GENERAL SYNOD

NOVEMBER 2006

QUESTIONS

of which notice has been given under Standing Orders 105-109.

INDEX

QUESTIONS 1-5 ARCHBISHOPS’ COUNCIL

Gay Police Association advert: submissions Q1

Gay Police Association advert: consultation Q2

Non-stipendiary and sector ministers: membership of bodies Q3

Manpower planning Q4

Evening Prayer: statistics Q5

QUESTIONS 6-13 HOUSE OF BISHOPS

Kigali statement: implications Q6

Ordination of a practising homosexual: implications Q7

Civil marriage ceremonies: reference to sex Q8

Survey of Communion by Extension Q9

BBC impartiality summit: representations Q10

Non-custodial sentences: chaplaincy Q11

Dartmoor prison: Inner Change programme Q12

Bishops and Archdeacons trained on non-residential courses Q13

QUESTION 14 SECRETARY GENERAL

Decision as to form of the Coronation Service Q14

QUESTIONS 15-16 BOARD OF EDUCATION

Church schools: authority for statement Q15

Higher education institutions: freedom of speech Q16

QUESTION 17 MINISTRY DIVISION

Training for ministry in schools Q17

QUESTIONS 18-23 MISSION AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL

Gay Police Association advert: representations Q18

Promotion of church weddings Q19

Seeds in Holy Ground: use and benefits Q20

Reversing decline: guidance for parish clergy Q21

Growth of gambling industry: social effects Q22

Nuclear power stations: ethical implications Q23

QUESTIONS 24-25 CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Octavia Hill Estates: sale of properties Q24

Octavia Hill: plans for blue plaque Q25

 

ARCHBISHOPS’ COUNCIL

Mr John Ward (London) to ask the Presidents of the Archbishops’ Council:

Q1. What submissions did the Archbishops’ Council make to the Advertising Standards Authority and, if none, what discussions did the Council have about possible submissions, in relation to the advertisement placed by the Gay Police Association in The Independent headlined “In the name of the father”?

Mr John Ward (London) to ask the Presidents of the Archbishops’ Council:

Q2. If submissions were made, or any discussions were had in the Council about possible submissions, whom did the Council consult before doing this?

Dr Philip Giddings to reply on behalf of the Archbishops’ Council:

A.With permission, I shall answer both of Mr Ward’s questions together.

No submissions were made. The Archbishops’ Council has not discussed the matter.

The Revd Hugh Lee (Oxford) to ask the Presidents of the Archbishops’ Council:

Q3. How many

  1. non-stipendiary ministers; and

  2. sector ministers

are members of Boards, Committees or other bodies of the Archbishops’ Council or other National Church Institutions?

The Bishop of Leicester to reply on behalf of the Archbishops’ Council:

A.The bodies which are answerable to the General Synod through the Archbishops’ Council include in their membership 2 NSMs (Vocations, Recruitment and Selection Committee; Committee for the Ministry of and among Deaf and Disabled People) and 7 sector ministers (distributed across the Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns, Council for the Care of Churches and Committee for the Ministry of and among Deaf and Disabled People). The Hospital Chaplaincies Council (which is now a sub-committee of the Mission and Public Affairs Council) includes 2 full time and 1 part-time sector ministers in its membership. There is 1 NSM on the Redundant Churches Committee of the Church Commissioners. Neither the Archbishops’ Council itself nor the Pensions Board (or any of its committees) includes any NSMs or sector ministers amongst their membership.

The Ven Malcolm Colmer (Hereford) to ask the Presidents of the Archbishops’ Council:

Q4. Given that we are in testing times, with budgets under extreme pressure from such things as the increase in pension contributions, has the Archbishops’ Council considered whether it is time for the Church of England to replace the current system (under which every person who is recommended for training is offered a place) by a proper manpower plan (taking into account the age profile of the clergy and their expect retirement dates, the age profile of new ordinands, expected numbers to be employed by each diocese, etc)?

