The October Synod took place on Saturday 12 October at Malcolm Arnold School in Northampton.
As the first meeting of the new Triennial period, the session began in meetings of Houses so that new Chairs could be elected.
The House of Laity elected Chris Banks from Brixworth Deanery. Chris is a resident of Long Buckby and has been a member of St Lawrence Church since 1999. With a background in HR, Chris has an excellent understanding of organisational reviews and governance structures as well as being an active Churchwarden and Vice Chair of the PCC having overseen his benefice’s organisation during a year of Vacancy. Chris currently serves on the Gen2 Project Board and the Bishop’s Council. He led the drafting team for the Diocesan Statement of Needs and served on the Crown Nominations Commission as one of the Diocesan representatives to appoint the Bishop of Peterborough. Chris is also a member of the Northampton Archdeaconry Mission and Pastoral Committee, and has served on Deanery Synod for 11 years. He took early retirement in 2022 to focus on voluntary work.
The House of Clergy elected the Revd Allison Twigg also from Brixworth Deanery. Allison is the Rector of The Uplands Group of Churches (including Guilsborough, Hollowell, Cold Ashby, Cottesbrooke, Great Creaton, Thornby, Ravensthorpe and Spratton) where she has ministered for the past six years. Allison is an active member of the Brixworth Deanery Chapter and Synod. She is passionate about fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation that is needed to overcome the challenges presented in ministry, particularly in a rural context, and is looking forward to serving on the Bishop’s Council and Diocesan Synod at this time.
Opening Worship was led on behalf of the Greater Northampton Deanery, by Assistant Rural Dean, Jane Butler.
Bishop Debbie then gave her Presidential Address reflecting on Joshua 3 v5; we can trust God to sustain us during testing times, that change happens and is possible. We need to travel together as children of God and focus on what he is calling us to be at this time. As a Diocese it is ultimately God’s mission that we are seeking to fulfil, we need to work with Him for His people and His Kingdom.
Bishop Debbie spoke of the need for a governance review to consider whether our structures and processes are right to do this, and to this end, we are, with the help of the national church and their funding, commissioning consultants Andy Brookes and Becky Hall to undertake this review by interviewing and listening to people across the Diocese. Their report will address challenges and opportunities facing us, including the considerable financial stress the Diocese is under, the opportunities for funding and the need for a coherent overarching strategy. Bishop Debbie shared that she has felt the shared sense that governance needs to work better and that as the Church we need to be a good model of working well. Bishop Debbie then asked members to prayerfully consider what God was calling them to do in considering the period of change in the committees.
Paul Buckingham, Chair of the DBF and David Mason, Chief Financial Officer presented the Annual Accounts and Report, thanking the parishes for their commitment at a difficult time. Whilst the DBF has worked hard to achieve a balanced budget and the priority remains supporting full-time clergy, the budget presented for approval still represented a significant use of reserves that could not be maintained indefinitely.
Bishop Debbie encouraged questions and these focused on the need to increase attendance and increase the number of younger people in our congregations who can sustain the church into the future. The CFO was asked how long we could continue to use reserves to maintain our budget and the answer was approximately 5-6 years. The budget was approved.
Following a short break, Emily Elliott, DAC secretary gave an update on the DAC office and the recent changes. Emily said they are working hard on the roll out of the Online Faculty System and is focusing on improving the service provided by the DAC with a parish focused approach. The office is currently recruiting for a caseworker who can join the team to return them to full capacity.
An introductory talk was then given by Adam Clarke, the new Net Zero Carbon Programme Manager for Peterborough & Leicester Dioceses. Adam had only been in post for 6 weeks, but outlined the key elements he would be looking at to help the Diocese achieve the national target of net zero carbon by 2030. Adam said the Diocese had a good response to the Energy Footprint Tool at 56%, but this could be improved. He also said he is expecting Diocesan reporting from this to help identify the 20% most carbon emitting churches so that we can focus on those, but that we all have a part to play. He paid tribute to All Saints Kettering, the first church in the Dicoese to gain its Eco Church Gold Award.
Paula Challen, from Towcester, raised the issue of solar panels being prohibited in conservation areas and Adam spoke about the difference in local authorities and how he plans to work with them and the DAC to achieve the best results possible for our heritage buildings. Questions were also raised about whether the focus on net zero carbon was appropriate considering the current issues facing the church, which Adam responded to, outlining our care of creation as being one of the marks of mission as well as a key area of concern for young people who we are try to attract into our churches.
Chris Dalliston, Dean of Peterborough, gave a report from the last meeting of General Synod which took place in York in July. He noted that the Presidential Address, given by the Archbishop of York, focused on listening consciously and disagreeing well at a time when so many differences exist. The main highlights were; restoring trust in the Church of England, the human dignity of disabled children, the failure of our social services and the huge needs in urban communities our churches are trying to meet, clergy wellbeing, safeguarding and the continued process of Living in Love and Faith which is expected to return to Synod in February with more detail and clarity. Chris underlined that all details are available online and the debates can be watched in full on YouTube.
The next scheduled meeting of Synod is on Saturday 22 March.
To see full minutes of the meeting, details of your Synod Reps, and information on the standing orders, please see our Diocesan Synod page.
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| Revd Allison Twigg, Chair of the House of Clergy | Chris Banks, Chair of the House of Laity |