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DRAFT MINUTE OF DIOCESAN SYNODHeld at Holy Trinity and St. Barnabas, Paisley on Saturday 5th March 2016

Constitution The Synod was constituted by the Bishop during a celebration of the Eucharist.

The Bishop’s Charge given during the Eucharist:

Synod Charge 2016

Last night, having put my charge to bed some days ago, I was putting the finishing touches to a talk for Airdrie on Monday evening about Bill Vanstone’s hymn Morning glory, starlit sky by reading a recently published article about him. And I came across this, from a sermon he preached in York Minster for the consecration of a friend as Bishop of Birkenhead: The Church is not exempted from the possibility that the structures of its own creation may be the sources of its own corruption. The demonic possibilities of Episcopacy, both for those who are invested with it and for the Church at large, must be taken seriously.... Apparently this man I’ve long admired for his book Love’s Endeavour, Love’s Expense and for that hymn, was convinced “that bishops were either stupid or vain, and in some cases both.” For a church which names itself “Episcopal” and for one of its Bishops this is somewhat sobering. But we do have at least one of my advisers for Deliverance Ministry here so, Jane, if you detect any signs in this charge, step in!

Last Saturday we completed the second of our two Diocesan Pilgrimage Days at the Cathedral. They proved to be really fascinating and enjoyable occasions as we explored what it is to be Scottish Episcopalians in the early 21st century, what it is to espouse this particular, special and very precious way of being Christian and of being Church – the overall theme was Who on earth are we? And I have the badge to prove it – the Cathedral has added to its many faces a badge-making facility. There’s a whole table full of them at the back of church.

Of course, that question – Who on earth are we? – is a really huge, human question, straddling the generations, you might even say winding its way through say the whole of human history, and, at many levels, it has no one, clear, unambiguous answer. Nonetheless, I’d like to use this year’s charge to explore it just a little with you, for it is of abiding and fundamental relevance to us all.

If I begin exploring this question at the personal level the variety of attempted answers become apparent very quickly, as I’m sure it must be for us all – because I’m in no way unusual or special. I’m a Duncan, from my father’s side, but also very much a Simpson from my mother’s and I fluctuate between these two poles of inheritance. I’m the product of a very old-fashioned Scottish education – say nothing unless you know the right answer – at both primary and secondary schools. I’m aware of being the only member of my family, on both sides, to have gone to university – and when I visit St Margaret’s New Galloway, where many of the congregation, it turns out, are Oxbridge, I become once more acutely aware of the place Cambridge and Oxford, as well as the University of Glasgow, have in my life and sense of self. Most of the time, I don’t bother about the three degrees I have, one from each of these universities, or do I at some subterranean level? Another of these identity conundra! Then there’s the whole Glaswegian thing and the pride I genuinely feel in that aspect of identity – yet even that is not entirely straightforward. I was brought up very modestly in Knightswood, an inter-war Corporation Housing Scheme – my parents did not own their home until much later, thanks to Mrs Thatcher – but for the last fifteen years or so I have lived in huge south side of Glasgow villas, amidst the bourgeoisie of Pollokshields and Newlands and very nice that has been too. I am, in fact, very bourgeois and conservative with a small (very occasionally I have to admit also a big) “c”. And then there are these deeply puzzling yet vitally important wider dimensions of identity: I voted No in the Scottish referendum for all sorts of reasons, but one of them was about feeling I wanted to hold on to a strong sense of being “British” as well as Scottish. And when it comes to the European Referendum, for me that is also about identity, as well as trade



and economics, or even more so – in what sense am I European and does being in or out of the EU make any difference to that?

For me, and for each and every one of us, the kind of things I’ve been talking about as elements in any answer I could give to the question Who on earth am I or who on earth are we – and one fluctuates between these two forms of the question – are really only a fraction of the things that are encompassed by this many-levelled question of identity. But whatever these elements are, however varied they may be, they all have one thing in common – they are earth-bound, earth-given, if you like to put it that way. Who on earth are we, who on earth are you? Some of them are positive and joyful and life-enhancing, others perhaps matters of indifference, yet others experienced as negative, life-draining, however you like to put it. That’s also common to us all. And that, quite simply, because we are all of the earth and, one way or another, sooner or later, will return to it and lose our present form and visibility.

Let me, for a moment, be personal again. One of the most precious of my possessions – and being a good bourgeois I have many, many possessions, far, far too many really – is my birth certificate. Precious not just because it records my birth at 11.45am at 160 Broomhill Drive, Glasgow on 11 th

October 1950 (I’ve always been grateful for that 1950 as I am very weak when it comes to arithmetic), but also because on the back of it I read the following: Baptised in Scotstoun West Parish Church on Sunday 19th November 1950 (24th after Trinity). J. Vincent Ross, MA, BD. As far as I know that’s the only record of my baptism, apart from the family photograph taken on the day – in that picture, my brother and I are the only two left alive. Another aspect of identity, that – growing loss as one grows older - but that’s another all too familiar story, and not for today.

It’s become over the years – it certainly wasn’t always like this and so far has not become so for my sister who was baptised in the same church one and half years later - my deepest conviction that that baptism, later followed by my Confirmation and admission to the Eucharist, is far and away the most important aspect of my, or of any Christian’s identity. And it is radically different from all of the other aspects of identity that I’ve been discussing so far – it’s given by human hands and by human means, by human words and human actions, but it does not originate with them. It comes from, and is sustained by, the realm of grace, the realm of God’s unfailing and helping love and favour, so that to the question who on earth am I or who on earth are we, no merely earthly answer will do, not at all.

