Church leaders in West Yorkshire & the Dales, meeting in Harrogate, debate welfare sanctions and the diocesan vision
Developing the Vision
The theme of the final 'joint' Synod (the gathering of lay and clergy leaders elected from across the diocese) of the present term was set by Bishop Nick in his Presidential Address as he focussed on the importance of a Vision for the diocese. “We need Christians - both lay and ordained” he told the gathering at St Aidan’s High School Harrogate (on Saturday July 18) “who are confident in God and the content of the Christian faith, confident in the church and the distinctive vocation of the Church of England, confident in the contexts in which God has put us. If our diocesan priorities need to be reordered, then this fundamental vocation must lie at the heart of them . . . We have an urgent need to build up Christians in the faith so that they are theologically confident to be Christian in the world we live in”.
Click here for the full text of the Presidential Address.
The Diocesan Vision was a theme that Synod members returned to later in the morning as Bishop Jonathan Gibbs (pictured left), led a debate called ‘Moving Forward Together – Developing and Implementing the Diocesan Vision.’
Members discussed three strands of the vision –Confident Christians, Growing Churches and Changing Communities. There were contributions from Archdeacon Paul Hooper, and the Revd Paul Hackwood who is acting as a consultant working with senior staff on developing a mission strategy for the diocese. From the floor suggestions were made on resources and obstacles to achieving the
three vision objectives. Positive resources included ‘prayer, help in articulating faith, training, support and information’, while obstacles including ‘the challenge of recapturing the public imagination in an increasingly hostile world, red tape, and attitude to change.’
Annual Accounts
Bishop Tom Butler presented a summary of the financial results for 2014 which showed that reorganizational costs of £491,000 had led to a deficit in general funds. A net surplus of £35,000 would have been achieved before reorganisation and he paid tribute to parishes for continuing with their Share contributions during the transition from three dioceses to one.
Poverty- Sanctions on Benefit Claimants
Six months after a motion from Bradford churches which questioned the Government's Spare Room Subsidy Measure (or 'Bedroom Tax') was passed by General Synod (in November 2014), the same deanery brought forward another motion that they would like General Synod to debate as soon as possible, calling into question sanctions for benefit claimants.
The Revd Canon Gordon Dey (pictured left), and Mr Ian Fletcher (right) presented the motion from Airedale Deanery asking General Synod to request work to evaluate the impact of benefit sanctions on claimants, and to call on the Government to implement the All Party ‘Feeding Britain’ report.
Nick Hodgkinson (pictured centre) of Bradford Advice Network presented the Synod with a graphic portrayal of the effects locally – including an increase on people turning to pay day lenders and loan sharks, increased requests for help at advice centres and a huge rise in the use of food banks. He said it was vital that the Feeding Britain recommendations were implemented – these include clearer communication from Job Centres about rules, expectations and the right to appeal, easier access to short term hardship payments, and more discretion for staff, with a ‘yellow’ card warming system before sanctions are imposed.
Several speakers from the floor described the effects they were seeing. Marilyn Bannister of Ilkley, and a member of staff at Leeds CAB described the system as ‘inhumane’. “This is an awful situation” she said.
The motion was overwhelmingly passed with only two votes against.
Synod finished with a closing Eucharist.
The first Diocesan Synod of the new term will be held on Octover 17th