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I can hardly believe that there are only two groups of sessions left in this present quinquenium. (February and July of 2010) I am looking forward to standing for election again next year in October so that I can continue to serve in this capacity within the Church of England. At this stage of my term on Synod I am really beginning to feel a certain clarity that comes from gaining experience whilst on a steep learning curve. I am glad that learning is a lifelong process because otherwise we would all get board very quickly.
This past Synod was primarily concerned with financial issues, legislation and other governance issues. Here are some highlights.
The finance debates included plans around clergy pensions which are a cause for concern. Clergy will need to work for an extra 3 years to cover the short fall for example. Another debate on finance was about stewardship. The economic downturn provided a challenging and perhaps a humbling context in which to have a debate. Giving for Life, a report from the National Stewardship Committee and an accompanying parish guide recommends church members to adopt an initial target of giving 5 per cent of their after tax income to and through the church, and a similar amount to other work that helps to build God’s kingdom. In reality the average giving by church members has increased in the past few years from 2.9% to 3.2%. Although I knew of these percentages previously, I still couldn’t help but be rather shocked. When I was growing up we were taught the biblical principle of giving 10% to the local body for ministry alongside the grace and joy expressed in the New Testament to give freely and not under compulsion. Giving to other para-church organisation is also essential but would be seen as additional. This is a principle Mark and I live by and do not presume to judge others. However, 3.2% as a national average is what I believe to be a sad reflection on our Western priorities. Having said this, I am delightfully aware of many local congregations whose average is even above 10%! Two amendments were passed in this debate that emphasised the need to teach our children about giving generously as well as our own giving in response to the lavish generosity of God to us in Christ.
Other debates included a review of Episcopal and Senior Church Appointments, Review of Constitutions (ie. How boards and committees are ordered for synodical business),
Urban Life and Faith and Ministry with People with Learning Difficulties. Being Adult about Childhood was a good debate addressing childhood and how we must engage with children and their needs. Needs for a stable environment while at the same time identifying excessive individualism in our culture and the “relentless educational testing regime”. I was grateful that another lay member of Synod put forward the following motion which was overwhelmingly passed stating that, “This Synod renew its commitment to enrich the childhood of all the children of England by helping them to discover that God loves them, is for them, and offers them friendship, purpose and fulfilment though faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
On a more personal note, I have been kept quite busy with additional Synod activities for which I am grateful to be a part of. I continue to serve on the Church of England Board of Education which meets twice a year, and in the spring I was appointed to serve on the Revision Committee (Draft Legislation/Women Bishops). This means a series of meetings in London until December. I consider it a privilege to serve in this capacity as I am the only woman on this committee who has theological reservations about women being appointed to the episcopate. The aim of the committee is to prepare draft legislation that, although making it a legal reality for women to become bishops, will also allow provision to be made for those who dissent from this change. It is the committee’s plan for a proposal to come up for debate by February 2010. No small task, but I will keep you informed of the outcome in due course. In addition, earlier this year I drafted a booklet on the roles of men and women in the church in the hopes of helping church members to engage with some of the theological issues surrounding the women bishop’s debate. This is due to be published in November. Finally and most recently I put down a Private Members Motion at the York Synod stating that, “this Synod express the desire that the Church of England be in communion with the Anglican Church in North America”. The ‘official’ Anglican Church in America is called The Episcopal Church or TEC. They are promoting a revisionist theology and their Presiding Bishop has recently claimed that “ the great Western heresy — that we can be saved as individuals, that any of us alone can be in right relationship with God”, she warned. “It is caricatured in some quarters by insisting that salvation depends on reciting a specific verbal formula about Jesus.” In addition, their General Convention has agreed that practicing homosexuals can be ordained to the priesthood and to the Episcopate. The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) consists of many parishes from Canada and the States who, rightly so, have separated themselves from TEC and its false teaching. The challenge of my PMM is for us as the Church of England to acknowledge, encourage and stand by them. This has caused some considerable upset but I believe it is of utter importance that we stand by the gospel of Jesus Christ unashamedly and support those who do. Whether this PMM will be debated in the February group of sessions remains to be seen, but my prayer is that it will be. We cannot continue to ignore the fact that faithful, biblical Anglicans are being hounded out of the church while we sit by and watch.
I continue to value your prayers and would be happy to answer your questions about Synod anytime.
Faithfully in Christ,
Lorna Ashworth
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