General Synod
July Group of Sessions 2001
How I Voted
All
motions were carried by Synod unless stated otherwise.
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Reform of
the House of Lords (as amended)
That
this Synod call upon Her Majestys Government,
in the reform of the House of Lords, to ensure that
provision fully adequate to enable Bishops of the
Church of England to continue to contribute
effectively to a reformed House be retained and that
members drawn from other Christian Churches and from
other Faiths also be added to the composition of a
new Second Chamber in our parliamentary
democracy.
in
favour
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International
Development (as amended)
That
this Synod
(a)
commend Development Matters to the Dioceses
and to the wider Church for further study;
(b) call
for global political and economic action, as set out
in Global View 2001, with a view to
strengthening the position of the worlds poor;
(c)
encourage the Church to advocate and practise justice
in the distribution and investment of its resources;
(d)
recognise that current trading relations and lending
practices have exacerbated the acute economic and
social problems facing developing countries and
therefore
(i)
urge Her Majestys Government to give
priority in trade negotiations to the needs of
the poorest communities; and
(ii)
encourage discussion with Business about the
wider social contract and corporate
responsibility of companies in pursuit of the
common good;
(e) urge
that Export Credit Guarantees are only provided for
sustainable projects which do not add further
unpayable debt to already indebted countries; and
(f) ask
that education and health for the poorest should be
priorities in any development agenda.
in
favour
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Third World
Debt (as amended)
That
this Synod
(a)
acknowledge the role of Jubilee 2000 in making third
world debt the international political issue of our
time; and
(b)
noting with regret that at the end of the year 2000
AD wholly insufficient progress had been made towards
the relief of the third world debt burden; but
(c)
recognising the complexities of some of the issues
and acknowledging the lead already given by Her
Majestys Government,
encourage
Her Majestys Government and politicians of all
parties to continue to press for urgent action by the
more affluent nations to cut debt, particularly debt
held by the World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund.
in
favour
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Working
with the Spirit: Choosing Diocesan Bishops (as
amended)
That the
Appointments Committee be instructed to appoint a
steering group to follow up the recommendations
contained in Chapter 7 of the Report, except for
recommendation 50, which should be modified to read:
'Para
16.3 of the Guidance Notes should be revised to
the effect that, before the Committee makes
nominations of candidates for election to the
Commission, the Committee should be encouraged to
consider the need for a baance among its four
representatives',
in
consultation with interested parties, and to report
further to the Synod.
in
favour
(I also
voted in favour of the amendment which added the
reference to Para 16.3. The committee refered to is the
diocesan Vacancy-in-See Committee.)
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Renewing
Faith in the Countryside (as amended)
That
this Synod
(a)
express its concern for rural people and their
economy in the wake of the Foot and Mouth epidemic;
applaud the response of the Churches at local and
national level; and call for a thorough consultation
throughout society, initiated by Her Majestys
Government, on the future priorities and role of
agriculture in the United Kingdom;
(b)
praise the ARC Addington Fund, the Royal Agricultutal
Benevolent Institution, the Farm Crisis Network and
other voluntary organisations for their prompt
actions in meeting the needs of many farming and
other rural people brought about by the Foot and
Mouth Disease crisis and call upon Her Majesty's
Government to respond with much greater urgency and
in much greater measure to the financial problems
which have become occasioned amongst coutryside
businesses and Local authorities and across the
economy of many rural areas;
(c) in
the tenth anniversary year of Faith in the
Countryside, renew the Church of Englands
commitment to its mission and ministry in rural
areas, particularly in partnership with other
Churches and bodies concerned for the well-being of
the countryside and its people;
(d)
recognise the significant place accorded to the
Church in the Governments rural White Paper and
call for this recognition to be matched by
appropriate support by Her Majestys Government;
(e)
affirm its commitment to support the work of the
Arthur Rank Centre;
(f)
encourage the dissemination of, discussion and
appropriate action on the ideas in the spring/summer
issue of Country Way and support for the work
of the Arthur Rank Centre;
(g)
acknowledge the interdependence of rural, urban and
suburban communities; and
(h) call
upon Her Majesty's Government to institute a Public
Inquiry into the outbreak of the Foot and Mouth
disease, including the events leading up to it, its
handling and its consequence.
in
favour
I voted against the amendment that added paragraph (h) to
the motion. Whilst public inquiries are very good at
blaming people, they are not so good at finding out what
happened and making balance recommendations for the
future.