The world and our journey through it gives each of us multiple identities and God intends that it should be so, it is good that it is so, but, in our belief, that is not all that God intends for us, nor is it all the good that God wants to bestow on us, beloved creatures that we are. For Baptism and Eucharist, grace perfecting our nature, proclaim that our origin and our end both lie beyond the confines of the identities we acquire in this brief space of our existence which we call earthly life. And this we hold to be true not only for those who have come to belong to the community of faith which articulates and celebrates this belief, and who believe it to be so for them, but for all human beings without exception, whatever their beliefs, creeds or lack of them. For Christ lightens every person coming into the world and all human beings are created in the image and likeness of God, whether they are able to recognize it or not. That’s our belief. And so it follows that we are always and everywhere called to stand for that vision of what it is to be human that vision of the deepest human identity, which if we allow it, can guide and inform the living out of all other identities.

This conviction, to which we witness by the very fact of being Christian, that human beings are not ultimately defined by their earth-given and evolving identities but rather by their origin and end in the love of God is of incalculable importance. Our value, our dignity, our right to regard, our responsibility to one another are safely grounded not in our arbitrary earth-given identities but only in our origin and end in the love of God. In other words they are rooted in what, by God’s gracious



and loving gift, is common to all and not in anything conferred or taken away by the accidents of our place and position in life. That being so, it is very important indeed that this identity cannot be removed from us by things which may very well diminish us in the eyes of our culture and in our own eyes too – poverty, disability, asylum seeking, mental illness, exile, abuse, declining physical and mental powers. Therefore, it remains vital to witness to the truth that people suffering in these ways remain the beloved of God, the fruit of God’s love and are to be treated and regarded by others and, if at all possible, helped to see themselves, accordingly. This witness must surely lie at the heart of any Christian engagement with society. It was no accident, really, that one of the questions put to myself, the Synod Clerk and the Vice-Provost in our panel session during the Pilgrimage to the Cathedral with which I began, was about what the church can do for people struggling with mental illness and coping with the demands of ageing. I think that question can be traced to an awareness of the importance of this witness that I’ve been talking about.

This rather rambling series of reflections masquerading as a Synod Charge was prompted by our recent Diocesan Pilgrimages to the cathedral with their theme Who on earth are you? I suppose it turns out that a rather more challenging question we could ask might be Who beyond earth are you? For it is only if we take the beyond seriously that we have any hope of finding who we, and our fellow human beings, really are. The Bishop in the Chair.

Welcome

The Bishop called Diocesan Synod 2016 to order, and invited Revd. Dr. Tom Wilson to speak to Synod. Revd Dr.. Tom Wilson, Rector at Holy Trinity and St. Barnabas welcomed Synod to Holy Trinity and St. Barnabas, and commented how glad he was that Synod were meeting here again. He also gave some housekeeping notes, and commented that the new seating arrangements seemed to be working better than the previous year.

The Bishop then welcomed ecumenical guests including representatives from other Christian denominations; Revd. Elizabeth Oliver from the Glasgow Methodist Circuit, Revd. Roy Henderson from the Presbytery of Glasgow, and Major David Wing, Divisional Ecumenical Officer from the Salvation Army. He also welcomed other visitors; Revd. Canon Anne Tomlinson, Principal of the Scottish Episcopal Institute, Revd. Lyndsey Sanderson, Righead United Reformed Church in East Kilbride, Dr Margaret Owen, Mrs. Helen Gray from the Diocesan auditors SRG LLP, Mr Holgar Sandelin, Secretary to the Bishop of the Diocese of Gothenburg. The Bishop conveyed his best wishes to Bishop Per in Gothenburg through Mr Sandelin.

The Bishop then extended a warm welcome to the Revd. Audrey Stewart, the newly appointed Canon Missioner to the diocese. Revd. Stewart expressed her delight at being able to be at Synod with everyone from around the diocese and explained that she would take up her role at the beginning of August, and was delighted to meet us all.

The Bishop then drew the attention of Synod to the changes in the diocesan roll noted in the Synod papers. He noted that we had already commemorated those who had died, and welcomed those who had joined the Diocese, Revd. Heller Gonzalez, Revd. Lesley-ann Craddock and Revd. Martin Ayers. The Bishop also noted those who had changed duties within the Diocese; Revd. Drew Sheridan, Revd. Canon Tom Montgomery and Revd. Dr Kevin Francis. He asked Synod to note that Revd. Dr Donald Orr had retired, and that Revd. Christian Okeke and Revd. Dr. James Currall had both left the Diocese. All new members of Synod, both clergy and lay were asked to stand and receive the acclaim of Synod.

Apologies for Absence



The Diocesan Secretary announced that the following clergy were absent with permission from the Bishop;

ABSENT WITH PERMISSION CHARGERevd. Les Ireland LenzieRevd. Lucy Ireland East End TeamRevd. Canon Tom Montgomery TroonRevd. Professor David Jasper Cambuslang/UddingstonRevd. Canon Dr. Charlotte Methuen NewlandsRevd. Maggie McTernan NewlandsRevd. John Repath New GallowayRevd. Andrew Baldock South Ayrshire TeamRevd. Kenny Macaulay Dumbarton/Alexandria

A further 6 other clergy had sent their apologies.

