On Saturday 14 March, diocesan synod gathered at St John’s, Westwood to explore what a diocese reconciled to God, with each other, for the world might look like.
A crisp Spring Saturday morning brought blue skies and the first opportunity of the year to for our diocesan synod to meet. There was a packed agenda as synod talked though some key bits of diocesan business, received updates and discussed a refreshed diocesan vision as we continue in our season of Walking Forward Together.
Bishop Sophie gave a presidential address where she spoke of our distinctive call as a diocese to be peacemakers and for us to move with intention in the area of reconciliation, citing the declaration of forgiveness over revenge after the Blitz. She went on to share progress with a number of key senior appointments we have underway currently and the update to our structures, including the recent move to more traditional archdeacon roles. At this point synod paused to pray about these new appointments, “names that we do not yet know but of course the Lord does”. Finally, Bishop Sophie spoke into Holy Communion following on from her recent letters and offering some clarity with a compassionate understanding that whilst not all can take part it, the common cup should be ‘the norm’. You can see further clarification here.
We also heard from Jonathan Jee who brought an update from February’s General Synod which started with a personal reflection from his five years of being a Coventry representative on General Synod. He said that so much good happens during the meetings and the level of expertise helping facilitate good discussion on important subjects is impressive. Reporting on the latest synod, he talked of warmth for Archbishop Sarah, good debates on social care reform and mental health, and funding for our lowest income communities. Further items on the agenda were the ordination journeys for working class people, safeguarding reforms, and a debate on sustainable flowers which served to highlight the importance of the ordinary work of our parish based people and the need to be ecologically responsible. He went on to share how Bishop Sophie's has led synod through the proposal of a lay ministry register, which was agreed in February and finally the sharing that the LLF process in its current form has come to an end, acknowledging the disagreement, profound hurt and disappointment that has overshadowed this process.
Our Diocesan Director of Safeguarding, Sarah Price, then brought her regular update around safeguarding within our diocese, sharing some key numbers and progress made to our safeguarding structures. She also talked about the vital work of our Parish Safeguarding Officers, mentioning the conference which is a chance to celebrate their important work. The new safeguarding strategy was also highlighted and the plans to implement its 12 key priorities over the next three years. The independent chair of our Diocesan Safeguarding Scrutiny Group, Trevor Warsfield, spoke about the work underway to better hear and understand the voices of victims and survivors, also the voice of children and young people.
Finally for that section, there was an encouragement to welcome the INEQE audit as a valuable tool for our future practice, with many taking part in the safeguarding surveys, which are now live, during the coffee break.
After the coffee break Bishop Sophie led synod in an opportunity to shape the future of the diocese as we continue our Lent season of Walking Forward Together. Those who haven’t yet had a chance to respond to the emerging vision of ‘A growing diocese reconciled to God, with Each Other for the World’, spent time considering their thoughts and asking questions. Those who had already engaged with the emerging vision in such a way were encouraged to consider an individual aspect of the vision - for example ‘for the World’ - and what that might mean or look like. There was a good buzz in the room as people worked together in small groups, shaping the future of our diocese.
The synod came to a prayerful close after a couple of items of business from the Diocesan Secretary, Jacqueline Ladds, and the chair of the Diocesan Board of Finance, Steve Coomber, who spoke about the General Synod election process and the parish share review respectively.