THE Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC) shows “the historic diversity of the Anglican tradition” and has “helped to break free of colonial ways of thinking”, the secretary-general of the Anglican Communion, the Rt Revd Anthony Poggo, has said.
Bishop Poggo became the first general secretary in 21 years to attend the Scottish Episcopal General Synod last week (News, 29 May). In his address on Saturday, he said that the SEC was “an incredibly valued” member of the Anglican Communion.
“I see how you are living out the mission of Christ in your Province, and I commend the work that you are doing,” he said.
“You have contributed a different kind of Anglicanism to the Anglican Communion. One of the things I have found is that it is possible to be Anglican without being historically tied to the British establishment and to the British Empire. You show the historic diversity of the Anglican tradition, and have helped to break free of colonial ways of thinking.
“Anglicanism in the British Isles is stronger for having the diversity of traditions that you have, going back to ancient Celtic and Irish roots as well as to Augustine’s mission to Kent in 597. Your role in consecrating the first American Episcopal bishop is an important historic contribution to the foundation of what is now the Episcopal Church, and, by extension, the Anglican Communion.”
At the invitation of the Primus of the SEC, the Most Revd Mark Strange, Bishop Poggo, who is originally from South Sudan, attended the whole Synod, which began on Thursday at the Stirling Court Hotel.
THE SECBishop Poggo with the Primus, the Most Revd Mark Strange
He was among delegates and members who had heard discussions about a new provincial strategy, liturgies, mission, net zero, and, on Friday, the Church’s exploration of the legacy of slavery.
A slavery legacy working group had been established to look into the SEC’s links to the transatlantic slave industry, and, in an update, the Primus told members that the Church should be able to ask questions “so that it could answer those questions asked of us” and take some responsibility for the legacy of slavery.
“This is not a blame game,” he said. “This is gaining knowledge to allow us to acknowledge our past, share these with our brothers and sisters across the Communion, and stand tall when we are called upon to stand alongside those persecuted because of the colour of their skin.”
The Revd Aaron Moffat-Jackman, who chairs the working group, gave a summary of the group’s work, which included understanding the Church’s historic connections to slavery; considering how relationships may be repaired; and discerning a “faithful” response. He explained that this involved researching evidence of the Church’s links to slavery, and listening in conversations across the Anglican Church.
The Synod then heard from Dr Simon Buck, who had been hired by the SEC for 12 months to research the history of the Church’s links to the transatlantic slave trade. Dr Buck is five months into his work, and discussed his findings so far.
On Friday, the new Bishop of Edinburgh, the Rt Revd Dagmar Winter (News, 20 February), led her first session at the Synod since her installation at the end of May.
She began with a presentation from the provincial environment group, which indicated that the focus of their work would shift from concentrating on net zero carbon emissions, to the broader themes of biodiversity, pollution, and theological development on creation.
THE SEC had opened its three-day General Synod at Stirling University with a eucharistic service on Thursday, during which there was a collection for an Anglican hospital in Gaza (News, 11 June).
The 80-bed Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, which was founded in 1882, provides medical care in the troubled region. It was damaged, and several civilians, including a child and three journalists, were killed, when the building was struck several times last year by Israeli drone-fire (News, 6 June 2025; 14 and 19 August 2025).
The hospital runs a free programme for the early detection of breast cancer in women over 40, and its centre for elderly women and mobile-clinic programme provide free medical care and food to people from surrounding towns and villages. A new cancer centre, offering radiation treatment, is currently in the planning stage. Donations for the hospital remained open for a week.
In his address, Bishop Poggo said: “Membership of the Anglican Communion is voluntary; all provinces are autonomous, and they choose to belong. At the same time, they are interdependent, forming one family of Christ. Membership entails participation in the common life of the Communion — contributing to its mission, engaging with its Instruments, and enriching one another in faith.
“It also rests on mutual recognition and sacramental communion with other member churches, ensuring that our shared life is lived out in relationship, not isolation.”
THE SECTHE SEC
An unscheduled motion prompted debate and a close outcome, settled by just a handful of votes. On Thursday, the Synod had heard from provincial youth members, and one of them, Amie Byers (Glasgow & Galloway), proposed the introduction of youth representatives as full Synod members, saying: “We should ensure young people who are willing to serve are able to do so.”
On Friday, Canon Sophia Marriage (Edinburgh) put forward a motion calling for this idea to be taken forward by the Synod, and, on Saturday, members debated an amended motion that stated: “This Synod requests the Faith and Order Board to instruct the Committee on Canons in consultation with the Provincial Youth Committee to prepare proposals for the 2027 General Synod for the amendment of the Canons to admit elected youth members, as full members of the Synod representing each of the dioceses, and to design a mechanism for their election.”
Speaking against the motion, Dr Beth Routledge (Glasgow & Galloway) said that that the mechanism for young adults (over 16) to become full members of Synod was already in place. “Young people of the Scottish Episcopal Church, you are not a second-tier class; you are not separate but equal,” she said.
The Provost of St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow, the Very Revd Kelvin Holdsworth (Standing Committee) also expressed his concerns, including over the House of Laity becoming bigger in relation to the House of Clergy.
“It makes me a little concerned because we are not a conference, we are a decision-making body in which all kinds of things about my working life are discussed, and it is right and proper that clergy have quite a significant role, in the company of lay people, in making decisions about that,” he said. “To make one of the houses suddenly bigger gives me concerns.”
The Synod carried Dr Marriage’s motion, which had been seconded by Canon John McLuckie (Edinburgh), by a simple majority in one House, with 52 for, 45 against, and six abstentions.