Apologies had also been received from 4 Lay Representatives, 3 of whom were represented by Alternates leaving 4 charges without a Lay Representative vote; St. Ninian’s Portpatrick, St. John’s Eastriggs, St. Andrews Milngavie and St. Mary’s Gatehouse of Fleet.

Apologies had also been received from the following denominations and invited guests;The Baptist Union of Scotland, United Free Church of Scotland, The Hon. Lord McEwan, Assessor, Dr John Davies. Richard Starkey, Dr. Richard Evans, Douglas Allison and Rebecca Cadie (Diocesan Architect).

Finally, the Bishop asked Synod to stand and mark a time of silence to remember the following, Revd. Canon Joyce Pow, and Revd. Colum McGranahan, who died this year.

Appointments for Synod

The Bishop explained that the Chancellor would normally officiate as Bishop’s Assessor, however in his absence, should he need any legal help, he would consult from the floor the Revd. Paul Romano, Convenor of the Provincial Canons Committee. The Bishop then requested, and received Synod’s agreement to the following appointments for this meeting:

Minute Secretaries: Mr. Chris Zochowski, Mrs. Christine HughesTellers: Mrs. Christine Hughes, Mrs. Gill Young.

The Bishop also asked Synod’s approval for guests and non-voting members to speak at Synod. The following appointments for the coming year were then read out by the Bishop;

Appointments Diocesan Secretary (Canon 61 Res 1): Mr. Chris Zochowski Diocesan Treasurer (Canon 61 Res 2): Mr. Bob Burgon.

Diocesan Property Committee (Canon 50.9): Convenor - The Dean, Diocesan Architect, Diocesan Surveyor, Diocesan Treasurer, Mrs A. Sage, Mr. R. Webster and Mr. A. Jamieson. The Dean then announced a new member of the Committee, Mr. Stephen McVey.



Boundaries Committee (Canon 50.8): (nominations from Regional Councils) Ms. Jennifer Whelan, Revd. David Cook, Revd. Gordon Fyfe, Mr. Alfred Thorp, Mr. Martin Axford, Revd. Alan Wylie, and Mr. Paul Hindle.

Diocesan Auditors: (Canon 61 Res 9): Steele Robertson Goddard (SRG LLP). The Bishop explained that the Auditors had already presented their report, (included in the Synod papers) to the Diocesan Council as Trustees of the Diocese, and were represented by Mrs. Helen Gray at Synod. He offered his thanks to the Auditors for the professional job that they do for us.

All of the above appointments were approved by Synod.

Approval of Minutes

The Bishop requested that Synod agree the Minute of the Diocesan Synod held in Holy Trinity and St. Barnabas, Paisley on 7nd March 2015. The Bishop then asked for Synod’s approval to sign the Minute as a correct record of events and this was duly proposed by Mr. Alan Rumble and seconded by Revd. Alan Wylie.

Matters arising: There were no matters arising from the Minute of 2015.AOCB: No items had been notified for the meeting.

The Bishop then invited Mr. Kennedy Fraser to address Synod about housekeeping issues regarding the use of microphones during the day, and he requested speakers to give their name and charge before speaking for the recording of proceedings.

Election announcement

The Diocesan Secretary announced the elections required of Synod and advised that there were separate coloured voting papers, cream for Lay Representatives and pink for Clergy.

The first election was for two Clergy Members of General Synod. The nominations received to date were;

Candidate Charge Regional CouncilRevd. Lesley-Ann Craddock St. Oswald’s King’s Park Glasgow SouthVery Revd. Kelvin Holdsworth St. Mary’s Cathedral Glasgow North - East

As no-one else wanted to stand, the candidates were elected unopposed. Secondly, in the election of four Lay Members of General Synod, there had already been four nominations received as below:

Candidate Nominated byProf Rob Smith SynodAnne Jones SynodGraeme Hely Glasgow North -WestJim Gibson Glasgow South

There were no further nominations, and the Secretary announced that the four candidates would be elected unopposed as Lay Members of General Synod.



The election of four Alternate Clergy Members of General Synod was next. The Secretary explained that alternates were elected every year, and they served for one year only. The election required the alternates to be voted for and ordered by the number of votes to produce the order by which they would be called to attend General Synod to stand in for any Clergy Member of General Synod who had to pull out. One additional Clergy member was requested and Revd. Moira Jamieson was duly nominated making the four nominations;

Candidate Charge Regional CouncilRevd. Canon Tom Montgomery St.Ninian’s Troon AyrshireRevd. Sydney Maitland All Saints Jordanhill Glasgow North WestRevd. David Gifford Port Glasgow RenfrewshireRevd. Moira Jamieson Revd. Kirstin Freeman Revd. John Macleod

Clergy were requested by the Secretary to order their selections and hand the completed papers in for counting over lunch. At this point Very Revd. Kelvin Holdsworth requested clarity about the systems being used to count and distribute the votes for the order of alternates. Following discussion it was confirmed that while up to 3 crosses were placed against the four candidates in previous years, the method should now be changed to ask Clergy to place up to 4 crosses against the candidates of their choice. The results of the order for alternates would be announced by the Dean at the end of the Synod.

The election then followed for four Alternate Lay Members of General Synod. The Secretary announced the nominations already received;

Candidate Regional CouncilAnthea Clarke AyrshireIan Ansdell Glasgow North WestTrudy Hill Glasgow North EastJohn Mitchell Renfrewshire

There were no further nominations from the floor. Lay Members of Synod were requested to order their selections by placing up to 4 crosses against the candidates of their choice and to hand in their completed papers for counting over lunch.

