New responsibilities, Barnabas and Living in Love and Faith were all on the agenda at our June Synod meeting, where Bishop Nick gave his last Presidential Address as Bishop of Leeds.
Thanking Synod members, clergy and all who have worked with him since the formation of the diocese, he said he would “hand over the reins” with great confidence.
Bishop Nick will pass on interim responsibility for his duties to the Rt Revd Toby Howarth, Bishop of Bradford from September 1, prior to his retirement at the end of November: “Thus allowing him and me three months in which he can begin to exercise the jurisdiction of the Ordinary while I am still around to advise, if requested to do so,” Bishop Nick said.
“I will retire on 30 November from which point Bishop Toby will become legally the Acting Bishop of Leeds. This has been planned in order to facilitate a wise transition. I will say farewell to the diocese on Sunday, November 23 at Ripon Cathedral as I finally lay down my pastoral and legal responsibilities.”
Bishop Toby will hold that role during the Vacancy in See process, that will result in the appointment of a new diocesan Bishop of Leeds. A motion on the Instrument of Delegation was approved unanimously by Synod.
Bishop Nick’s last Presidential Address to Synod at Holy Trinity, Boar Lane, Leeds, may be read in full here.
Annual Reports from the Diocesan Boards and Committees were also approved unanimously and this was followed by a presentation by Janet Edmond of the Stewardship Team, that focussed on the new Parish Share Agreement. A detailed story on this project will feature on the diocesan web site soon.
Janet also highlighted how the Stewardship Team are now delivering training to clergy and the success of a new programme of meetings with treasurers and others regarding the new Parish Share agreement.
“It’s great to meet up with all our parishes and listen to what Parish Share means to them,” Janet said.
Bishop Nick had to leave Synod early and so Bishop Toby presented a discussion opportunity on Living in Love and Faith (LLF). This was in response to an encouragement from the National Church for all synods to feed back views on LLF.
Bishop Toby said this gave a chance for meaningful conversations and so Synod split into small discussion groups. Thoughts and views were collected at the end of the session, to be compiled.
Richard Pattinson (Bowland and Ewecross Deanery) proposed a motion to approve the 2024 Leeds Diocesan Board of Finance Annual Report and Financial Statements following a presentation by Diocesan Chief Finance Officer Geoff Park.
Geoff stressed the importance of growth in parish share as the selling of properties and managing of reserves provided financial stability, this was an unsustainable long term model. He also noted that 15 per cent of income now comes from strategic grants provided by the national church in money ring-fenced for specific missional projects, like Barnabas: Encouraging Confidence.
Mr Pattinson noted a significant reduction in the running costs of the diocese had been achieved with the goal of maximum economic efficiency. The motion was approved.
Deanery Synod members names and deaneries may now appear on the diocesan web site, in keeping with other dioceses, following an approved motion put forward by the Ven Paul Ayers, Archdeacon of Leeds.
The motion read: “That for every Diocesan Synod member over the age of 18 years, during membership of the Diocesan Synod the first name and surname of the Diocesan Synod member is listed on the diocesan website and that for Diocesan Synod House of Clergy members and Diocesan Synod House of Laity members, the member’s deanery is also listed.”
Revd Canon Jude Smith, Director of Ministry and Revitalisation gave a presentation on the increasing outreach and support to parishes provided by the Barnabas Team by encouraging confidence in mission for clergy and lay leaders through initiatives such as the Personal Growth and Leadership courses.
For example, she said how there was recorded growth in confidence amongst those who take part in these courses and that overall, meaningful engagement with Barnabas by parishes now stood at 51 percent.
Synod’s final item was an explanation of the Vacancy in See process that is now under way. This will involve consultations and conversations to compile thoughts and opinions from our diocese to help create a comprehensive and detailed Statement of Needs document by October 2025. A full explanation of this process will be shared on the diocesan web site soon.