Bishop John’s Presidential Adress to Synod

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Today is a day of a new beginning in one sense. It marks the start of a new Triennium for Diocesan Synod, a period for the Diocese of Liverpool where we are going through a great amount of change in our diocese and the wider church. If you are a new member then I would like to thank you for stepping forward to represent your deanery. If you are a returning member then I thank you for your perseverance and ongoing dedication to serve our diocese.

You are here to serve. I hold to the strong principle that we are synodically governed, so you have a crucial role to hold myself, my senior clergy colleagues and the leadership team at St James House to account. We are here to deliver the agenda set by synods past as we remain faithful to the long obedience that we talk about. We are here to consider the plans and proposals for achieving our agreed vision to see a bigger church making a bigger difference with more people knowing Jesus and more justice in the world.

The principle of synod or assembly stretches back to the early church where the teachings of the forming church were discussed and decided. We see this in chapter 15 of the book of Acts which records the deliberations of the Council of Jerusalem.

We see an assembly in Nehemiah chapter 8 where ” on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand.”

So you are part of a long tradition of debate and discussion as we seek, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to discern the will of God for our diocese. (By the way Nehemiah records that Ezra read the book of law aloud from daybreak until noon – we have spared you such an early start!)

We have a great deal of important business to discuss over the next Triennium. I am certain that the central themes will be mission and finance. We can’t escape either and nor should we. Our missional choices are vital if we are to grow, if we are to fulfil the call to make disciples, if we are to follow Bishop JC Ryle’s challenge to make active agents of all Christians in our diocese. Our financial decisions need to support those missional choices. We must remain good stewards of that which God has entrusted to us.

You will be fully aware of the challenges that lie before us. Central to this is the proposals that were debated at the Extraordinary Synod a few weeks ago and that now lay before the Strategic Mission Ministry Investment Board for consideration.

Whatever their decision this synod will need be integral to the work of our diocese over the next three years either holding us to the plans we outlined or helping discern an alternate way to achieve our vision.

For the vision has to remain solid and clear. We have to invest in the frontline of our mission, the worshipping communities that serve their local areas. We must grow the church and we need to see that growth in the parish, the deanery, the school. We need to see it in the creative new expressions of faith that so many have been inspired to start. We need to see it in the continuance of the faithful practice of worship and service that has sustained generations of the faithful.

If we are to be agents of mission then our church leaders need to be equipped and enabled to be the chief pastors and lead missioners. We need to free the clergy from the burden of being the chief administrator and the chief bureaucrat, finding others more suited to those important roles and enabling the clergy to lead in mission alongside the lay leaders.

This is why Fit for Mission remains central to what we are trying to achieve. The larger single parish as conceived in that programme is essential to the delivery of many important streams of work envisaged in our Diocesan Investment Plan.

As we look to cohort 3 you will need to be continuing to monitor and review the effectiveness and impact of this programme. We are starting to see the results of this as the church in Wigan, St Helens and Christ our Hope, Liverpool builds, grows and develops.

As we pursue Fit for Mission we recognise the Church of England in the Diocese of Liverpool is a place of rich theological and ecclesiological diversity. This diversity is reflected in the ecclesial breadth of the Church of England as well as in local church tradition, practice and teaching; the individual views and consciences of lay and ordained people, and – in some cases – formal resolutions on the part of PCCs. As Bishop and Archdeacons we commit ourselves to supporting people of all traditions within the Diocese of Liverpool. We commit to upholding all positions of theological and ecclesiological integrity consistent with the doctrine, teaching and practice of the Church of England. We commit to maintaining the unity in diversity that has characterised our diocese over generations. We will seek to ensure that Fit for Mission will be and will remain a shining example of that flourishing of all traditions reflecting the diversity of the Church of England and upholding the consciences of all God’s people.

Alongside the considerations of our plans you will be called to consider the finances of our diocese. The approval of the LDBF Budget for 2025 is one of today’s items. I know financial discussions challenge some but we cannot shy away from this important duty to secure the finances of our diocese. Nor can we shy away from the need for parishes and deaneries to continue to pay Parish Share. We know this creates a difficulty for many and we are trying to find ways to support that burden. However, without the regular faithful paying of share we cannot support our ministers. I remain grateful to those who support the missional giving in our diocese, this biblically mandated approach remains a crucial way we can maintain a Christian presence in every community.

With all this in our diocese I am concerned that we become inwardly focussed. We need to avoid that temptation for church was not built for itself but was called by God for the greater good of society. We need to keep our mind to that and synod is a place where we can influence the public policy agenda. Today we will be updated on the progress of a motion originally moved by Wigan Deanery Synod on the rights of the unborn child. A motion that passed to General Synod. This is all part of our work for the justice in our world.

We need to do more in this area because we are living in difficult and dangerous time. The world is shaken by conflict. We watch with a mixture of horror and bemusement the escalating conflict in the middle east despairing for the thousands of innocents whose lives are ruined through no fault of their own. And, of course, this is but one of the many conflicts currently taking place in the world. Ukraine, Yemen and Sudan spring to mind as does the persecution of many ethnic minorities.

The climate crisis is becoming more visible. The floods we saw recently across Europe and the United States remind us that we still have work to do to safeguard the future of the world entrusted to us by God. I thank God for the work carried out by our advocates on the environment and all those working to become eco churches in our diocese.

The political landscape is changing. The new Labour government has completed its honeymoon period and is facing increasing challenge. The budget statement is tough but we need to call for it to be fair and just for all members of society – and I will continue to advocate for a fairer tax system for all. I had the privilege of leading the Sundy service for the Labour party conference and have conversations with politicians. We need to keep speaking into this political world.

All that I have mentioned leads to some sort of uncertainty. We must hold true to ourselves through this time. Christians have always been called to live in a liminal time and we should not be overly worried if we do not have all the answers now.

We have the Easter story to sustain us. This story tells of certainty and uncertainty. It tells of a group of uncertain disciples having lost their leader, divided and waiting direction.  The story of the gap between Christ’s death and resurrection illustrates how events can change and shape our mood. When the disciples regained the direction and strength of the Holy Spirit they were reenergised and rejuvenated for the mission that Jesus set for them. We talk about the certain hope of our faith, we speak that God is in our mission. We must act as if we believe it. We need to hold on to Good Friday and Easter together. We need to recognize our vulnerabilities as well as the power of God that leads us in our life and mission.

Our corporate life in Christ is exciting not because we have all the answers or all the resources we might want, but because we have Christ, and we have each other. Our calling is to walk together in Christ. I thank you for being willing to serve on this synod and I pray for us all as we embark on this new synod life together.