The Secretary then announced that a Diocesan representative was required for the Provincial Information & Communication (I&C) Board, and both Lay and Clergy members had a pale blue coloured voting paper with the one nomination received to date;

Candidate Regional CouncilRevd. Kirstin Freeman Glasgow North West

No other nominations were received from the floor and Revd. Kirstin Freeman was duly elected as the Glasgow and Galloway representative on the I&C Board.

Submission of Synod Returns

The Bishop requested the Diocesan Secretary to introduce the Summary of Congregational Returns contained in the agenda papers. The Secretary drew Synod’s attention to the statistics giving the summaries of congregational roll numbers and numbers of those communicants as recorded on the Sunday next before Advent. He then invited comments from the floor.



Kennedy Fraser, Lay Representative, St. James the Less, Bishopriggs, had two questions. He asked when we would start to analyse the returns to reflect the success of our missional growth strategy. His second question was about the Living Wage, and whether charges were being asked to confirm if they were paying the Living Wage. He noted that an event was scheduled to take place at Hamilton on April 23rd. The Secretary replied that we had not asked charges the question, but that the Diocese had agreed to meet with the Living Wage Campaign for Scotland’s national steering group about how we could move this issue forward. Regarding the first point, we would take that on board and find ways to carry out the requested analysis.

Revd. Jane Ross, St.Ninian’s Prestwick, speaking as Convenor of the provisional Mission Board, noted that the Board had been asked to look at how we collect information and statistics from charges, to reflect growth and life in churches. The aim will be to use the data we have as well.

Protection of Vulnerable Groups Report

Mrs Anne Jones, St. Mary’s Cathedral and Diocesan Protection Officer presented the Vulnerable Groups Report. She noted that there were 60 charges in the Diocese. There had been 53 returns and no serious concerns had been noted. There are still 7 returns to be chased up. PVG legislation had now put responsibility for safeguarding and PVG firmly into the remit of vestries. She stressed that she had to report what was going on at charge level to the Provincial Safeguarding Committee. Clergy and Lay Reader training so far this year had been low, and she urged attendance from clergy, noting that volunteers and vestry members were now attending in good number. There were to be two further training events this year. The Bishop thanked Anne and asked if there were any questions or comments. Revd Dr James Clark Maxwell from St. John’s Dumfries asked if she had counted training events organised by the Methodist church as he had attended one. The Bishop thanked Anne on Synod’s behalf for the excellent job she is doing, and reinforced that she carried out this work with diligence, for which he was grateful. Synod expressed their appreciation through applause.

Revd. Canon Shelley Marsh in the Chair.

Adoption of Accounts, Approval of Diocesan Treasurer’s Report

Revd. Canon Shelley Marsh invited the Diocesan Treasurer, Mr Bob Burgon to address Synod regarding the finances of the Diocese. The Treasurer began his presentation by explaining that the regulated report and accounts were in a separate paper, which had been circulated to Synod. He then thanked the Diocesan Centre staff, especially Jean Graham, Christine Hughes and Helen Gray of the auditors for their work in both the day to day collection of financial material and for the collation of the accounts to meet the statutory requirements of OSCR.

The Treasurer reported that we had a deficit of £41,030 over the year against a projected deficit of £166,500. He recalled that this was as he had prophesised last year. The variances were highlighted in the report, with the major item being money unspent on Ministry Support due to some lengthy vacancies. Other underspends had been noted in the Clergy Learning Accounts, and this had been offset to some extent by higher grant payments throughout the year. Overall the funds of the Diocese had dropped by £241,000 over the financial year to £6.5M, due largely to stock market fluctuations. While that was disappointing, it was worth recalling that at the end of 2013, the Diocesan funds were £6.3M so we are still ahead of that point.

On the income and expenditure account, the Treasurer noted that there was a full breakdown into the various categories in his report. Jim Gibson, St. Margaret’s, Newlands had two questions,



and also thanked the Treasurer for his helpful income and expenditure report with variances. He asked whether there was any evidence of congregations struggling to meet quota, and also wondered if clergy were unwilling to learn or unable to find the time to do anything or felt that they didn’t need to learn. In answer to the second question the Treasurer commented that clergy learning and development was not his area, however there was ring fenced money in the budget. On the quota question, he noted that we were working almost two years behind congregational income in some cases, but he did not believe that there was any great pressure in regard to meeting quota. The problem was basing his budget on the returns of two years ago.

Kennedy Fraser, Lay Representative, St. James the Less, Bishopriggs raised questions on the award process for the growth grants supporting MAPping actions. Outlining the timescales involved in the process, he gave examples from his own charge. The applications had been sent to the Diocese in October, but the Growth Convenors meeting had to wait until January, and the cheque was delivered in February, four months after agreement at the Regional Council. A second application for a much larger amount of £15,000 had however gone through much faster and with less rigorous governance. He asked that this be brought up at Diocesan Council. In reply, the Treasurer responded that he was aware that the payment mentioned had been in breach of financial regulations, and this had been addressed at both Bishop’s Staff Group and Diocesan Council. The Treasurer added that he had written a paper outlining a new simpler and clearer process which would now be going through the channels of agreement.

Speaking as a charge treasurer, Chris Evans, Alternate Lay Representative, Largs, commented that he understood quota to be paid over 10 months and he wondered if there was an opportunity to spread payments over 12 months, which would ease cash flow. The Treasurer responded that the issue was driven by the time lag of financial schedules coming in but he would take the comment on board and look at it again.

