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synod and i don t know how you possibly solve this is the adversarial nature of the whole thing we might sit in a semi circle of kinds in both westminster and york rather than facing off one another across the lines drawn into the carpet of the house of commons but the two sides still dominates much of what is done and said the for and against the right and wrong that flows out of our traditions and complex history we may be encouraged to speak well of each other we may wish to disagree well but we don t seem to be able to achieve it nevertheless i have loved general synod there is a sense and i suppose this is where the passion on all sides emanates from that the things that we are debating deciding dividing on really matter we are able to give direction to things to aid the mission and ministry into which god calls us being part of the synod that finally voted for women to be admitted to all three orders of ministry to be part of a synod that has finally allowed some kind of blessing to offered to people in same sex relationships has been a privilege i want to pay tribute to a couple of groups of people the first are those who assiduously read all the papers who put in questions requests to speak amendments who go along to the meetings of revision committees in each of the quinquennia in which i have been on synod there have been a group of people who fall into this category they want to speak in every debate they have always got their name somewhere or other on an order paper at many times they are so annoying but actually when i stop and think about it synod would not function properly with out them synod is a legislative body and part of that a big part of it is scrutiny one of my biggest regrets is not properly engaging with the proposals around the clergy discipline measure we know that it is not fit for purpose that it shouldn t have been passed that it has done more damage than good i blame myself i should have taken better notice rather than imagine that some how it was all going to be ok so for all those people who annoy the hell out of the chairs of the synod proposers of motions architects of measures and the rest of the membership of the general synod thank you my other thanks are for the huge team backstage usually literally the synod support team and the legal department come in for a lot of criticism sometimes they deserve it most often they don t having the opportunity to be at one stage chaplain to the synod and latterly one of the panel of chairs has given me access to all areas and an opportunity to get to know those who seek to manage the synod and provide what is needed by its members i have found such support in that back room such encouragement and such commitment to the church from people who get to view something of the dark underbelly of the institution again thank you so i will write my letter and hang up my synod pass and bring this blog to a close but i do so with much to be thankful for and much to have pride in we are fortunate that we are a church where voices can be heard the voices of the laity of the clergy and the bishops in the same forum a church in which that sometimes unholy trinity has to agree a church that seeks to hear what the spirit is saying that will sometimes get it very wrong but often get it very right and if ever you find yourself thinking shall i stand for general synod don t dismiss the thought too quickly you might actually love it as much as i have done i ll conclude with that favourite prayer of mine by dag hammarskjold for all that has been thanks for all that will be yes amen by andrew nunn on 17 feb 2023 permalink posted in 2023 february westminster tagged andrew nunn church of england diocese of southwark general synod southwark cathedral posted by andrew nunn on 17 feb 2023 https anunnatsynod wordpress com 2023 02 17 looking back a better story i arrived yesterday at church house knowing that the day would be a momentous one for me whatever happened in the debate about llf it was to be my final day as a member of the general synod and the final opportunity i would have to be in the chair in fact i was due to chair two debates one in the morning on governance and one in the afternoon on safeguarding but as you know the fact that the llf debate had to be adjourned at 7 15pm the previous evening and resumed after morning prayer meant that everything was being bumped in the green room for the chairs the lawyers and the administrators we were trying to work through the implications the thought was that llf probably needed another three hours to deal with the remaining 8 amendments and to give some time for a debate on the main motion whether at that stage it be amended or unamended in fact the remainder of the debate took three and a quarter hours concluding at about 12 30pm how geoffrey tattersall and the team managed it he was the chair who did a magnificent job i do not know it was a masterclass in how to manage something that had all the ingredients to become a most toxic moment but through lightness of touch and no little humour the debate was brought to its conclusion my comment had been that it could have been worse and that remained true it could have been worse as the debate wore on and as all but one of the amendments fell through lack of support from one side or the other and as i looked at the voting numbers of each of the houses at each point i remained nervous that the final vote might be very tight the result has been well reported but here it is bishops for 36 against 4 abstentions 2 clergy for 111 against 85 abstentions 3 laity for 103 against 92 abstentions 5 that means the total figures if there had been a simple count of the whole synod was for 250 against 181 abstentions 10 but the truth is that in the houses of clergy and laity there was not a 2 3rds majority and so if we had been talking about formally changing the canon on marriage i don t think there would have been the support needed so this was the best we could have hoped for and we look forward now to a period of reception in the church the technical phrase for getting used to it can you believe it i woke this morning the sun was shining on the dome of st paul s the sky was a powdery blue and it felt like a better day had dawned that we were in a better church that we had a better story to tell that phrase a better story was one that obviously was being rehearsed throughout the debate by the opponents of the llf motion they spoke of us being able to tell a better story the better story of the jesus they knew who requires those who are gay to live their life in imposed celibacy who requires heterosexual people who love each other to refrain from sexual activity outside of marriage who places a limit on love and identity and the freedom that may of us thought he won on the cross it was a mis telling of the better story in my view not a story i would be eager to share for the first time in my 40 years of ordained ministry i can look to god who will bless me and will bless my relationship in my heart i have always known that i am blessed and in fact the church has blessed me in so may ways but it has always been hidden lacking in honesty and integrity today after yesterday we can be open and honest and truthful and not live in fear this is the day that the lord has made let us rejoice in it as the psalmist says we have crossed the rubicon and we cannot go back and i hope and trust that those who voted