From Rosie Harper, a newly-elected member of General Synod of the Church of England, in the Guardian:
Her Majesty the Queen, resplendent in peachy apricot, inaugurated the ninth General Synod of the Church of England in London on Tuesday.
For new synod members there was an initiation ceremony the day before. It was deemed necessary to introduce us to the inner circle of synodical process.
Central to becoming one of them is the ability to wield the magic zapper, imaginatively called the electronic voting device, and after careful coaching most of us acquired the power.
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Maybe I had entered the world of Hogwarts for Anglicans. Church House corridors that seemed to go nowhere, pictures on the walls that winked knowingly at me. Would I be able to reconcile the dark arts of church politics and the openness and transparency of the gospel?
I should have known it would be thus. The elections were transparent as mud.
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First came the dressing up – shivering in the cloister dressed in our academicals looking for all the world like escapees for Hogwarts, we began a very long wait in the cold. A long service in Westminster Abbey followed, and then synodical life began.
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Dark arts or openness and transparency? The first session began with the presidential address. Our archbishop is a man of depth and integrity, not naturally given to dark arts. He spoke about the concept of a life well lived; what does that look like? A coherent Christian character; what is it? We were drawn in and wondered, beguiled by his gentle charming erudition, but everything stacked up in one direction. This was really an appeal for loyalty.
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If you wondered where the spells were being brewed then you'd look no further than the labyrinthine corridors and committee rooms of Church House that seemingly conceal an underworld of Harry Potter gear. Down there groups huddled to plot strategy – cunning political and procedural techniques to wrong-foot their opponents.
For those of us in the US, who may be a bit confused by the workings of General Synod of the Church of England, Rosie 'splains it all. Please read the rest of her article if you desire true enlightenment.
Rosie Harper is vicar Great Missenden, chaplain to the bishop of Buckingham.
That would be Bishop Alan, the blogging bishop. Rosie is also quite attractive, which you will see if you click the link to the article. Not that Rosie's appearance has anything to do with anything....