The Chair then requested that if Synod was content with the accounts and report they should be formally adopted. Agreement was proposed by Revd. Canon David Bayne, Castle Douglas and seconded by Alan Rumble Lay Reader Emeriti, Castle Douglas. The Chair then explained that Synod would reschedule the Canons item to the afternoon and that we would now move to the discussion on the Diocesan Constitution to be led by the Provost, the Very Revd. Kelvin Holdsworth, St. Mary’s Cathedral.

Diocesan Constitution Review

The Provost introduced the topic and explained the background to the need for review of the Diocesan Constitution. He felt that knowing our processes had the benefit on allowing us to let go and carry on with the things we are called to by God. The changes both within and outside the Diocese in size, shape, in regulation of charities in Scotland had all changed significantly since the Constitution had last been reviewed. There are also some questions of clarity about what we do, how we do it, and what the point of it is.

Some of these questions, and others around our Regional Councils, how we elect the Diocesan Council and whether we could simplify governance of the Diocese had been the subject of the recent written consultation asking people to think about these things. The results had revealed some areas of agreement. In particular it seemed that people understood that we could bring together some of the tiers of governance and question the number of people to be involved in them.

To help enrich the consultation responses, The Provost asked that Synod look at three of those questions again, in groups broadly representing the geography of the Diocese. Following the



discussion and production of the minute, the Bishop’s Staff Group intend to reflect on the issues, and look at an appropriate way to bring back a revision of the Constitution to Diocesan Synod.

The three questions for discussion were around; The idea of bringing the Diocesan Council and Bishop’s Staff Group together in a single

body with representatives elected by Diocesan Synod, and of setting Regional Councils free to do what they feel is appropriate for them in their regions without the feeling that they must act like a mini-Synod. Also allowing Synod to elect its own Standing Committee.

Possible changes to the boundaries of Regions and any changes as to how the Regional Councils work.

Open question on whether there were any other matters to be raised relating to the Diocesan Constitution.

A table discussion followed and the key points made were as follows;

Lanarkshire – confusion was apparent amongst those not closely involved in Diocesan Council as to the definition and differences between that body and the Bishop’s Staff Group. Feeling that simpler is better but also that BSG needs to be able to discuss confidential issues that may not be appropriate in the wider diocesan context.

Galloway (1) – general agreement that less bureaucracy and a single body would be a good idea, but the ‘how’ would require detailed input from a dedicated and knowledgeable working group. It was stressed that representatives on such a Standing Committee should come from the Regional Councils, not from Diocesan Synod. It was thought that Regions could conduct such elections and Synod could homologate the decisions. Galloway did not feel that any boundary changes were necessary.

Glasgow North West – considering the size of the new body, it would be hard to find the optimum number of members and difficult to arrange meeting times due to having a mix of members who worked along with those who did not. The table felt that representatives should be elected at Regional Council level and one of the advantages of this would be to avoid over or under representation from certain regions. The table were against changes to boundaries of regions.

Glasgow North East – basically not much needed changed, support for a core group such as the BSG and Diocesan Council model as it stands. Agreed that the Council body could be smaller and also that it could be elected by Synod, but that Regional Councils should have input as to who would stand for nomination. Eligibility should be broader than just the Synod members, and include Region representation. Meeting times were seen as an issue.

Ayrshire – agreed that the Diocesan Council representatives should be elected by the Regional Councils but homologated by Diocesan Synod. If there were to be one body, there were concerns about uneven representation across the diocese. Communication needed to be improved to enable congregations to get a sense of belonging to a wider body, the Region and the Diocese.

Renfrewshire – concerned that special interest groups could get over representation if voting was restricted to Synod. Diocesan Council should continue to be elected by each Region but BSG could be combined into the new body with a strict quorum. Renfrew Region felt they could be expanded if required.



Galloway (2) – Council should be elected by the Regions, otherwise a particular region could become more influential. Homologation at Synod of decisions taken at Regional level precedent seemed a good way forward,

Glasgow South – change is good, and it might be good to bring the two groups together, but elections should be held at Regional Council level. This would improve accountability and transparency of process.

Added comments – reflection on size of regions, some of the larger ones could be divided to invigorate the smaller ones

Glasgow South (2) – request for clarity of form and function and support for the need to have a BSG

Glasgow NE / Lanarkshire – feeling that Diocesan Council is important in charity terms, needs to represent everybody. BSG needed to carry on to ‘run the business’ at an operational level.

Motion for Approval by SynodMurray Churches East Kilbride - Local Ecumenical Partnership

The Chair then asked that Synod deal with a motion proposed by Revd. Paul Fletcher and seconded by Alan Jackson, Lay Representative, St. Marks East Kilbride. Revd. Paul Fletcher introduced the motion and Revd. Lyndsey Sanderson of the Righead United Reformed Church, (URC) spoke in support of the motion, explaining that the partnership covered four congregations in the Murray district of East Kilbride. Revd. Lyndsey Sanderson spoke of the joint activities of the congregations, describing where the growing partnership had taken the churches over the last 3 and a half years and spoke of the desire to formalise their commitment to each other. The methodology that the partnership wished to use, known as the Australian Model of Partnership was a multi-dimensional one, particularly allowing the United Reformed and the Scottish Episcopal congregations to progress and allow authorised shared celebrations of the Eucharist between them. Each of the congregations are committed to the partnership and they hoped to gain the approval, support and blessing of this Synod and of the URC Synod early in April.

