NEWS FROM THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND
Her Majesty the Queen recently inaugurated the Ninth General Synod of the Church of England. In her address, Her Majesty described the opening of a new Synod as a moment both for giving thanks for the witness of those who had gone before, and for praying for wisdom in seeking to balance change and continuity in the decisions lying ahead.
The Queen emphasised the importance of two forthcoming anniversaries: four
hundred years since the publication of the Authorised Version of the Bible commissioned by King James, and two hundred years since the foundation of the National Society for Promoting Religious Education, both of which had had a lasting impact on the life of the Church and the nation.
In his first Presidential Address to the new Synod, the Archbishop of Canterbury
reflected on issues coming to the Synod, including the Anglican Communion Covenant and the Big Society, and for the need for a process of listening, engagement and theological debate.
This Synod reflected some significant changes amongst its membership: 35% of the
elected members of the General Synod were starting their first ever five-year term; the proportion of elected clergy who are female has increased from 21% to 28%; and women now make up 46% of the elected laity membership (up from 40%).
The Big Society The Big Society is a major theme of the new Government and is of considerable relevance to the role of religious bodies, including the Church of England. The Church has been in discussion with Government ministers to consider ways it might work in partnership with the Government to promote greater social cohesion. The debate in Synod was intended to enable the Church to understand the issues concerned more deeply and prepare dioceses and parishes to feel better equipped to respond at local level.
Anglican Communion Covenant The idea of an Anglican Communion Covenant was first proposed in 2004. It was envisaged that the Anglican Covenant would “make explicit and forceful the loyalty and bonds of affection” which govern the relationships between the Churches of the Anglican Communion. A text of the Covenant was sent last December to all the Churches of the Anglican Communion for their approval. The House of Bishops agreed in May to commend the Covenant to the Synod for adoption. Synod formally considered the Covenant before referring it to dioceses for consideration by the diocesan synods. Final approval will not be until 2012.
Other Legislative Business There was also discussion of legal technicalities relating to the law governing marriage and discussion of legislation concerning terms and conditions of service for clergy.
Background papers for each debate, alongside links to an audio archive of each session, are available at:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/about/gensynod/agendas/nov2010/index.html
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