The Bishop of Norwich to reply on behalf of the Archbishops’ Council:

A. Issues of deployment planning are kept under regular review, as is shown by the current drive to increase young vocations in response to the existing age profile of the clergy. Calls for putting a ceiling on the number of candidates for stipendiary ministry are made from time to time, but have to be considered against a background of ensuring that the supply of stipendiary clergy is maintained for future generations. The Archbishops’ Council has asked the Deployment, Remuneration and Conditions of Service Committee to give further consideration to deployment planning issues in the context of the current financial pressures at its meeting later this month. If it were minded to advise the Council that a ceiling needed to be considered, it would then be for the Council to suggest this to the House of Bishops.

The Revd Dr John Hartley (Bradford) to ask the Presidents of the Archbishops’ Council:

Q5. Canons B11 and B14A require that Evening Prayer shall be said or sung in every parish church every Sunday, unless dispensed with on an occasional basis by the minister and PCC or on a regular basis by the bishop”. Please could you provide any statistics or other available information as to

  1. the number of parish churches in England;

  1. the number of them in which Evening Prayer is said or sung on a regular basis every Sunday; and

  2. the number of them for which the bishop has dispensed with the requirement,

and please could he say to what extent, if any, it seems that “b+c” may fall short of “a”?

The Bishop of Norwich to reply on behalf of the Archbishops’ Council:

A. Current estimates are that there are approximately 13,600 parish churches in England (excluding guild churches and royal peculiars etc). This should be set in the context of approximately 12,800 parishes and 16,100 churches. We do not hold the information requested in parts (b) or (c) of Dr Hartley’s question and it could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.

 

HOUSE OF BISHOPS

Mr Gerald O’Brien (Rochester) to ask the Chairman of the House of Bishops:

Q6. Has the House of Bishops considered the possible implications of the Kigali Statement, and if not, does it intend to consider them at a forthcoming meeting?

The Archbishop of Canterbury to reply as Chairman of the House of Bishops:

A. When the House of Bishops met in October it received, as usual, an update from me on recent developments on the Anglican Communion. These included the Kigali statement.

The Revd Canon Dr Christopher Sugden (Oxford) to ask the Chairman of the House of Bishops:

Q7. Given the endorsement of the Windsor report by the General Synod and the Primates’ Meeting, has the House considered what are the implications for fellowship between the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia and the Church of England of the reported intention of the Bishop of Dunedin to ordain a practising homosexual?

The Archbishop of Canterbury to reply as Chairman of the House of Bishops:

A. No. The House has not, in fact, met since this news became known.

The Revd Dr John Hartley (Bradford) to ask the Chairman of the House of Bishops:

Q8. In the Bishop of Winchester’s written reply to my question at the last group of sessions (which there was not time to answer orally) he said he saw no need for legislation to ensure that civil marriage ceremonies include reference to sex. In view of the facts that without this reference civil marriage ceremonies are identical to civil partnership ceremonies, and that the only difference in law between the two is that civil partnerships are not predicated on the intention to engage in a sexual relationship, how was that answer consistent with the statements in Civil Partnerships – A Pastoral Statement from the House of Bishops of the Church of England that “Civil partnerships are not a form of marriage” (para 8) and that “the Church should not collude with the present assumptions of society that all close relationships necessarily include sexual activity” (para 20)?

The Bishop of Winchester to reply on behalf of the Chairman of the House of Bishops:

A. I hold to my earlier answer, based as it was on the fact that a Civil Marriage, as a Marriage in English Law, already necessarily includes the same commitment to a sexual relationship as a Marriage undertaken in a Church service; hence my contention that there is no need for further legislation to make this explicit.

In response to Mr Hartley's further question: there is no such thing, under the Civil Partnership Act, as a "civil partnership ceremony", whatever may be offered by some Registrars; there are a range of differences between Marriage and civil partnership, and Mr Hartley is therefore mistaken in speaking of "the only difference....". My first answer was indeed consistent with his two quotations from the House’s Pastoral Statement.

