From this Saturday (19-24 September), questions can be submitted to our General Synod candidates as part of the diocese’s innovative 'virtual hustings'.
The candidates’ responses to chosen questions will be available on the website from 30 September to 9 October, when voting closes.
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.”
Nominations were sought from across the diocese, resulting in a total of 39 candidates standing. Details of their names and election addresses along with the opportunity to ask candidates questions (from 19 September) can be found here.
The Diocese of West Yorkshire & the Dales 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.
Clergy in the diocese vote for clergy candidates, while lay members of deanery synod vote for lay candidates.
The election timetable:
17 September - 9 October
Copies of candidates’ election addresses on the website.
18 September
Voting papers go out
19 – 24 September
Questions for the candidates can be submitted during this period via the diocesan website using a question web-form. The question web-form will contain a tick-box allowing people to direct the question to all the candidates for the Proctors in Convocation, all the candidates for the House of Laity, or both – depending on which election(s) are taking place.
25 September (morning)
The Presiding Officer will choose the questions to be presented to the candidates.
25 September (afternoon) - 29 September
Candidates will be sent login details by email for special accounts which allow them to access the questions and complete a form for each answer. These answers will have a word limit attached to them. Candidates will have until midnight on 29 September to submit their answers.
30 September - 9 October
Questions and answers from all the candidates will be available on the website. This will give voters one week in which to read the answers, before posting their ballot papers in time for the closing date of 9 October.
9 October (12 noon)
Voting closes
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.