The Bishop thanked Paul and Lyndsey and requested that Synod supported the motion as published in the papers. The chair checked that there were no other speakers and Synod agreed to pass the motion.

The Dean then confirmed the arrangements for voting for alternate members of both clergy and laity, which were that members were asked to place up to 4 crosses, only one per candidate, on their papers. Synod then broke for lunch.

Bishop’s Lent Appeal

After lunch, Revd. Cedric Blakey introduced a short film about the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation and then he interviewed Dr. Margaret Owen who spoke of her background in anaesthetics and chronic pain at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in South Glasgow. Dr. Owen then talked of her experience visiting the hospital in Bethlehem and talking to the staff. Access to medical care in Jerusalem is now very difficult due to the construction of the wall, and so the Bethlehem hospital are having to provide a wider range of care than just rehabilitation. At present they are keen to purchase a new hospital cardiac stress test machine, which allows monitoring of the heart to give an assessment of a patient’s health and readiness for further treatment. Bishop Gregor commended the appeal, noting that he had been to Bethlehem and



seen the facility, now cut off by a wall, which he found very moving and he hoped that the Diocese would respond with their usual generosity to the appeal.

Canons for Second Reading

Revd. Paul Romano, Rector of St. Ninian’s, Pollokshields and Chair of the Committee on Canons, introduced the four changes for second reading at General Synod in June. Revd. Romano talked Synod through the changes to Canons 52, 57, 60 and 63, all reflecting the policy of the Church to have the Canons reflect the age of legal majority in Scotland. In each case this involved changing the age requirements and definitions of an adult from 18 to 16. The Chair then asked if there were questions or comments. Paul Hindle, Lay Representative, Lenzie asked if this was consistent with the laws on trustees. Revd. Romano confirmed that this was the case. Revd. Martin Ayers, St. Silas, Glasgow, added that he had concerns about giving young persons the responsibility of being trustees at the age of 16 and 17. He also felt that as vestries are required to have a certain shared ministry spiritual leadership role, again the age of 16 was too young to burden them with that responsibility. Kirsty Buchan, Lay Representative, St. Mary’s Hamilton, questioned why the requirement for confirmation is being removed. She had personal experience of being involved at the age of 18 in vestry business, and was in support of allowing anyone showing an interest in the running of the church to do so, and felt that they should be encouraged. Revd. Pat Smith, St. Margaret’s Renfrew, also agreed that certain young people are able and should be encouraged to participate in church affairs, if they are willing to come forward. Dr Beth Routledge, Lay Representative St. Mary’s Cathedral clarified that the reason we were doing this as a church was to fall in line with the changes in line with the Law allowing young persons of 16 to vote and engage in the political process in Scotland. She too supported the changes proposed in the Canons.

The Bishop, in response to some of the questions, replied that regarding confirmation, as we no longer required people to be confirmed to become a communicant member, this move reflected that position. The Chair then asked Synod to express their support for each of the amendments to the Canons by a show of hands. The proposed amendments to Canons 52, 57, 60, and 63 were all passed.

Budget and Approval of Same

The Chair invited the Diocesan Treasurer, Mr. Bob Burgon, to present his budget for the coming year to Synod. Having reasonably forecast the deficit last year, the Treasurer reported that he had extended the projected deficit this year to £170,000. To give Synod some understanding of the points in his report, he explained the change in the grant system for ministry support from the Province to the Diocese. This year a lump sum was granted to the diocese and it meant that we could spend it in support of our charges without fear of having to return any unspent money at the end of the year. The Treasurer also explained that he had been notified that the travel grant was being abolished by the province, and he had set in motion a process to remove it over the next three years. Support for travel expenses could still be provided on request to the diocese. Similarly the Dunderdale grant for needy charges had been limited to only a few charges in the past. This year he had decided, along with the removal of provincial grants for quinquennial reviews for needy charges, to use the Dunderdale monies to set up a new fund for quinquennial reviews that could be accessed by charges through the Diocesan Property Committee, on application.

The Treasurer drew the attention of members to the spend items outlined in his report. He noted that the projected deficit almost equated to the money being spent on ministry support across the diocese. It was an issue that we had to live with whilst congregations struggled to meet their growth objectives. In respect of the Clergy Learning Accounts, the Treasurer had reduced the budget.



This did not mean that there was less money available, as he had ring fenced the money from previous years for this purpose. This year he had also created a Projects budget of £50,000 for as yet unforeseen support, whether in fabric or other terms.

The Chair asked if there were any questions and then requested and received a proposer, Margaret Hanley and seconder Paul Hindle from the floor.

Scottish Episcopal Institute (SEI) – Revd. Canon Anne Tomlinson, Principal of SEI

Revd. Canon Anne Tomlinson first brought greetings from the General Synod Office (GSO) as she was their representative at this Synod. She brought news of committee vacancies and asked that anyone interested should contact the GSO. These vacancies were on the Investment Committee, the Retirement Housing Committee and the Global Partnerships Committee.

Turning to the Clergy Remuneration Review, she requested that clergy complete the on-line version of the questionnaire for the GSO.