against this will discover the good rich fruits for life that will flow from it jesus is speaking about mission to his apostles and he says this to them what i say to you in the dark tell in the light and what you hear whispered proclaim from the housetops matthew 10 27 for too long we have been whispering about inclusive love in the dark now we must proclaim it in the light from the housetops god is love and we are allowed to love and to be the ones whom god has made in love for me it feels like liberation and i say that as the dean of a cathedral in a diocese that has been enlightened and bold and brave for years and yet even in this place i have had to live looking over my shoulder so what has it been like for others in other parts of the church this is the better story and we can now tell it that god loves all of us and wants to bless all of us the rest of the business of synod went past in a bit of a blur and a haze items were bumped off the agenda my two items ended up next to each other in the middle of them the archbishop of canterbury made an intervention in the end after a rather cheeky response on my part i allowed him to speak he was so kind in thanking me publically for the role i have played in synod over the last 18 years and as a member of the panel of chairs for the last 11 it has all been a privilege and i have loved it even the bad and boring moments i will add one more reflection to this blog and then sign off finally but for the moment i just want to breathe the new fresh air of the church and thank god that i can say and believe that he loves even me a gay man a gay and partnered priest loving god may we tell your better story of love and joy of hope and promise of life now and for ever amen by andrew nunn on 10 feb 2023 permalink posted in 2023 february westminster tagged affirming catholicism andrew nunn church of england diocese of southwark general synod living in love and faith southwark cathedral posted by andrew nunn on 10 feb 2023 https anunnatsynod wordpress com 2023 02 10 a better story into extra time i m not really into using sporting analogies basically because i don t really understand sports and so i don t really know what most sporting phrases mean but i do know what extra time means and penalties of course and thanks to eddie waring s rugby commentaries what an up and under is anyway the thing is that general synod did not complete its work today we have to return to living in love and faith llf in the morning by my reckoning we have another 8 amendments to consider and then need to get back to the debate on the main motion be it by that stage amended or unamended amazingly after the sixteen votes we have taken this afternoon the motion remains intact but there is time to go today began however with a debate on the cost of living crisis which was important and then i took the chair to complete the unfinished miscellaneous provisions measure which had itself gone into extra time that was done and was followed by a debate on the parochial fees order those statutory fees that apply to weddings and funerals in the church of england between the morning and afternoon i was privileged to celebrate the eucharist in the lovely church of st matthew westminster for the members of acis affirming catholics in synod for the past i m not sure how many years i have arranged the liturgy for these services which have taken place almost invariably on the first evening of a westminster synod it has been lovely to be able to do that and that was why i was pleased to be asked to both preside and preach on this occasion it provided a wonderful moment of reflection feeding and peace before we went into the chamber for the debate on llf which was programmed to last for 5 hours it was exhausting in prospect it was exhausting in fact i will say more tomorrow when by the grace of god it will be completed just a couple of things beyond what i have said already the first is that people are behaving better than i had feared people are being careful about the language they are using in the main it is sad to have to say that about a meeting of christians but it is the case that we can use words to hurt and not to heal to destroy and not build up as it said in the gospel for the mass today the things that come out are what defile mark 7 15 it was that that i reflected on in the homily and the fact that in the first reading from the second creation narrative in genesis that it was the good creative word spoken by god that created all things good of their very nature that of course i believe includes lgbtqi people who are not a mistake not disordered but an equal part and product of the good word spoken secondly it seems as though there is a third two thirds split in both the houses of clergy and laity many of the results of votes and they have all been counted and mostly by houses have revealed this whether that will continue to be the case and especially in any final vote i obviously do not know but at the moment the synod seems generally behind what the bishops are doing the other thing is that the house of bishops is basically solidly behind their own motion with only a couple of people expressing their unhappiness by voting against the majority but it is clear that there is a large number of our brothers and sisters who are unhappy about what is proposed and about even the possibility of blessing what they regard as sinful behaviour added to this is the unhappiness expressed by many who feel that the proposals depart from the doctrine which they claim is long held that the only place for sex is within marriage and the only people allowed to be married are a man and a woman wherever tomorrow takes us we will have to deal with quite fundamental differences as we move forwards we will also have to recognise that what people have said about attitudes in other parts of the anglican communion and other parts of the christian church globally will have to be addressed because they will have implications for the wellbeing and it was suggested even lives of others the lovely chapel in church house we had two comfort breaks during the debate and i took advantage of one of them to go into the church house chapel to say evening prayer it was calm and still and beautiful and it gave me the strength to go back for more i pray that all of us will sleep well this night and in the morning be ready to move with the sprit for the sake of the church the sake of mission and the sake of one another be present o merciful god and protect us through the silent hours of this night so that we who are wearied by the changes and chances of this fleeting world may rest upon your eternal changelessness through jesus christ our lord amen by andrew nunn on 08 feb 2023 permalink posted in 2023 february westminster tagged affirming catholicism andrew nunn church of england diocese of southwark general synod living in love and faith southwark cathedral posted by andrew nunn on 08 feb 2023 https anunnatsynod wordpress com 2023 02 08 into extra time it could have been worse we have a great way in england of having phrases which do the job in quite subtle ways one broadband firm selling itself with yorkshire grit uses the phrase that ll do as describing white rose approval for something to the question how are you we invariably answer ok thanks even if we feel dreadful so when someone asked me how today has gone my answer was it could have been worse clearly it could have been but it is hardly the strap line that...