YOUNG members of the Provincial Youth Committee addressed the Synod on the primary afternoon of this group of sessions, somewhat than the slot they’ve previously occupied on the ultimate morning (News, 16 June).
Phoebe Pryce, who chairs the committee, said that she hoped members would “keep in mind” the views of young people of their deliberations over the subsequent two days.
She read a contribution from one other young one who was not in a position to attend, which urged Synod to approve a motion, to be debated on Friday morning, arguing that “the usage of nuclear weapons can never be theologically justified”.
While acknowledging that a vote within the Synod could be unlikely to have a practical effect, it was essential for the Church to state its opposition unequivocally, she said.
Jadon Rongong, one other member of the committee, said that Christians were called to avoid wasting lives, and that this might have a literal application in the shape of first-aid training and the availability of defibrillators.
Felina Hamilton, who represents the diocese of Moray, Ross & Caithness, related her experience of being one in every of the one Christians amongst her friendship group, and the way interested others were about her faith.
Friends who weren’t regular churchgoers none the less help out at church-based events, valuing the sense of community and meaningful motion, Ms Hamilton said. “I ponder if we discover young people easier to check with about their faith and church connections”, she said of her fellow young Christians, suggesting that they could possibly be ambassadors.
Ms Pryce closed the presentation with comments on the environmental work within the SEC. She praised the work done, but said “We have well and truly exhausted the worth of words.”
Now was the time for “radical motion”, she said, and called on churches to carry themselves accountable to the targets which had been set.
She spoke of her fears and anxieties about growing up in a world marked by climate crisis, the rising costs of living, and — world wide — apparent backsliding on reproductive and girls’s rights. “I hope you share my vision of justice, equality and peace,” she concluded, to loud applause.
EARLIER on Thursday, the Convenor of the Standing Committee, Bridget Campbell, presented the annual accounts.
She referred to “articles in newspaper in recent days” which had drawn attention to legal costs incurred by the Scottish Episcopal Church in relation to the disciplinary process against Bishop Dyer (News, 10 June). “We recognise that these legal costs are significant, but they’re crucial,” she said, to make sure a “fair process for all concerned.”
In an interview for the Church Times podcast, the Primus, the Most Revd Mark Strange, spoke concerning the length of the method, because it approaches two years since Bishop Dyer was first suspended.
“I’d somewhat all the things might be done in a short time for the good thing about everybody,” he said, but “the canonical process that now we have on this Church takes you down a certain route.”
BEFORE the afternoon coffee break, the Provincial Environment Group made a presentation to members. The Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane, the Rt Revd Ian Paton, who convenes the group, said that significant steps had been taken up to now yr.
The vice-convenor, Cathy Johnston, reminded members of the assorted schemes which had been put in place, and the Revd Kim Lafferty presented a case study of the changes that had been made in her church: St Mary’s, Dalkeith.
Professor Alan Werrity (St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane) drew attention to the undeniable fact that funds made available to churches from the Standing Committee were available provided that the relevant diocese agreed to match the funding.
Dr Stephen Goodyear (Aberdeen & Orkney) asked whether grant money had been received, noting that the plan which Synod had approved last yr was premised on the acquisition of such external funding. He suggested that it was crucial for this data to be provided to maintain track of any progress made.
The Revd Diana Hall (Edinburgh) urged members “to not lose sight” of the theological elements of the work, and Amanda Fairclough (Argyll & The Isles) asked for the time that’s allotted to debate concerning the environment to be given over to discussion of discipleship.
THURSDAY’s session ended with a presentation by bishops on “statistics”, specifically, census results showing the decline of Christianity in Scotland, and a concomitant shrinking of the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC).
“We are definitely in a secular society,” the Bishop of Brechin, the Rt Revd Andrew Swift, said. “We are smaller,” he acknowledged, however the sense he gets when travelling within the diocese is that “we’re OK”.
“Why doesn’t it feel like now we have an analogous form of crisis” to other denominations, he wondered, despite the undeniable fact that the SEC was now so small that it didn’t appear on the census results.
There could possibly be several reasons for this, he suggested, including the undeniable fact that the Church was sufficiently small that folks were all the time aware of fine news somewhere, even when their very own church was declining.
Bishop Strange said that he “liked statistics”, but that, if he spent his life worrying about numbers, he “might get quite depressed”.
Instead, he revelled in having the ability to visit congregations across the Highlands, “nevertheless small or nevertheless large”, that are “stuffed with the hope and the enjoyment of gathering together across the table and sharing within the love of God. As long as we’ve still got some still prepared to do this, then we’ve got a Church value living for, and praying for growth.”
In his diocese, there had been a rise in baptisms and interactions with individuals who weren’t regular churchgoers, he said, which he attributed to a rise in churches being open throughout the day.
Bishop Swift outlined the statistics that were gathered, and suggested that the Bishops were minded to stop recording the gender split in congregations. He asked members to debate, on their tables, whether this could be a welcome move, and to pool their thoughts on what further statistics could be priceless.
There was no time for oral feedback before the day’s work finished with evening prayer, led by members of the Provincial Youth Committee.
