Here's what I said in moving the amendment
Ephesians 4
verse 3: Make every effort to keep the unity of
the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Mr
Chairman, synod members, It is in this spirit of that verse that I offer this
amendment to the Diocesan Synod for its consideration.
Much
ink has been spilt as a result of last November’s vote in the General Synod and
strong feelings have been expressed on all sides.
But
things have moved on since the main motion before us was framed. The House of
Bishops in February expressed its desire for robust processes and steps to be
employed to bring forward new legislation for consideration by the General
Synod in July.
A
working party has been set up under the chairmanship of the Bishop of St
Emundsbury and Ipswich to work towards this end, and members of this diocesan
synod are represented on it.
I believe the time now is for a unifying motion that will draw together the whole diocese in a strong message of support for the Bishops and the working party, and my amendment is designed to offer this support.
Let
us not divide at this point. Let us unite together as a Diocese behind those
who are seeking to find a settlement that will be good for the whole Church of
England.
Some
may indeed wish to open up a consideration of the appropriateness of the
standing orders and procedures of the General Synod, but I believe that the
best time for such a consideration is after the conclusion of the present
process, not mid way through it.
In
Southwark we are renown for our diversity, let also be known for our unity, and
our strenuous efforts in the power of the Spirit to keep that unity in the bond
of peace.
Things
have moved on since November. Things have moved on since the main motion before
us was framed. Let us add our support, our encouragement, and our prayers to
those who are working hard at this time so that the whole Church of England can
move on together.
Let
us surprise the world at how much we Christians love another, including in this
Diocese of Southwark, and in that spirit of unity and moving forward together,
I ask you to support the amendment before us.
The amendment was defeated by a large majority.
I make no complaint personally about the failure of my amendment to pass - indeed I have an unbroken record of synodical failure dating back to 1998, so I'm used to it - but I wonder what it says about our diocese when once more the majority overrides the views of the minority, demonstrates its indifference to their feelings and votes against something that could actually have united us.
What a message we could have sent to the world
Hi Gary,
ReplyDelete"What a message that would have sent to the world."
I'm not sure how the debate went, but don't get too depressed, in that the one thing I'm pretty certain of, it's that the world will be untroubled by Southwark Diocesan Synod voting, whatever was voted / amended.
I'm guessing too that, as in the vote in November, people are often voting for ideas that aren't consistent with the vote in question.
Many of the speeches in General Synod in November were against women bishops per se (out of genuine conscience), when the matter at hand was not whether or not, but how they could happen, on something that had already been approved.
Was there a kind of anger at work here from the liberals/ middle of the roaders, who were frustrated that the vote hadn't gone through in November, against those who had stopped it? In psychological terms, that's got to go somewhere, and maybe it got dumped on your amendment.
But, frankly, I'm out of my depth here: you know much more than me on what was said in this area.
Robert Stanier
Robert you're spot on here - and I fully recognise the dismay, anger, and frustration of those who have fought long and hard to see women fully incorporated in the episcopate - however, I felt that the original motion was (a) miss-timed - it expressed November's dismay rather than March's hope - we have a new archbishop and a new process (b) it failed to recognise the diversity of views and emotions in the diocese. One person said 'we all felt dismay' but that is wrong as a matter of fact. My amendment, coming from a long term supporter of women's ordination, was designed to be an amendment that recognised we had moved on and aimed to be one that we could all unite on. As such it demonstrably failed. i agree the small earthquake in SE1 is unlikely to trouble anyone too much but I do feel it represents a sad day for the diocese. We hear a lot about rejoicing in diversity and respecting minorities but when the rubber hits the diocesan synodical road there's no much of that to be seen when we meet together. I grieve for the way a minority of faithful Christians in the diocese are being treated. But at least everyone agreed we ought to pray for a successful outcome for the current process even if they voted against the amendment that made that very point. Gary
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