With just a few hours to go for votes to be cast in elections for General Synod, candidates for lay and clergy places from West Yorkshire and the Dales have been answering questions put to them in an online e-hustings.
There are thirty nine candidates in the running in West Yorkshire & the Dales, competing for just nineteen places on the church’s governing body for its next five year term.
The diocese will elect a total of ten clergy and nine laity to the new General Synod; the highest representation of any diocese in the country except London.
The candidates’ responses to chosen questions are now available on the diocesan website until October 9 when voting closes. Eight questions were chosen from those submitted:
1) How do you think the Church of England should respond to the challenges of climate change?
2) How do you think General Synod could support, enable and equip the clergy to flourish in their vocation?
3) What do you think the role of Church should be in the poorest areas of our Diocese and Country? What resources do you think Parishes in our poorest areas need and how could General Synod support and legislate for this?
4) What are your views on the CofE using capital investments to fund projects intended to bring about church growth? How should such funding be prioritised & how should the CofE ensure accountability & measure the projects' success?
5) Can General Synod take a lead in stemming the fall in numbers of young people and families in our churches? If so how - and what would your approach be?
6) In a nutshell, what is your gospel? What is the main message of the Church of England to this nation?
7)What do you think are the main factors that the Church of England needs to take into account in deciding whether to change its policies about human sexuality? What weight should it give to the various factors?
8)What do you think are the top priorities for the Church of England in the coming five years? What can General Synod do to support these priorities?
Presiding officer, Ashley Ellis, said, “We hope that this unprecedented online hustings event will enable as many people as possible to vote in the General Synod elections.”
Clergy in the diocese vote for clergy candidates, while lay members of deanery synod vote for lay candidates. More details of all the candidates can be read in their online opening addresses here
For more information contact elections@westyorkshiredales.anglican.org.
ABOUT GENERAL SYNOD
The General Synod is the Church of England’s ‘Parliament’. It considers and approves legislation affecting the whole of the C of E, authorises new forms of worship, debates matters of religious and public interest, and approves the annual budget for the work of the Church at national level. Every five years, each diocese elects their General Synod representatives. Find out more here.
Picture courtesy of Keith Blundy with thanks