Mr Nigel Holmes (Carlisle) to ask the Chairman of the House of Bishops:

Q9. Following the commitment made by the Bishop of Chester of a ‘proper survey’ of Communion by Extension within five years in the debate in July 2000, when will the House of Bishops complete this work?

The Bishop of Rochester to reply as Chairman of the House’s Theological Group:

A. The House’s Theological Group did indeed review the House’s Guidelines on Communion by Extension by 2005. This review revealed that the rite does not appear to be that widely used, but that it was most commonly used in rural dioceses. There was some evidence that the guidelines were not functioning as intended (eg use for holiday cover, or to regulate the reserved sacrament), but 78% of dioceses which responded regarded them as adequate.

While the findings did not present a compelling case to revise the guidelines, they did highlight the need for further reflection on related issues such as the theology of the Eucharist, and the pattern of ordained ministry. The Group has therefore initiated some further work, the product of which it will report to the House with a view to a response to General Synod (possibly in the form of a GS Misc paper) sometime in 2007.

Mrs Alison Wynne (Blackburn) to ask the Chairman of the House of Bishops:

Q10. What representations is the Church of England planning to make to the BBC in the light of recent reports from its impartiality summit that executives would be happy to allow a programme where the Bible and the Archbishop of Canterbury could be consigned to the dustbin, but not the Koran as that would offend Muslims; and that a Muslim newsreader wearing a veil would be more acceptable than a Christian newsreader wearing a cross?

The Bishop of Manchester to reply on behalf of the Chairman of the House of Bishops:

A. Reports differ about whether BBC executives would have allowed such disrespect to either the Bible or the Koran. Both crosses and veils are acceptable on the BBC.

The BBC must further consider these issues carefully. The Church will encourage that, as it did in November 2005, in evidence from the Bishop of Southwark’s multi-faith panel to the House of Lords Select Committee on the BBC Charter Renewal, on which I sit. It said:

“The BBC ought not to see the world entirely through the prism of the metropolitan liberal and secular elite’s values which inevitably inform the editorial process for the majority of the programme makers. The BBC ought to … lay down some criteria to ensure that all faiths are faithfully, knowledgeably and fairly portrayed across the output, not just religious broadcasting, and that worship is accorded an appropriate place in the schedules.”

The full evidence is at: www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr8405.html.

Mr Clive Scowen (London) to ask the Chairman of the House of Bishops:

Q11. Why, when chaplaincy is systematically provided in penal institutions, is no provision made for chaplaincy for offenders serving non-custodial sentences, especially for young people who are dealt with by the Youth Offending Teams? Will consideration now be given to the appropriate provision of such chaplaincy?

The Bishop of Worcester to reply on behalf of the Chairman of the House of Bishops:

A. Systematic provision of chaplaincy for offenders serving non-custodial sentences would need to be approved and funded by government and the churches, and there is little prospect of this happening. There is scope for consideration of ministry to young people and other offenders in the community by diocesan youth workers, community chaplaincies and local churches. The Youth Justice Board is seeking to involve faith communities in work with offenders, and impending changes in the offender management system may facilitate fresh church initiatives and partnerships with Christian voluntary organisations.

Mr Clive Scowen (London) to ask the Chairman of the House of Bishops:

Q12. In his response to question 66, from the Ven Alan Hawker, at the July group of sessions the Bishop of Worcester (answering on behalf of the House of Bishops) said of the Inner Change Programme at HMP Dartmoor that “there have been concerns about its ability to integrate with general chaplaincy provision”. In what specific ways was the Inner Change programme in Dartmoor Prison considered unable “to integrate with general chaplaincy provision”? Are programmes, which seek to address offending behaviour by inviting participants to turn to Christ in penitence and faith, receive the power of the Holy Spirit to live a new life and order their lives according to scriptural precepts, considered capable in principle of integrating with general chaplaincy provision?

