the wet statements made in public because they knew your real opinions, while the firebrand stuff you said in smoke-filled rooms stayed there. Now you can’t get away with that: if you are a public figure, all your utterances outside your internal dialogue are public, and subject to comparison and (in the literary sense of the… Read more »

Jo B
Jo B
Reply to  Interested Observer
2 years ago

My understanding is that Corbyn supported the cause of a united Ireland but did not condone killing innocent people to bring it about. Do you have evidence otherwise?

Susannah Clark
Reply to  Jo B
2 years ago

That was my understanding as well. Bear in mind that Jeremy Corbyn was one of very few MPs who had the decency and compassion for civilians to speak out against the war in Iraq. If anything, I think that he suffered through lack of duplicity, and he was certainly undermined in the end by an extremely duplicitous media campaign against him. However, I agree with IO’s underlying analysis: things people used to be able to get away with, saying different things to different audiences, is just far more difficult with the internet and social media.

Interested Observer
Interested Observer
Reply to  Jo B
2 years ago

That the Labour Left was cosy with the IRA, and with political violence, is something that even they now admit.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/18/john-mcdonnell-apologises-for-ira-comment-labour

“It’s about time we started honouring those people involved in the armed struggle. It was the bombs and bullets and sacrifice made by the likes of Bobby Sands that brought Britain to the negotiating table. The peace we have now is due to the action of the IRA. Because of the bravery of the IRA and people like Bobby Sands, we now have a peace process.”

Marise Hargreaves
Marise Hargreaves
Reply to  Interested Observer
2 years ago

Lets keep it balanced. Thatcher was close friends and an ally of Augusto Pinochet who had over 3000 people murdered after his coup. She was also close to the apartheid regime in South Africa and operated a shoot to kill policy in Gibraltar. These are evidenced and the actions led to many deaths. If we are going to accuse one party we must look at them all. The left does not have a monopoly of supporting questionable regimes and causes.

Jo B
Jo B
Reply to  Interested Observer
2 years ago

Right, but that’s John McDonnell, not Jeremy Corbyn. They’re different people who share some views and not others. There is also a difference (outside of absolute pacifism) between attacks on shopping centres and pubs and attacking military and police targets, and it’s not clear to which McDonnell’s comment referred.

Susannah Clark
Reply to  Jo B
2 years ago

There were atrocities on both sides. The British State was implicated in the murder of Pat Finucane. Civilians were also slaughtered on Bloody Sunday.

Marise Hargreaves
Marise Hargreaves
Reply to  Susannah Clark
2 years ago

Absolutely and in Ballymurphy which happened before that. It’s taken many years to get the truth out about the 10 deaths there after misinformation and lies across many years.

Tim
Tim
Reply to  Interested Observer
2 years ago

There is a worrying lack of evidence to support these allegations about Jeremy Corbyn. It would be helpful if evidence could be provided or the comment withdrawn.

John Chilton
John Chilton
2 years ago

When did Anglican Church of Ghana name the Archbishop of Canterbury as its spokesperson?
The reality is Justin Welby has taken it upon himself to speak for the ACG. How colonial of him.
The horrible reality is the ACG has not revised its position in support of the anti-LGBTQ+ bill before Ghana’s parliament.

Homeless Anglican
Homeless Anglican
2 years ago

I have never been a fan of General Synod, but the agenda and content looks more promising than in recent years – encouraging talk about vision, mission and working to address the ever widening gaps in society in England.

Jeremy Pemberton
Jeremy Pemberton
2 years ago

What the Archbishop of Canterbury said to the General Synod may have calmed the troops at home a bit, though probably only those Synod members who had received a heads up about what was coming. Telling us what is in the mind of the Ghanaian bishops is all a bit refracted and inappropriate. Besides, It is of no use to the poor LGBTI+ people of Ghana unless their Anglican hierarchy there come out and say they were wrong in what they said in the first place. So far as I can see, no such retraction has taken place, so they… Read more »

Mary Hancock
Mary Hancock
2 years ago

The farewell speech made by the Archbishop of York states that women were first ordained priests in the Chufch of England in 1987 – deacon maybe, but not priest until 7 years later. I’m surprised he got it wrong, especially when no mention of a date was needed.

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