What do you think the Church of England is really all about at the moment? It might be the need to become a safer church. Perhaps, it’s the difficult task of finding a united way forward on same-sex relationships, blessings, marriage. Maybe, the task of choosing a new Archbishop of Canterbury. Or, if you’ve read some of the coverage following the last General Synod, you might think the main issue is whether or not we can receive gluten-free bread and non-alcoholic wine at communion.
Someone asked me about that one, wanting to know why church leaders had spent a “whole day” debating this matter. I was able to explain that it was a question posed to church leaders, answered, and then the answer corrected. We certainly are allowed to receive (almost) gluten-free wafers and (almost) no-alcohol wine – and it took no more than a few minutes to clarify that. Praise God!
Some of the good and important things that are debated at General Synod regularly get overshadowed by the big-ticket stuff. Last time, for example, we discussed how to bring younger voices into our debates, discussions and decisions. We considered how to make ordination and other lay and ordained ministry pathways more accessible for working class people. We looked at the potential for ministry in sports and wellbeing situations. We backed the continued striving for racial justice in our church.
But for me, one of the most powerful sessions was held outside the main meeting, when some of us attended a prayer vigil for peace in the Middle East. No fuss, no media coverage, no conflicting views. Just a group of people coming together to pray for peace and to express support for our fellow human beings. The church looking outward, and praying for the world.
I think that’s what the Church of England is all about.