The Bishop of Worcester to reply on behalf of the Chairman of the House of Bishops:

A. Programmes which seek to address offending behaviour by inviting conversion to Christ, openness to the power of the Holy Spirit and reordering of life according to scriptural teaching are certainly considered by the Prison Service Chaplaincy capable in principle of integrating with general provision, and many such are approved by the Prison Service. Following concerns in Synod about the decision to recommend closure of the Inner Change programme at Dartmoor, I sought access to the report of the Area Effective Interventions Panel, which was granted subject to maintenance of its confidential status. I did not find evidence of bias against specifically Christian programmes, and judged that the grounds on which the programme was not granted approval were reasonable. It should be remembered that concern about the ability of Inner Change to integrate with chaplaincy provision constituted only one of a number of grounds for the decision of the Panel.

The Revd Hugh Lee (Oxford) to ask the Chairman of the House of Bishops:

Q13. How many clergy educated or trained on non-residential ordination courses are now (or have been in the past)

  1. bishops; or

  2. archdeacons?

The Bishop of Leicester to reply on behalf of the Chairman of the House of Bishops:

A. Of those currently serving, one bishop (1%) and eight archdeacons (7%) were trained on non-residential ordination courses. It would take a disproportionate amount of time to do an equivalent analysis for those serving in the past, though such an analysis would be unlikely to reveal many from this training background given the relatively recent growth in non-residential courses.

 

SECRETARY GENERAL

Mr Paul Boyd-Lee (Salisbury) to ask the Secretary General:

Q14. Would the Secretary General please clarify who decides the form of the next Coronation Service?

Mr William Fittall to reply:

A. The Coronation Service is conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, whose duty this has normally been since 1066. He, consequently, takes the lead in preparing the order of service for the approval of the Sovereign.

 

BOARD OF EDUCATION

Mr John Scrivener (Chester) to ask the Chairman of the Board of Education:

Q15. What was the Chairman of the Board of Education’s authority for making, in his letter to the Secretary of State for Education, a “specific commitment that all new Church of England schools should have at least 25% of places available to children with no requirement that they be of practising Christian families”?

The Bishop of Dover to reply as Acting Chairman of the Board of Education:

A. The Bishop of Portsmouth wrote to the Secretary of State in his capacity as chairman of the Church of England Board of Education and, as such, the Church’s lead spokesman on education in the House of Lords. In so doing, he articulated the Church’s education policy, most recently agreed by General Synod in 2001 and reaffirmed by the House of Bishops in 2002, in the particular context of current educational debate. As usual, in so doing, he addressed the position of ecumenical and other faith colleagues, clearly stating his view that this commitment on behalf of the Church of England was voluntary and should not be imposed by law on any church or other faith school. His position eventually prevailed.

Mr Andrew Presland (Peterborough) to ask the Chairman of the Board of Education:

Q16. What steps is the Church taking to champion the right of freedom of speech in higher education institutions in the light of some Christian Unions being denied access to facilities on their campus?

The Bishop of Dover to reply as Acting Chairman of the Board of Education:

A. The Education (No. 2) Act 1986, section 43, imposes on universities obligations to safeguard the lawful exercise of freedom of speech. Draft model clauses for students’ unions issued by a CVCP working party in 1998 state that a Union (and its societies) shall take all reasonable measures and uphold every member’s right to freedom of speech within the law, provided that nothing shall be done to harass, intimidate or threaten any member or group. The guidelines also suggest that it shall be permissible for clubs and societies to impose restrictions on eligibility to join or participate in the activities of religious societies, provided they are judged by the Union to be consistent with the purposes and objectives of the society, and reasonably and fairly applied in all circumstances and neither contrary to law or the Union’s or University’s anti-discrimination provisions.

