NO NEW lead bishop for the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process is to be appointed “at this time”, it was confirmed last week.
In June, the Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Martyn Snow, stepped down from the position of lead bishop, saying that, while he hoped that the Church would be able to find a way forward “on matters of sexuality, relationships, and marriage . . . I don’t think that can happen under my leadership” (News, 6 June).
In a statement at the time, thanking Bishop Snow for his work, the Archbishop of York, and the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, said that the LLF Programme Board of bishops would continue to oversee the process.
Asked on 26 June whether a new lead bishop was to be appointed, the secretary-general of the Archbishops’ Council, William Nye, said that there was “no news” on this. An update on LLF published that day, as part of the papers for the July meeting of the General Synod, made no reference to whether a new lead bishop would be appointed.
On Wednesday, however, an update posted on the Church of England website confirmed that Archbishop Cottrell and Bishop Mullally “do not intend to appoint a new Lead Bishop for LLF at this time”.
The position of lead bishop was previously held by Bishop Mullally. Bishop Snow was appointed to the position in November 2023, initially as the co-lead bishop alongside the Bishop of Newcastle, Dr Helen-Ann Hartley. He proceeded to lead the LLF implementation process alone after she stepped down at the start of February last year (News, 1 February 2024).
At the time of Dr Hartley’s resignation, Bishop Snow said that he would remain in the position only if another co-lead was appointed. The Church Times understands that a replacement was sought, but none could be found. Instead, the Programme Board of bishops was appointed to oversee the process.
Last week’s update confirmed that the episcopal members of the Programme Board “will take collective responsibility for leading the process”, and would prepare draft proposals which are to be brought to the House of Bishops later this year.
The update listed the current membership of the Programme Board: the Bishop of Sheffield, Dr Pete Wilcox; the Interim Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Revd Ruth Worsley; the Dean of Bristol, the Very Revd Mandy Ford; and the Bishop of Oxford, Dr Steven Croft.
The board is chaired by Archbishop Cottrell, and also has four ex officio members: the chair and the vice-chair of the House of Laity, Dr Jamie Harrison and Alison Coulter; and the two prolocutors of the House of Clergy, the Ven. Luke Miller, and Canon Kate Wharton.
The staff team supporting the Programme Board will, from August, be led by the Revd Helen Fraser, on secondment from her current position as Deputy Director and Head of Vocations in the Ministry Development team at Church House.
The previous programme director, Dr Nick Shepherd, is moving to a new position as Deputy Director for Insights and Engagement.
The update also reiterated the expectation that, in the autumn, the House of Bishops would consider a “package” of proposals on standalone services of blessing for same-sex couples, along with “pastoral reassurance” for those who oppose their introduction.
These proposals are to be brought to the February 2026 meeting of the General Synod, for approval.
Simultaneously, the House of Bishops is expected to “agree a timetable for consideration of the question of clergy entering same-sex civil marriages”. This would also “likely need to be discussed at a General Synod”, but no indication is given in the update as to whether this is likely to be in February next year.
In October 2023, the Church Times revealed that the House of Bishops had held an indicative vote, behind closed doors, on permitting clergy to enter same-sex marriages; there was a small majority (18-15) in favour of a change in policy (News, 26 October 2023).
LAST week’s update included details of “informal diocesan consultations” on LLF. Some dioceses had “now decided to postpone these to a later date”, it said, while others are opting for conversations “without the detailed consultation and formal feedback”.
“The Programme Board recognises that different dioceses will take different approaches and that some dioceses may choose to pause holding these. However, the Programme Board would value feedback, in whatever form, to help with the task of developing proposals,” the update said.
The Church Times understands that, at recent diocesan synods in Winchester and Oxford, attempts were made to “Move to next business”, which would forestall any discussion of LLF.
In Winchester, the motion passed, and so no consultation took place. In Oxford, it fell by a narrow margin, allowing the discussion to proceed.
In his opening remarks at the diocesan synod, the Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen, said: “We will spend time looking at the LLF process in this meeting, and rightly so. But I think there is an increasing feeling that the process has rather run into the sand, and I’m not entirely sure where we go with it next. But it is sadly true that this has been an attritional process, and eroded trust and increased divisions across the Church.”
At the London diocesan synod, the Church Times understands that feedback was presented which suggested that a majority of parishes would not opt into the scheme that Bishop Snow had proposed — which involves choosing to have oversight from a bishop who shares the views of the parish — on the basis that such provision would not be “sufficient”.