Synod Round-up Monday 13/07/26

Today began with a variationof Synod business to allow the 'Kairos Palestine' debate that was adjourned yesterday to be completed this morning. The Private Members Motion, 'Support for Looked After Children and those in care', will now be debated tomorrow.

Business in brief

• The controversial Kairos Palestine motion passed in all three houses, in an amended form, despite a plea from the Bishop of Blackburn not to force "this motion to a vote."

• The Archbishop's Council presented their Annual Report, alongside their Budget and Proposals for Apportionment for 2027.

• The 'KIng' motion, which sought to affirm there are no fundamental objections to being in a committed, faithful, intimate same-sex relationship and that such a relatoinship can be entirely compatible with Christian discipleship - was dramatically amended, but was still rejected by the House of Bishops.

• The House of Clergy and House of Bishops met to discuss the revised Guidelines for the Professional Conduct of Clergy - which are required by the new Clergy Conduct Rules.

• The Archbishop of Canterbury asked for synod's approval for the "Vacancy in See Committees (Amendments) Regulations. It was passed in an amended form.

• Synod took note of the Annual Report of the Audit and Risk Committee of the Archbishops' Council.

• Synod engaged with a presentation and took note of the Renewing Trust: Addressing the Challenges of Trustworthiness in the Church of England' report.

• Synod appointed the Revd Richard Springer to the Archbishops' Council

• Bishop Robert Springett gave an update as the lead safeguarding bishop on the 'Makin Recommendations Task and Finish Group' and the 'National Safeguarding Team' and answered questions.

And in a little more detail:

Kairos Palestine

The debate on the controversial motion, which asked Synod to "receive" four statements from the Kairos Palestine organisation was amended to replace the word "receive" with "hear". Commitments to inter-faith dialogue and an encouragement for "the Church of England at all levels to engage with those documents as part of a quest for greater understanding of the situation..." were also added to the final motion.

These extracts from speeches made by three bishops gives some idea of the complexity of the debate.

It is not enough just to acknowledge the testimonies of Palestinian Christians. We must hear these testimonies. We must name these testimonies. And we must respond accordingly with solidarity in prayer and action. This amendment's removal of any mention of Kairos 2 will be taken by Palestinian Christians as a denial and rejection oftheir testimonies as well as imperiling their confidence and trust in the Church of England. That would be a dangerous signal to send at a time when they face such an existential challenge. Only a year ago at the York Syrod, Archbishop Hosam Nauom of Jerusalem was met by us with a standing ovation when he urged Christians globally, and that includes us, to, in his words, 'speak out in the face of injustice', and assist the church in, in his words, 'brutal and damaging times'.

Finally, the Church of England's commitment to the IRA definition is well known and needs no further elaboration here. We reject anti-semitism in all its forms, as the Carlisle motion says, and we cherish our Jewish neighbors in this land. But we must have courage to name the imbalance of power and the violations being inflicted upon law abiding Palestinian families under occupation. That is our solemn duty."

Bishop of Southwark

"I'm glad that we have accepted amendment 48, changing the word 'receive' to 'hear', but I hope that we can be clear about the meaning of that change. For it to be more than cosmetic, it must mean that while we recognize the Kairos 2 document as springing from the trauma of the Palestinian people, we are not recognizing all its language as language that we as a church accept to be used by ourselves. Kairos 2 does speak about Zionism and Israel in ways which are in marked contradiction to how most Jewish people understand themselves, their history, and their identity. As a range of voices from across the Jewish community in this country have evidenced in the last few days, if we were to categorize Zionism as an inherently racist, colonialist or genocidal movement, that would be to question the historical, spiritual, and living connection of the Jewish people as a whole with the land of Israel. and it would be to tell the vast majority of our Jewish neighbors in this country that their own view of their identity is mistaken."

Bishop of Lichfield

"The archdeacon has stuck to his line and admirably brought us back again and again to hearing the voice of the Palestinian church. I want to suggest that that task is done and that this debate and the surrounding publicity has ensured that that voice is amplified and the documents noted. So in the interest of social cohesion, particularly in deprived urban communities, I would would invite him to consider not forcing this motion to a vote. I love the Palestinian church with all my heart. I visited many times. I pray for them. I hear their stories. I learn from their courage. But I also hear the cry of my local Rabbi, whose best friend was murdered in Manchester in an anti-semitic attack. And it's an irony that this vote is happening on the very day when the police have had to invest another 250 million pounds specifically to protect the Jewish community. This vote is placing me and many others who want to be bridge builders locally in an invidious position. We've been warned against silence, but maybe there are some contexts in which the only right language is the language of prayer."

Bishop of Blackburn

The motion passed in all three houses.

	Bishops	Clergy	Laity
In Favour	25	115	113
Against	0	20	27
Abstain	5	30	35

The 'King' Motion

Detail of this debate can be found in an accompanying blog - The 'King' vote - as amended

Safeguarding

A number of important matters were raised during the presentation and the Q&A:

• The difference between 'pastoral support' and 'spiritual direction' - and the question of how lay 'spiritual directors' could be held accountable for their actions.

• The reality of 'spritual abuse' alongside the need for biblical teaching that allows for 'rebuke'.

• The need for appropraite confidentiality, but that is different to secrecy and cover-up - "In a trauma informed church, victims and survivors must be at the heart of all that we do. and secrecy only prolongs pain and hurt and further denies the justice that is rightly expected." Bishop Robert Springett.

• The potential conflict between mandatory reportng and the seal of the confessional and the need to train those who hear confessions.

• "They've also been very clear that not everything is safeguarding. There is conduct, there is capability and so on - and therefore there should be appropriate and robust responses and processes for these alongside safeguarding." Bishop Robert Springett.

• The early stages of a 'theology' of safeguarding is being developed.

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