Talking of the SEI, Revd. Canon Anne Tomlinson first thanked the diocese for its generous support through the Lent Appeal last year, which had been used to set up an SEI Training Fund supporting younger candidates for ordination who wish to train full time. Regarding training for Lay Readers she reported that this had now become a three year training course, and that all Lay Readers will be expected to attain a Diploma prior to becoming licensed. This underlines the importance of their role. From September on, the modules for the Lay Readers course will be available over Skype to allow candidates to train from home for the academic parts of the course. Regarding other developments, Revd. Canon Anne Tomlinson told Synod of mixed mode training, allowing candidates to serve three days a week as interns in larger charges gaining practical experience alongside their academic studies. The SEI has also been seeking validation of their curriculum by Durham University. The integrated curriculum now enables formational emphasis to be foremost in the training and enables more field education work to train reflective practitioners who can use their academic knowledge to face up to day to day challenges and pastoral situations.

Wider placements are now possible under Common Awards, enabling candidates to experience a variety of churchmanship opportunities. In their third year students will undertake a whole year with the context they choose. There is a new pattern to the residential weekends, looking more at immediate issues of concern to the Church and the world. Many of the study sessions will be led by clergy and lay people from this diocese. Summer school will also look at issues such as safeguarding, buildings and finance this year.

The SEI hope to change the summer schools as they are currently organised to take the students away to different kinds of contexts, such as social agency projects, visiting Mirfield, Taize or Israel/Palestine. A new dispersed library facility will be operating shortly as library access changes to offer students to access libraries nearer to their homes. Meetings in the General Synod Office have been upgraded to allow Skype sessions to take place easier. Revd. Canon Anne Tomlinson introduced the SEI staff to Synod, and thanked the church at large for giving the SEI and theological proper staff and budget resources. She then gave an insight into the involvement of the Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway, through sending students by offering diocesan advisors and mentors to accompany candidates along their three year journey, and by providing student placements.

Targeted giving for the training fund will be aimed at previous alumni and any charges with funds to help. She asked for our prayers for the SEI and showed a final slide of all 24 people at the Institute.



The Chair thanked Revd. Anne Tomlinson for her presentation.

Outreach news

St. Mary’s Hamilton – Kirsty Buchan, Lay Representative The Chair then invited the first of four short presentations on outreach news, starting with the St. Mary’s for All project at Hamilton. Kirsty Buchan updated Synod on the completion of the project, and thanked the diocese for its support over the last few years. She showed pictures of the new rooms and spaces, including new gathering space and café, meeting rooms, commercial kitchen, offices and improved hall. Following the success of the official opening, St. Mary’s have found that they can now use the space to benefit the community at large and extended the use of their facilities. In setting up a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation or SCIO to manage the spaces, St. Mary’s have taken the bulk of the management outwith the vestry, and widened the reach into the community, with external trustees. The church is now in a good position with respect to growth by many organisations that use the facilities, both private lets and more permanent rentals. Also the congregation has been inspired and has let to further growth.

St. Mary’s Port Glasgow – Clydemen Project - Revd. David Gifford.Revd. David Gifford told Synod of the beginnings of the Clydemen project, a lunch club set up in response to the needs of the men of the Lower Clyde and the sadness that surrounds their identity as ship workers with little left to mark that work in the area. The people who come to the club are linked by their pride in their work, and united by the tradition of their working lives. Starting very young as apprentices in hard and unforgiving circumstances and conditions that would be unacceptable today, they built not only ships but great camaraderie too. The men and women involved in ship building now have a place where they are wanted and valued by our church. Giving them a taste of God’s love is helping to mend their broken identity. Many of the some sixty former workers, now unemployed and often left with physical disabilities who attend regularly find pride not only in what is happening in the resurrection of the industry in the area but also in what they did in their working lives. The group is growing and moves from their own small meeting room into the great hall for talks and food. As a missional part of St. Mary’s life, the Clydemen are invited to say Grace and attend services in the church, and to take comfort in Jesus.

St. John’s Dumfries – Canon Robin Paisley Revd. Canon Robin Paisley gave a presentation on St. John’s, highlighting what is on offer by the church in its provision of a place of sanctuary for the community. The presentation invited Synod tosee for themselves the welcome offered through the building and its links to people and communities of faith in the town. In comments received, it is apparent that St. John’s is a prayerful and peaceful place. The congregation have worked to offer St. John’s as a place of peace and spirituality to people who visit and this was clearly demonstrated in the presentation.

St. Oswald’s Kings Park – Revd. Lesley-ann Craddock As a recent new Rector in the diocese, Revd. Lesley-ann Craddock talked about her experiences since taking over at St. Oswald’s. She explained that on walking around the area of the church she had found a community of hopefulness, but one that did not seem to know anything about the church. People thought that her new charge was a hall for a slimming club. By getting chatting to clients of the club, she had found that spirituality and a thirst for knowledge about God and religion existed but had not been explored. Some of the club have now come into the church and got involved in their craft projects. Through building these relationships, she is starting to bring people closer to the church and taking away some of their fear of talking about God. Through some of the conversations it became apparent that men in the area were finding themselves out of work and needing a new focus and resources. From this came a bid for a development worker to explore the



need for a Men’s Shed in the area. Other groups are also getting started and St. Oswald’s are exploring what they can do for their community.

Five Minute Slots

The Chair then invited several speakers to address Synod on a variety of subjects as detailed below;

1. Magpie Mission – Gill Young, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow.

Gill explained to Synod that the idea of Magpie Mission had come from the Mission Board through its restructuring into networks. From this restructure had come the idea of a Living Mission Network, which aims to collect stories from across the diocese of experiences of mission that can be shared amongst us all. The new ways of mission in its various guises allow for gathering and sharing of experiences and encouraging each other as we work away within each of our faith communities.

