THE General Synod voted on the Thursday for hearing and responding to young adults’ voices. A motion on “Growing Younger and More Diverse” expands the commitment — made to the 18-to-25s in July — to all children and young people.
The motion invited the Synod to contemplate the methodology and the practicalities, including the formation of a bunch of as much as 200 young adults across the dioceses, which might send representatives to every Synod meeting.
Moving the motion, Kenson Li, co-opted three years ago, highlighted the imbalance of ages within the voices being heard within the chamber. The average age of Synod members was 58, he said, “with only five of us under the age of 30, and one under 25. Sixty-five are of their seventies.” In contrast, the typical age of MPs was 51, “with as many under 30 as above 70”.
The motion, in effect, created a successor to the Church of England Youth Council (CEYC), disbanded in 2019 within the hope of “a unique way of representation at Synod”, and pleas for higher funding (News, 18 February 2022).
“We need you,” Mr Li said. “We wish to hear your voice. We wish to be challenged in regards to the assumptions we make in your absence.” He is to be ordained in June to a curacy at Manchester Cathedral. The Synod had shaped his vocation, he said. He had found it “a spot of grace, where Christian discernment is public and held accountable”.
Under the brand new plans, at the very least three and as much as five representatives would attend the Synod. Mr Li called for inclusivity and variety. The “prophetically uncomfortable” voices of young adults must grow to be a powerful a part of deliberations.
This group, he said, needed to be “empowered to set their very own priorities in what and the way they share their views. The motion is barely one step, but a crucial first step, to enable more young people to see themselves as belonging on this chamber. We will need all of your support, Synod, at every level of life.”
The Revd Millie Cork (Leeds) had joined the Synod in 2015 on the age of 23: was she now the youngest clergy member, she wondered. “As a totally fledged, democratically elected lay member, my voice was heard,” she said. “If we wish to take young people seriously, we wish to present them the facility of the vote.” While she was very grateful to all who had helped her to know the system, “the culture of this place for young people will not be great,” she said. “I hope we will actually make General Synod less of an unfriendly beast. Let’s demystify it.”
The Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Revd Jonathan Frost, alluded to this, too: the proposal would enable young adults to be supported, properly safeguarded, and “in a position to express their views and navigate the complex processes of Synod”.
An amendment from Clive Scowen (London), to specify three representatives on the grounds that “we will have them here immediately”, was lost.
An amendment from Clare Williams (Norwich) wished to stop the Synod’s “offering tokenistic ways of including young adults”. She wanted these proposals joined with those arrange for the under-18s: “If we put the groundwork in before 18, we are going to see them naturally. Be careful to not perpetuate the narrative that your voice won’t be heard until you’re 18,” she said.
This had Mr Li’s approval: “We do wish to ensure a pathway for under-18s to progress,” he said, and calling for bishops and dioceses to take into consideration who those under-18s is perhaps.
Anna De Castro (Sheffield) said that a recent survey had shown that 88 per cent of adults still energetic of their faith had had first contact with the Church in childhood. She had, in her church, “a cacophony of kids who love Jesus. . . They are sponges for discussing faith and growing in discipleship. The motion might be more ambitious. Who are these young adults and where are they being drafted in from? We don’t just want token additions.”
The Bishop of Sheffield, Dr Pete Wilcox, said that a 17-year-old was serving as certainly one of the advisory panel within the strategy of discernment for the appointment of the subsequent Bishop of Doncaster. “They’ve been asking us to create a protocol if we’re serious about integrating the voices of young adults,” he said.
The amendment was carried.
Resuming debate on the motion, as amended, Jennifer Fellows (Gloucester) said that she had come, aged 28, to the Synod out of “a passionate love for the Church of England” and that the experience had made her “deeply probe” her theology. She want the voice of young adults to be “one which challenges us in our seats. Young people don’t speak or wish to be forced to talk with one voice.” she said. She desired to see see a “widespread cultural change”.
The Archdeacon of Liverpool, the Ven. Dr Miranda Threlfall-Holmes (Liverpool), urged the Synod to take seriously the spirituality of young people. Adults, too, benefited from engaging with them: “It enhances their very own spirituality.”
Mary Bucknall (Deaf Anglicans Together) asked the Synod: “In serious about ways of responding to 18-to-25s, don’t forget deaf children and young people among the many group of 200. I need to share a priority that deaf children are falling behind in access to non secular education, in addition to other subjects. They have to access it through BSL, interpreted videos, transcripts, and podcasts. . . We have to have younger deaf people as Synod representatives as a matter of urgency. Otherwise, an entire generation of young deaf people will likely be lost to the Church.”
Dr Gracy Crane (Oxford) said that there was a necessity for deliberately targeted intervention to make all this occur, querying the accessibility of the “pages of dense text” that Synod members received. “When you do get young adults, unbox them,” she said. “Get to know them for who they’re.”
The Bishop of Dover, the Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin (Canterbury), told the Synod that, to permit for the subsequent generation to be present, others may need to step aside.
The motion as amended was carried. It read:
- welcome the voice of young adults (aged 18-25) as a part of the church of today and commit to intentionally hearing and responding to their voices on a variety of things of business in each subsequent group of sessions, employing a variety of presentational activities, including surveys, reports, live presentations and videos
- invite the formation of a bunch of as much as 200 young adults drawn from across all dioceses to support the leadership development, faith journey and advocacy of young adults
- request at the very least three and as much as five young adults as representatives of this group at each session of Synod’s under Standing Order 122.1 recognising this group to be the successor to the Church of England Youth Council while ensuring that links are made with the opportunities provided for the voices of energetic disciples who’re under 18 to be heard in a way that feeds into Synod in order that the 2 processes join together
- welcome the work being done across the entire church to grow to be “younger and more diverse” ensuring young adults are on the centre of this mission, through implementing a development and advocacy programme for young adults in each diocese to feed into Synod business, and encourage more young adults to contemplate standing for election in subsequent quinquennia.
- welcome the voice of young adults (aged 18-25) as a part of the church of today and commit to intentionally hearing and responding to their voices on a variety of things of business in each subsequent group of sessions, employing a variety of presentational activities, including surveys, reports, live presentations and videos
- invite the formation of a bunch of as much as 200 young adults drawn from across all dioceses to support the leadership development, faith journey and advocacy of young adults
- request at the very least three and as much as five young adults as representatives of this group at each session of Synod’s under Standing Order 122.1 recognising this group to be the successor to the Church of England Youth Council while ensuring that links are made with the opportunities provided for the voices of energetic disciples who’re under 18 to be heard in a way that feeds into Synod in order that the 2 processes join together
- welcome the work being done across the entire church to grow to be “younger and more diverse” ensuring young adults are on the centre of this mission, through implementing a development and advocacy programme for young adults in each diocese to feed into Synod business, and encourage more young adults to contemplate standing for election in subsequent quinquennia.