Recent cases suggest that there is a need for clearer guidance particularly on this latter point, especially in the light of guidance in 2005 stating that students’ unions must require clubs to accept the principles of equality as a precondition of funding. The Board of Education, through the Education Division, is in conversation with the Equality Challenge Unit to see how clarification might best be achieved. Where local restrictions on Christian Unions have arisen, the Division has encouraged chaplains to engage with students’ unions and Christian Unions to seek to ensure that processes are fair and even-handed and that the law is upheld.

 

MINISTRY DIVISION

Mr Steve Mitchell (Derby) to ask the Chairman of the Ministry Division:

Q17. With the school being seen by so many as the centre of community, what plans are there to ensure that ordained ministers are trained to minister effectively in both church and state schools in their parishes?

The Bishop of Norwich to reply as Chairman of the Ministry Division:

A. Ordinands’ training now includes both an understanding of the Church’s commitment to local communities, including Church and local schools, and placements to enable candidates to learn about the practice of ministry in a range of settings. The key goal here is that by the time of ordination, candidates should ‘demonstrate [a] working understanding of the practices of Christian ministry in a range of public settings, agencies and faith communities’ (as stated in the Learning Outcomes approved by the House of Bishops in 2005). This work was given a particular focus in the initiative jointly supported by the Divisions of Education and of Ministry as a result of Lord Dearing’s report on Church schools, ‘The Way Ahead’, published in 2001. This report was followed up by a well-attended conference for theological educators, which put schools work firmly on the agenda for our training institutions.

 

MISSION AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL [heading added, missing in original document]

Mr Andrew Presland (Peterborough) to ask the Chairman of the Mission and Public Affairs Council:

Q18. What representations has the Council made about the Crown Prosecution Service’s refusal to prosecute the Gay Police Association over its recent press advertisement on the grounds that 50,000 complaints amounted to insufficient evidence that offence had been caused

Dr Philip Giddings to reply as Chairman of the Mission and Public Affairs Council:

A. None.

Mrs Mary Judkins (Wakefield) to ask the Chairman of the Mission and Public Affairs Council:

Q19. As we have invited many non-churchgoers to the wedding of our daughter in early December, and are using this not just for a celebration of Christian marriage but also as a mission opportunity, what is the Church of England doing to promote church weddings?

Dr Philip Giddings to reply as Chairman of the Mission and Public Affairs Council:

A. Since 2003, the Church of England has been actively involved in promoting church weddings at national wedding shows in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Norwich. We have commissioned displays that are regularly used by dioceses, Mothers’ Union groups and churches for local shows. The wedding section on www.cofe.anglican.org has been made more user friendly and is in the top ten most popular hits. It now contains www.achurchnearyou.com, giving couples their local parish church by postcode. We are considering research into why people get married in church.

The Revd David Primrose (Gloucester) to ask the Chairman of the Mission and Public Affairs Council:

Q20. How widespread has been the use of the excellent material published in Seeds in Holy Ground, and what benefits are being recognised?

Dr Philip Giddings to reply as Chairman of the Mission and Public Affairs Council:

A. 5000 copies of Seeds in Holy Ground have been distributed to dioceses, deaneries and parishes. Fifteen dioceses have made bulk purchases for all rural clergy or for key staff with a remit for rural churches.

Early feedback indicates that it has been well received as relevant, practical and accessible, usable both within home groups and PCCs, often to tackle specific issues. A number of deaneries have used it for Lent Courses. It has been used in several diocesan clergy training days for rural congregations and their clergy. Gloucester diocese, for example, has produced a programme of work based on the report, including a diocesan Synod debate, a lent course and a diocesan conference. Several others have used it to raise the profile of rural issues within the diocese. Others are still exploring its use. There will be a review in early 2008 of how it has been used, particularly at parish level.

Mrs Alison Wynne (Blackburn) to ask the Chairman of the Mission and Public Affairs Council:

Q21. What guidance is available to parish clergy to assist them in their attempt to reverse the decline in the number of young people attending church, and the number of baptisms and confirmations?

