BISHOP ALAN LOOKS FORWARD TO GENERAL SYNOD

Bishop Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham, reflects on the approaching General Synod of the Church of England. Bishop Alan blogs at - well - Bishop Alan's Blog.

From the Guardian:

General Synod ahoy! Sadly for aficionados of genteel custard pie wars, bishops' gender is not slated for major discussion next week, although fans of turf – and astroturf – wars will take note of a private member's motion about a US dissident former Episcopalian group. Connoisseurs of murder at the vicarage may find some tasty morsels in the debate on terms and conditions of service for members of the clergy.

That would be Lorna Ashworth's motion:

“That this Synod express the desire that the Church of England be in communion with the Anglican Church in North America”.

"The church's parliament" it may be, but the General Synod's house of laity is democratic in the pure ­Athenian sense that only a tiny proportion of the ­punters get a vote. A while ago I questioned this aspect of the setup, but gilded ones who sit in the tearoom and make our futures told me that, even using the internet, it would self-evidently be ludicrously costly and ­bothersome to have ordinary Anglicans voting. So there.

Think of it! All of the members of the church, all us humble pew warmers having a vote on the issues! Well, surely the implementation of such a practice would be "ludicrously costly and ­bothersome", but Bishop Alan is way out in front for even having the thought.

What I wish for this General Synod, however, and the next one, is something the Rule of Benedict describes as the great work of any Christian leader – to order all things in such a way that the strong have something to inspire them, and the weak nothing they need to run away from.

Let us pray for the members of General Synod, who will be meeting beginning on February 8, 2010.

The comments to Bishop Alan's column are particularly and viciously anti-religion, although I agree with the commenter who states that the CofE bishops should be out of the House of Lords.