[Ely Announce] General Synod Agenda February 2012

[Bridget Nichols]

Women bishops central to General Synod agenda that includes debates on
assisted dying, health care, House of Lords reform, and Eucharistic
prayers for use when children are present

The General Synod will meet at Church House from 2.15 pm on Monday 6
February until late-afternoon Thursday 9 February. 

The Synod will be spending a significant amount of time on the major
legislative process designed to make it possible for women to be bishops
while also making some provision for those who, for theological reasons,
will not be able to receive their ministry. This will be the present
Synod's first opportunity to engage with that process since it was
elected 18 months ago.

There will be four separate items of business dealing with different
aspects of this complicated process, on the Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday. These include fine-tuning of the draft Measure and
consideration of making specific requests to the House of Bishops in
relation to the next stage of the process in May. In addition, the Synod
will have a presentation and opportunity for questions on the report
from a working group on an illustrative draft Code of Practice that
would be made once the legislation had been approved. These debates lead
towards a possible final debate in July.

Other items of legislative business include the approval of an Order
that completes a new framework for the charging of fees for weddings,
funerals etc and the revision of a draft Measure amending aspects of the
Clergy Discipline Measure 2003.

Legislation is an important function of the Synod but not the only one.
Its Constitution says its second main function is 'to consider and
express their opinion on any other matters of religious or public
interest'. There are some quite important matters of religious and
public interest on the agenda for February.

On the Monday, Synod will be asked to approve the sending of a Loyal
Address to H. M. the Queen on her Diamond Jubilee. By coincidence there
will be an added poignancy in the fact that 6 February will be the 60th
anniversary of King George VI's death and therefore of The Queen's
Accession. Synod will also be invited to approve the appointment of a
new member of the Archbishops' Council, whose name will be announced
nearer the time.

Synod will have the opportunity to debate an important matter of
religious and public interest in the Private Members Motion on the issue
of assisted suicide. Also of interest will be a presentation on the
Tuesday about the Anglican Alliance for Relief, Development and
Advocacy. This was established by the Archbishop of Canterbury and grew
out of the 2008 Lambeth Conference. It aims to co-ordinate the work of
the Anglican Communion internationally on relief and development issues.

On the Tuesday evening members of the Synod will join members of the
United Reformed Church for a service in Westminster Abbey marking both
the 350th anniversary of the departure from the Established Church of
those who felt unable to accept ordination by bishops and use the Book
of Common Prayer and also the 40th anniversary of the inauguration of
the United Reformed Church, which took place in the Abbey.

There is a significant matter of internal Synod business on Wednesday, 8
February. Up to now, the Chair of the Business Committee which sets the
Synod's agenda has been appointed from among the six members directly
elected to the Archbishops' Council. That is a very narrow pool and it
is now proposed that in future the Chair of the Business Committee
should be elected by and from among the whole Synod. There are a number
of other miscellaneous amendments to the Standing Orders.

Synod is in the process of authorizing new Eucharistic Prayers for use
at services at which there are significant numbers of children present -
at a Communion service in a church school, for example. They have been
revised in the light of members' comments and the Synod will consider
the revised texts on Thursday 9 February. 

The Synod will also receive a presentation about how the Church plans to
respond to changes in the funding of higher education which will have a
significant impact on the cost of training new clergy. At present,
ordinands receive degrees and certificates from 19 different
universities. The proposal is that the Church of England, with its
partner churches, should establish a single suite of HE awards with a
single set of validation arrangements. Some ordinands will continue to
study for general theology degrees of universities such as Oxford and
Cambridge, but for those on courses leading to a qualification
specifically designed for ordinands there will only be one set of
qualifications.

Finally, on the Thursday afternoon there will be a debate on the reform
of the House of Lords and a debate about Health Care. The Church of
England has always had a strong commitment to the ideals of the NHS. The
debate will give the Synod an opportunity to offer a public expression
of the Church's concerns and priorities in the light of its vocation to
seek health and healing. There is a particular call in the motion for
chaplaincy provision to remain part of the core structure of the NHS, a
position recently backed by the National Institute for Health and
Clinical Excellence. There is also a commendation of the work of
Anglican agencies and networks in promoting health and wholeness
worldwide.

Communicating Synod

Parishioners can keep in touch with the General Synod while it meets.
Background papers and other information will be posted on the Church of
England website (www.churchofengland.org
<http://www.churchofengland.org> ) ahead of the General Synod sessions. 

A live feed will be available courtesy of Premier Radio (accessible from
front page www.churchofengland.org <http://www.churchofengland.org> ),
and audio files of debates, along with updates on each day's
proceedings, will be posted during the sessions.