THE General Synod made a commitment to the practicalities of welcoming the voice of young people and “intentionally hearing and responding to their voice on at the least one substantive item of business in future groups of sessions”.
It was the ultimate debate on Tuesday before prorogation. The Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Revd Jonathan Frost, who chairs the National Society, introduced a presentation from children and young people from Archbishop Holgate School, in York, and the Archway Learning Trust in Nottingham.
He reminded the Synod that it had passed a motion in July 2023 for greater engagement with the voices of youngsters and young people, and which called for further development work with young adults. The presentations sought to “model the methods the Synod could deploy to listen to and act upon their voices” within the move towards becoming a younger and more diverse Church.
Pupils spoke confidently of the necessity to “prioritise, resource, and adapt”. They presented the findings from a recent survey commissioned from the National Younger Leadership Groups, which showed a positive perception of Church as particularly “welcoming, spiritual, and holy” versus “scary, disappointing, and unfriendly”: “somewhere you possibly can speak about anything and the whole lot”.
The survey had found, for instance, that 62 per cent of pupils disagreed with the statement that young people weren’t wanted in church; 89 per cent thought that giving young people the chance to guide in church would help it to flourish.
A video was shown during which children expressed what that they had enjoyed about coming to church, which included a young chorister from South Africa, and a boy who said that he was “inviting a number of friends to HTB Youth”. They spoke enthusiastically of Bubble Church and Minecraft Church, described by one as “a potent mixture of fun and scripture” and by one other as “a community of Christians I can turn to”. For one, baptism had been “like Jesus met me right there within the water”.
Students of the Archway Learning Trust spoke warmly of initiatives comparable to After School Church as “a secure place and sanctuary” attended by a whole bunch of pupils. An older pupil from one in all the C of E secondary schools had been in a position to “take into consideration how my faith can apply to my life”, and had “valued the open space to work and pray across the week”.
There was applause when a pupil said: “We’re not asking for a seat on the table. We deserve a seat on the table. Without a seat on the table, we’d change into just the menu.”
Sam Atkins/Church TimesA bunch of young people address the Synod. The Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Revd Jonathan Frost, may be seen (back left)
Bishop Frost said that he desired to present the motion with the kids standing behind him. The Synod, he assured the pupils, wanted not only to listen to, but to act on what young people were saying. He referred to an image of the feeding of the 5000, during which “the adults were trying to the issue, however the child was trying to Jesus”. It needed “long-term, savvy, consistent engagement”, he said. “We must get serious about delivery.”
In the talk that followed, Samuel Wilson (Chester), in a maiden speech, said to the young people: “I desperately, desperately wish you were here on a regular basis to be allowed to be a brash voice when you could be, or the calm voice when you could be.” He challenged Synod members: would they be prepared to offer up their seats to permit younger people to take them?
Shermara Fletcher (Guest Ecumenical Representative), Churches Together in England, attested to the profound impact that support and investment in youth leadership had had on her. She was proud to have read on the Queen’s funeral, and thankful for the experiences that she had had and the opportunities she had been given. She looked forward to the Church’s commitment to incorporate young people in its synodical processes.
The Revd Dr Sara Batts-Neale (Chelmsford) warmly welcomed the presentations, but sounded a note of unease at what she detected might need been a possible level of adult over-management within the language of the reports that the kids had given: she would have liked to have had more openness to the Spirit in order that they were in a position to speak within the moment.
Kenson Li (UKME co-opted) voiced his disappointment and impatience that the progress to incorporate young people within the chamber had been slow. The proposals were heavy on school engagement, he said: he desired to see children from diverse backgrounds engaged. He had been co-opted as one in all five young Synod members. It had been a 12 months for the reason that Synod voted to have interaction with young people, and “we haven’t seen a route map yet,” he said in exasperation. “The voice of Global Majority Heritage young people is lacking on this room. . . How many young voices are we not hearing because we usually are not giving them the possibility? The proposal will not be daring or humble enough. We can do higher.”
Emily Hill (Hereford), the youngest member of Synod, spoke of the imperative to draw and keep young people. “They usually are not trophies to be brought out and paraded,” she said. “It shouldn’t be about us. They need to realize something and be enriched by the agenda proposed.” With reference to the statistics of the presentations, she desired to ask what percentage were church attenders, and what number of didn’t have a faith. “Please don’t let it’s so managed that we don’t hear the voice of young people outside the church.”
The Revd Dan Leathers (Liverpool) recalled 19 years earlier chatting with the Synod as a representative of the Church of England Youth Council. “The council listened to me as a youngster, and that made me commit my life to listening to young people,” he said.
The Bishop of Dover, the Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, had confirmed greater than 600 young people. She told the young people present: “I place a seed in them. I tell them, ‘One of you here can be called by God to serve the Church.’ You’ve been an inspiration. I would like to encourage you to maintain going. I preached my first sermon after I was 14.”
Sam Atkins/Church TimesThe Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Revd Jonathan Frost, who’s the lead bishop for education
Billy-Jo O’Leary (Rochester) described the young people as “a fantastic illustration of a generation doing intergenerational mission well”. Why, she asked, was this the last a part of business for the Synod, when many members had already needed to depart? “It must have been the primary and last call.”
The Revd Dr Charlie Bell (Southwark) said that it was a truism to say that young people were the Church’s future — “It’s obvious.” The Church was called to be diverse, he said, rejoicing in the range of the choristers at his church of St John the Divine, Kennington. “I’ve found choristers so receptive to the sacraments, so receptive to the scriptures soaking into them — living their faith as young people in on a regular basis life. The Church sees the Christian life as involving all of God’s people, in the entire and within the round.”
Robert Hammond (Chelmsford), who chairs the Business Committee, apologised for the timing of the talk, which had been determined by when the young people could possibly be present. “The Business Committee will at all times support the incorporation of young people into our debates,” he promised. It could be “a considerable item on our next meeting”.
The Bishop of Peterborough, the Rt Revd Debbie Sellin, urged the Church to transcend church schools to partnering together.
Bishop Frost concluded: “We hear you and we value you.”
A vote on the motion was carried by a show of hands:
That this Synod:
(a) welcome the voice of youngsters and young people as a part of the church of today and commit to intentionally hearing and responding to their voice on at the least one substantive item of business in future groups of sessions, employing a variety of presentational activities, including surveys, reports, live presentations and videos; and
(b) welcome the work being done across the entire church to change into ‘younger and more diverse’ ensuring every child in every parish has access to a flourishing youth, children and families’ ministry.