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Financial
Issues Facing the Church Review of
Allocations and Apportionment
That
this Synod approve the recommendations for the
calculation of the central apportionment of the
Archbishops' Council's budget as set out in
paragraphs 1 to 6 of Annex A of the report (GS 1420).
in
favour
That
this Synod invite the Archbishops' council to
implement the proposals for selective allocations set
out in GS 1420, on the basis of option 1 in
paragraphs 7 - 8 of Annex A to GS 1420.
against
(The motion was carried)
I
voted in favour of the following defeated amendments to
the above motion on selective allocations:
Leave
out all words after "this Synod"
and insert the words
"urge
that no alterations to the selective allocation to
Dioceses be made until:
(i) the
recent increase in Diocesan contributions to pensions
has been met;
(ii)
progress has been made in working towards mutual
support between dioceses;
(iii) an
independent evaluation has been made concerning the
suitability of using Income Tax data as the major
basis for selective allocations to Dioceses, and
whether the suggested selected allocations will
really help the Church's ministry "in areas of
greatest need"; and
(iv)
allowances have been made to incorporate variations
in living costs in different areas of the country".'
and
Leave
out all words after 'GS 1420' where first occurring
and insert the words ", including in its
assessment of allocations indicators of deprivation
as suggested in Option 2 in paragraphs 11-12 of Annex
A to GS 1420".'
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The
Archbishops' Council's Budget for 2002 I voted in
favour of this budget.
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The Health
of the Poor (as amended)
That
this Synod
(a)
endorse the welcome given by the Oxford Diocesan
Synod to the reports of the Acheson enquiry, the
Family Budget Unit and the New Policy Unit together
with the theological response by the Revd Professor
Nicholas Sagovsky of the University of Newcastle on
the consequences of health inequalities, poverty and
social exclusion;
(b)
welcome the Government's White Paper Saving Lives:
Our Healthier Nation - an action plan to tackle
poor health by improving the health of everyone and
the health of the worst off in particular - and call
upon Her Majesty's Government to further develop
partnerships with local authorities, primary care
trusts and others to tackle poor health, poverty and
social exclusion;
(c)
encourage action by all members of the Church to
support policies which will improve the health of the
poor of the United Kingdom;
(d) ask
Her Majesty's Government to commission independent
research which will lead to the identification of
minimum income standards related to need and then
bring forward the legislation that will put such
minimum income standards into effect; and
(e)
encourage the Dioceses to distribute to all their
parishes the Zacchaeus 2000 Trust petition to Her
Majesty's Government on minimum incomes.
in
favour
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Additional
Collects
That
this Synod, in the light of criticisms of the new
collects for Common Worship, request the House of
Bishops to commission additional collects for each
Sunday and Feast Day in the Liturgical Year in a
worthy contemporary idiom.
in
favour
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Review
of Synodical Government: Second Report by the Bridge
Follow Up Group (GS 1412)
That
this Synod instruct the Business Committee to
introduce legislation based on the recommendations
contained in the report.
Amendments
At the
end insert the words "with the
exception of the recommendation in paragraph 13 of GS
1412 (suffragan bishops)".
in
favour
At the
end insert the words "with the
exception of the recommendations in paragraph 22 of
GS 1412 for the abolition of or, failing that, a
reduction in the level of representation for the
special constitutuency of deans and provosts".
in
favour
At the
end insert the words "with the
recommendation in paragraph 26 for the retention of
the existing constituency of one archdeacon per
diocese being replaced by a recommendation for a
special constituency for archdeacons of the same size
as the special constituency for suffragan bishops".
in
favour
At the
end insert the words "with the
exception of the recommendation in paragraph 36 of GS
1412 (Chaplain-General of Prisons)".
in
favour
At the
end insert the words "with the
exception of the recommendations in paragraph 40 of
GS 1412 regarding the abolition of the existing
Special constituencies for Universities and fresh
arrangements for the provision of theological
expertise".
against
(The amendment was defeated.)
At the
end insert the words "with the
recommendation in paragraph 40 for the provision of
theological expertise by appointments by the
Presidents after consultation with the Appointments
Committee being replaced by a recommendation for one
or more special constituencies of University
recognised teachers with theological expertise,
whether bishops, clergy or laity, male or female".
in
favour
At the
end insert the words "with the
exception of the recommendation of a total membership
of the General Synod in the range of 480-490 (plus
appointees) in paragraph of GS 1412".
in
favour
At the
end insert the words "and to
explore as a matter of urgency ways in which young
people can have an effective voice in this Synod".
in
favour
I
then voted in favour of the amended motion.
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Peter Owen
last modified 12 August 2001
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