Dr Philip Giddings to reply as Chairman of the Mission and Public Affairs Council:

A. A central part of the brief of diocesan missioners and youth officers is to resource parish clergy with analysis and theological reflection on our changing culture, and with good missional practice. Nationally, staff of the Mission and Public Affairs Division, together with the Education Division and Church House Publishing, offer help to dioceses. Recent examples include:

Mr Gerald O’Brien (Rochester) to ask the Chairman of the Mission and Public Affairs Council:

Q22. What work is being undertaken to assess the social effects of the rapidly growing gambling industry and the related moral issues?

The Bishop of Southwark to reply as Vice-Chairman for Public Affairs:

A. The Council has followed the established convention that the lead for the churches on gambling is taken by the Methodists and the Salvation Army, with the Church of England associating itself with that work and taking its own initiatives when appropriate. We expressed concern about the social effects of increased gambling, especially online, during discussion of the Gambling Bill, and are monitoring the work of the Gambling Commission in its research and regulatory role. In September this year we responded to a consultation by the Committee of Advertising Practice on advertising of gambling, calling for the inclusion of warning messages in print and broadcast advertisements. We are keeping in touch with churches in Australia about the disastrous increase in problem gambling – especially among women – following deregulation there, and view with apprehension the diversionary impact on the UK of the US Government’s recent decision to ban internet gambling.

The Revd David Primrose (Gloucester) to ask the Chairman of the Mission and Public Affairs Council:

Q23. In view of the renewed public interest in the environmental impact of nuclear energy, will the Mission and Public Affairs Council advise members of the General Synod as to contemporary research on the ethical implications of proposals for the construction of a new generation of nuclear power stations; and seek, resources permitting, to contribute to this important national debate?

The Bishop of Southwark to reply as Vice-Chairman for Public Affairs:

A. MPA staff keep abreast of the nuclear debate and are happy to point members of General Synod to work that has been done elsewhere on the ethical implications of nuclear energy. At present there are no plans for staff to undertake further work on this issue.

 

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Mr Adrian Greenwood (Southwark) to ask the Church Commissioners:

Q24. In a letter dated 7 April 2006 from the Chief Executive of Genesis Housing Group to Simon Hughes MP, Mr Vedi stated that the projected number of sales of properties from within the Octavia Hill Estates to raise funds to renovate the remainder would amount to 413 over the first 10 years (out of 1100). Was the Assets Committee aware of this (or a similar projection) before it decided to sell the Octavia Hill Estates to Grainger Geninvest LLP and, if so, why was the Synod not informed in February?

Mr Andreas Whittam Smith to reply as Chairman of the Church Commissioners’ Assets Committee:

A. The management of the estates is a matter for the new owners but the Commissioners’ understanding was that the letter to which Mr Greenwood refers only reflected one possible scenario. Indeed, to our knowledge, no sales have so far taken place.

We remain of the opinion that the sale was a positive outcome both for residents (because the new owners are likely to be in a better position to make the necessary investment in the properties in the longer term) and for our ability to provide sustained financial support for the Church’s mission throughout the country.

Mr Adrian Greenwood (Southwark) to ask the Church Commissioners:

Q25. What plans do the Church Commissioners have for the blue plaque commemorating Octavia Hill when they leave 1 Millbank? The plaque reads ‘Octavia Hill – 1838-1912 – Housing Reformer’. The plaque was taken from her former home at 8 Fitzroy Street W1 when it was demolished in 1981. A supplementary plaque describes her as a ‘pioneer of Housing Management, who managed the London property for the Ecclesiastical Commissioners from 1884-1912’.

Mr Andreas Whittam Smith to reply as Chairman of the Church Commissioners’ Assets Committee:

A. The Commissioners plan to leave the plaque where it is. It is a built-in fixture of, and part of the heritage of, this Grade 2* listed building, and is thus protected.