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General Synod and Living in Love and Faith 

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Introduction

At the meeting in February 2023 General Synod was invited to debate a proposal from the House of Bishops to build on the LLF process. The proposal included an apology for past failings on the experience of LGBTQIA+ people in the church, the revision of the document ‘Issues in Human Sexuality’ and the introduction of draft Prayers of Love and Faith, for the blessing of same sex couples. The full text of the motion passed by Synod (as amended) is given at the end of this report.

Course of the meeting

Over the course of the four-day meeting a significant amount of time was devoted to LLF and to the proposals from the House of Bishops:

On Monday afternoon Synod worked in groups to ‘engage’ with GS 2289, the paper which set out the thinking of the College and House of Bishops and the next steps after LLF. Groups worked on the basis of the Pastoral Principles and under Chatham House rules with external facilitators, and including bishops. This allowed members to discuss and explore the findings of the House of Bishops and the draft prayers offered.

On Tuesday morning there was a dedicated session for questions on LLF. Questions to Synod are submitted in advance and published with answers before Synod begins There are opportunities to ask supplementary questions at Synod itself. This February a record 206 questions were asked, 142 of them about LLF. Many supplementary questions were asked in the dedicated LLF session, and both the original questions and the supplementaries gave a flavour of what was to come in the formal debate on the House of Bishops’ motion.

On Wednesday afternoon the debate began on the motion presented by the House of Bishops, scheduled to run from 2-7 pm.

The Bishop of London moved the motion, less the final section (g).

  • 27 amendments were proposed, though some were withdrawn and others fell or lapsed;
  • +Sarah ‘resisted’ all the amendments except the final one voted on, which became section (g), so all went for debate;
  • Many of the proposed amendments were aimed at giving a revised direction of travel for the motion. Whether these amendments were positive in effect or negative would depend on the views of those in favour or against. Only one amendment was passed - an amendment to add section (g) which endorsed ‘the decision of the College and House of Bishops not to propose any change to the doctrine of marriage, and that their intention that the final version of the Prayers of Love and Faith should not be contrary to or indicative of a departure from the doctrine of the Church of England’.

The debate was not completed by 7 pm on Wednesday and continued on Thursday for a further three hours, displacing other business.

The final vote on the motion as amended was passed:

  • House of Bishops: For 36,   Against 4, Abstained 2
  • House of Clergy:    For 111, Against 85, Abstained 3
  • House of Laity:       For 103, Against 92, Abstained 5

For Synod as whole the votes fell as:

  • 57% in favour of the motion, 41% against the motion and 2% abstained. 

Votes in Synod are normally of the whole membership and on this motion, and amendments, all that was required was a simple majority. Procedural points were raised so that all the votes were by House, rather than votes of the whole Synod, meaning a vote had to pass in all three Houses to pass at all, again by a simple majority. 

Summary

This was an exceptionally long debate about an exceptionally sensitive issue. The debate was superbly chaired by Synod member, Geoffrey Tattershall. He kept the clear passions in check with compassion and good humour, and moved a very difficult debate smoothly on. This was much appreciated and he received a standing ovation after the final vote.
 
Labels are difficult but humans do tend towards tribalism and the Church of England is not immune to this. Tribalism was apparent in the debate inside and outside Synod.
 
A narrative emerged about the issue and the debate which suggested no-one was satisfied, whether supporters of equal marriage or those who disagreed that equal marriage could be on the table. Voting figures do not seem to support this narrative. There was a broad consensus amongst those who voted for the motion, from affirming catholics and evangelicals as well as ‘inclusive’ groups.
 
There is still much work to do. The revised pastoral guidance and final versions of the prayers will come back to July Synod. 
 
Felicity Cooke

GS 2289: MOTION ON LLF FROM THE HOUSE OF BISHOPS

 
That this Synod, recognising the commitment to learning and deep listening to God and to each other of the Living in Love and Faith process, and desiring with God’s help to journey together while acknowledging the different deeply held convictions within the Church: 
(a) lament and repent of the failure of the Church to be welcoming to LGBTQI+ people and the harm that LGBTQI+ people have experienced and continue to experience in the life of the Church; 
(b) recommit to our shared witness to God’s love for and acceptance of every person by continuing to embed the Pastoral Principles in our life together locally and nationally; 
(c) commend the continued learning together enabled by the Living in Love and Faith process and resources in relation to identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage; 
(d) welcome the decision of the House of Bishops to replace Issues in Human Sexuality with new pastoral guidance; 
(e) welcome the response from the College of Bishops and look forward to the House of Bishops further refining, commending and issuing the Prayers of Love and Faith described in GS 2289 and its Annexes; 
(f) invite the House of Bishops to monitor the Church’s use of and response to the Prayers of Love and Faith, once they have been commended and published, and to report back to Synod in five years’ time.
(g) Endorse the decision of the College and House of Bishops not to propose any change to the doctrine of marriage, and their intention that the final version of the Prayers of Love and Faith should not be contrary to or indicative of a departure from the doctrine of the Church of England.
 
Prayers of Love and Faith in their current draft form can be found here at page 23 and following.
 

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