The Church of England General Synod is meeting (again) at an annual cost of something over £6 million annually, in order that 467 members may meet three times a year to engage in a lot of talking on subjects, not all relating to Church advancement. In fact so many motions seem to get constantly ‘referred to next meeting’.

When I am reminded of the approaching of a Synod I shudder and wonder what embarrassment I am likely to suffer for being known as an Anglican clergyman. As I take regular Methodist services some people get confused and I am spared somewhat.
Please read some (at least) of the following to understand what I mean.

At the present time our Christian brothers/sisters around the world are suffering extremely. In India, a village where Christians live, their water supply was cut off when the temperature was 120F, in order to try and force them to deny their faith. In Kenya and Egypt Christians have been shot dead; in Syria been abducted to unknown fate; a woman detained for the last seven years in Pakistan for falsely alleged to have offended their prophet; Churches and homes torched in Pakistan, India Nigeria; sufferings in China, Iran, Iraq, Eretria; Philippines, plus endlessly more. None of this has so far merited notice of a question.

So what more pressing matters are being debated at Synod? Well there is a woman who has become a George and her local Vicar is concerned that he/she should be able to have a service where can be re-christened as there cannot be a second baptism. Has no one told that you go to a registry office?

Synod has agreed to look at preparing special services for newly transgendered people. There are also eleven questions relating to sexuality and LGBT matters.

A female activist for homosexual rights wants a ban on all treatment to help people who do not wish to remain homosexual. Synod has agreed with her much to the relief of the Archbishop of York who said he can’t sleep at nights if such conversion therapy is practised. (He could always have taken a sedative). But there again the Bishop of Liverpool is more forthright than a political leader who procrastinated when asked if he thought homosexuality was a sin; the Bishop says it is not.

If people want to have such therapy surely in a free country they should be allowed. I notice no protest when women are denied cancer treatments because of high cost, yet men who want to have unprotected (homosexual) sex can get free contraception.

Some members are getting very overheated about gender bias on committees and want an equal number of each gender all the time. So it doesn’t matter if a person has any intelligence or suitability as long as there is equality.

Clergy are not permitted to be members of the British National Party even though it is a legal political party, although I have never heard of any clergyman wanting to join. BUT it is perfectly all right to join Momentum as one London Vicar proudly claims to have done, and to call for an end to non violent protest and the overthrow of the democratically elected Conservative government. Where has the equality concern gone in that issue?

The next time anyone asks me why I think the Church is losing members and others not joining, I will tell them read the reports of Synod, and then to visit one of the Pentecostal Churches where they have the strange practice of teaching the Bible. At least you will not find Bishops giving false teaching