Miscellaneous
Posted: 02 Nov 2006 @ 00:00
Central boards and councils
THE STRUCTURE of the boards and councils of the Archbishops’ Council is to
be tidied up, and, in most of them, the membership will be limited to 15. The
Synod voted for these modest reforms on the Thursday morning.
The review was introduced by Canon Bob Baker (Norwich),
who said that it was long overdue. Only the Council for the Care of Churches,
which needed a body of experts, and the Mission and Public Affairs Council,
which was a very new body with 23 members, were to be allowed more than 15
members.
Hayden Charles (Norwich) was concerned at the lack of
accountability when boards set up their own committees. He wanted to know what
controls there were. Ian Henderson (Bristol) noted the
restriction that a Synod member could serve on only one committee. He hoped it
would be possible for people with expertise to serve on two. Alan
Cooper (Manchester) thought it outrageous that there were only three
elected members on the Board of Education. It left no room for mavericks or
people with new ideas.
The Synod voted to take note of the report.
Synod reduction
AS THE MEMBERSHIP of the General Synod is to be reduced from 582 to 476, the
Synod had to approve the formal re-allocation of numbers to be elected later
this year as diocesan representatives to the Lower Houses of Convocation and
the House of Laity.
The Revd Dr Richard Turnbull (Winchester), chairman of the
Business Committee, said that the reduction in clergy had been achieved by
abolishing the special constituency for archdeacons. Any archdeacon elected in
future would be as a Proctor. As for the laity, there would be 52 fewer.
Timothy Allen (St Edmundsbury & Ipswich) drew attention
to the ratio of representation of Canterbury and York, 70:30. The real figure
was 73:27. Gloucester and Norwich, for example, had larger electoral rolls than
Carlisle and Wakefield. Yet the latter had four places and the former three. He
hoped this could be rectified for 2010.
The Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Revd John Gladwin, spoke
of the need to look again at the system. He considered it inbred, based on
electoral rolls and deanery-synod members. “If one took population into
account, we might come to very different conclusions.”
The motion on General Synod Elections 2005 was put to the Synod and passed
by a large majority.
The final piece of legislation to reduce the Synod membership was passed
without debate on the Tuesday morning.
A discrepancy between the draft Canon and the Rules in reducing the number
of suffragan bishops from six to four was tidied up after a brief speech by
the Bishop of Dover, the Rt Revd Stephen Venner. The Synod
carried the amendment, leaving the way clear for the Archbishop of Canterbury
to promulge the Amending Canon No. 26 (Synodical Government), which takes
effect later this year when the new Synod is elected.
Appointments
THE SYNOD endorsed the appointment of Mark Russell to the
Archbishops’ Council for a term of five years. Mr Russell, who is 30, succeeds
Jayne Ozanne, who was on the Council from its inception. He is Youth Minister
at Christ Church, Chorleywood.
Allan Bridgewater was appointed to chair the Church of
England Pensions Board from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2007.