As a facilitator, Gill sees that she can reflect back to people the helpful stories from others in a form of encouragement to others. Gill offered a website address for people to gather and communicate electronically with each other about their good news ideas. [email protected]

2. Scottish Churches Census – Chris Zochowski, Diocesan Secretary

Chris Zochowski reported to Synod that the fourth Scottish Churches Census was due to take place on Sunday May 8th and the Scottish Episcopal Church was enthusiastic that all its charges should take a census of those using their churches that day. The last census had been carried out in 2002. The census was being conducted by all denominations and all churches in the country would be asked to take place. Each person attending church will be handed a ‘tick’ sheet to complete in an anonymous fashion and this information will then be collated for submission to the organisers. As he was provided with the full details, he would send them on to each Rector. The census would produce statistics and trend on church-going, which could be very useful for both local and national planning.

3. Overseas Committee – Canon John Riches, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow

Canon John Riches made Synod aware of the diocesan overseas group and reported on the meeting from last year and talked of the aid being sent to Malawi, including a threshing machine. The committee coordinates and facilitates overseas projects and communicates what is going on, especially in this Fair Trade diocese. He indicated that the movement needed reinvigorating as there was much work that could be done, including offering some welcome and help to refugees. Canon John also announced that they intended to collect and reuse mobile phones to send to Africa.

4. MAPping Event – Revd. Jane Ross, Prestwick St.Ninian’s

Revd. Jane Ross announced the upcoming event, ‘Seeing the Wood for the Trees’, intended to help each come together and learn what is working and what is not working in Mission Action Planning (MAPping) across the diocese. The event is to take place on May 7th at St. Ninian’s Troon.

5. U.N. Commission Conference on the Status of Women – Rachel Fraser

Rachel Fraser spoke to Synod about her invitation to New York later in June to attend the 60th U.N. commission on the status of women (CSW). Rachel informed Synod that the commission,

mailto:[email protected]



established in 1946, aims to promote gender equality and women’s rights worldwide. The Anglican Communion sends around 20 delegates out of a total of 2,000 delegates from non-governmental organisations, and she is representing the SEC this year.

The two main themes this year are the priority theme of Women’s Empowerment and the Link to Sustainable Development and the review theme (from the 57th session) is the elimination and prevention of violence against women and girls. The focus is on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) for the world, adopted by all 193 UN member states last September, and intended to be met by 2030.

The CSW sessions will look at links between the SDG’s and the empowerment and role of women in meeting them. Rachel gave examples such as Goal Four, which calls for quality education, and will vastly improve the prospects of women for their lives and for the lives of those around them. Similarly Goal Eight, calls for economic growth, empowering women with the tools to gain employment and start their own businesses and contribute to economic growth. She also felt that achieving Goal Five on gender equality, huge steps will be taken to achieving the other Goals.

In attending the commission, Rachel explained that she hopes to better understand the status of women worldwide and with the focus on faith based activism, explore how the SDG’s could be brought home to Scotland and help to improve the status of women in the church in Scotland. Rachel thanked the Global Partnerships committee and promised to share the lessons and outcomes on her return.

Revd. Canon Shelley Marsh concluded her session as Chair, and handed over to Very Revd. Ian Barcroft, Dean of the Diocese.

Election Results

The Dean announced the Election Results;

Members of General Synod – House of Clergy – Elected by Regional Councils and homologated by Diocesan Synod - Revd. Lesley-ann Craddock, Very Revd. Kelvin Holdsworth.Members of General Synod – House of Laity – Elected by Regional Councils and homologated by Diocesan Synod - Prof. Rob Smith, Mrs Anne Jones, Mr Graeme Hely and Mr Jim Gibson.Alternate Members of General Synod – House of Clergy in order of votes cast: Revd. Canon Tom Montgomery, Revd. Moira Jamieson, Revd. Sydney Maitland, Revd. David Gifford.Alternate Members of General Synod – House of Laity in order of votes cast; Miss Trudy Hill, Mrs Anthea Clarke, Mr Ian Ansdell, Mr John Mitchell.

Diocesan Representative on Provincial Information & Communication Board – Revd. Kirstin Freeman.

The Bishop in the Chair

The Bishop gave his thanks to all who had attended Synod, to those who had organised the Eucharist for the day, Revd. Paul Romano, the auditors and the Synod Clerk for chairing sessions.

The Bishop also thanked Mrs Anne Jones for the work she does on PVG; Revd. Canon Anne Tomlinson for her clear presentation on the work of the SEI; all of the other speakers on the day; the Dean for handling the election announcements; Kennedy Fraser and David for the sound and vision equipment for the day; the Diocesan centre team, Christine and the volunteers that helped put the



administration of Synod together following the difficult circumstances we faced with the shock Jean’s loss earlier in the year. There would be a memorial service for Jean in Eastertide.

The Bishop also gave his thanks to Revd. Dr. Tom Wilson and the vestry and congregation of Holy Trinity and St. Barnabas for letting Synod use their church.

Confirmation of Acts of Synod

The Bishop concluded by confirming the Acts of this Synod, followed by the Blessing in conclusion of the Eucharist.

Next meetings: General Synod, Edinburgh 09th – 11th June 2016Diocesan Synod (TBC) 04th March 2017

Chris Zochowski Approved by SynodDiocesan Secretary Gregor

Bishop of Glasgow & Galloway

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