OVER 4 days, the General Synod accomplished the total legislative process for a Measure and amending canon to deal with a legal anomaly within the licensing of military chaplains.
On the Saturday afternoon, the Archdeacon of Oxford, the Ven. Jonathan Chaffey (Oxford), introduced the draft Measure draft Armed Forces Chaplains (Licensing Measure and Amending Canon No. 44 (Ministers’ Exercise of Ministry) for first consideration. He characterised the business as “tidying up a small area of ecclesiastical law”, but said that it also presented a chance to precise support for the “essential work” being done by military chaplains.
For greater than 100 years, military chaplains had operated across the country with a licence from the Archbishop of Canterbury, but it surely had emerged that parliamentary laws had not been properly implemented in 1868. As a result, chaplains currently needed to apply for permission to officiate (PTO) in every diocese during which they ministered.
Archdeacon Chaffey, a former Chaplain-in-Chief of the RAF, said that this “creates problems”, as chaplains needed to be mobile and capable of serve wherever they were posted. The Measure would put the previous practice “on a secure legal footing”, he said, with a licence from the Archbishop. The licence would apply only to the exercise of chaplaincy duties; other work, akin to regular parish ministry, would require an application for PTO.
The Revd James Menzies (Salisbury), a military chaplain, wondered whether there was any reason to oppose the Measure: “Perhaps, when you thought the Church of England wasn’t bureaucratic enough,” he suggested. The proposals would make a “great difference” to him and his colleagues, he said. He hoped that members wouldn’t dismiss this as a distinct segment issue. “This is an extension of your mission, of our mission.”
The Bishop to the Armed Forces, the Bishop of St Germans, the Rt Revd Hugh Nelson, said that the proposals would help to fulfil the Church of England’s ambition to be “simpler” in its systems. He also encouraged churches to interact with military chaplains of their area, and commended forthcoming resources which might explore what it meant to be a Church in a time of conflict.
The Archdeacon of London, the Ven. Luke Miller (London), spoke of his experience as a sea-cadet chaplain, and of his son, who’s on lively duty within the Navy. Forces chaplains needed to give you the option to go immediately to where they were needed, he said, and, even though it was right for them to have “proper check and accreditation, they don’t need unnecessary bureaucracy”.
Michaela Suckling (Sheffield) said that, because the daughter of a soldier, she would vote for the motion, in order that chaplains could fully prepare the armed forces to enter battle, strengthened by the Holy Spirit, to face what was ahead. She also urged churches near military bases to think about how they might support forces families — not only the troops, however the spouses and youngsters left behind.
Canon Andrew Dotchin (St Edmundsbury & Ipswich), the son of a naval officer, said that military chaplaincy had all the time been intensely pastoral. “This Measure will help us help them help others,” he said.
Sam Atkins/Church TimesThe Bishop to the Forces, the Rt Revd Hugh Nelson
Karen Czapiewski (Gloucester) asked why the Measure was restricted to clergy and didn’t include lay people licensed by a bishop.
The Revd Martin Davy (Oxford) welcomed the Measure as recognising “something deep” concerning the nature of Christian ministry: that the Church’s mission was not defined by diocesan lines. Chaplains went wherever their people went, whether on bases, submarines, or battlefields. “This is superb governance, but in addition excellent theology as well,” he said.
The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, said that forces chaplains worked almost exclusively with young adults — a key goal for evangelism. He also encouraged chaplains, even with the brand new licensing arrangements, to be in contact with their local bishop to receive support and prayer.
The Revd Jo Winn-Smith (Guildford), as a bishop’s chaplain, had first-hand experience of the impracticalities of chaplains’ having to use for PTO. But chaplains deployed for an extended period might still want PTO in order that they might minister in a parish, she suggested. She echoed Bishop Usher’s call for chaplains to proceed making contact with the diocese, even in the event that they not needed a licence.
Canon Paul Cartwright (Leeds) praised the spiritual care offered by military chaplains in “unique and difficult contexts” and welcomed the reforms. “This isn’t about bypassing episcopal oversight, but enabling ministry in extraordinary settings.” He suggested that there is likely to be the same need for police and fire chaplains to give you the option to accompany those whom they served when deployed outside their usual areas in times of public unrest or national crisis.
Lt Gen. Robin Brims (Newcastle), who had spent 39 years in the military, said that he had benefited hugely from padres, who worked well ecumenically, too.
John Wilson (Lichfield), one other military veteran, said that the military of today was smaller and more mobile, able to respond at very short notice for much shorter deployments. Chaplains had a vital part to play in supporting soldiers and families within the face of rapid moves from place to put, he said; so this variation was vital to giving them the flexibleness required.
The business returned to the Synod on the Sunday afternoon for the revision stage. A member of the steering committee, Canon Alice Kemp (Bristol), moved the separate parts of the Measure. Peter Bruinvels (Guildford) was pleased that forces chaplains may very well be “untapped” as a present to the entire Church. He asked whether there may very well be a revised policy for parish priests to enter military bases to support the families left behind when padres were deployed overseas.
Canon Kemp said that this was not a matter for the steering committee, and suggested that Mr Bruinvels take this up with Bishop Nelson.
On the Tuesday morning, introducing the final-approval debate, Archdeacon Chaffey told the Synod that its wholehearted endorsement of the forces chaplains’ ministry had been heartening.
The Archbishop of York spoke of one in all his predecessors’ chaplains, who left Bishopthorpe to function a First World War army chaplain, and who was killed in motion in France. He was remembered every Remembrance Day, but these issues were not only prior to now, he warned. Britain’s military was still needed, and, due to this fact, chaplains still mattered. “We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the chaplains of His Majesty’s armed forces,” he said. They were pastors and evangelists in ethically complex contexts. The Archbishop thanked the Synod for its quick work.
The Chaplain of the Fleet and Archdeacon for the Royal Navy, the Ven. Andrew Hillier (Armed Forces), thanked members for his or her support in making chaplains’ work “immeasurably easier”. The hardest a part of his job was sending his chaplains into harm’s way — which, he said, was an everyday occurrence now as Royal Navy vessels got here under fire within the Red Sea. “Please have in mind all who serve within the armed forces in your prayers,” he asked the Synod.
Mr Bruinvels thanked members for his or her support of the forces, saying that many dioceses had also signed the armed-forces covenant. He told stories of how military chaplains could also serve the broader Church “outside the wire” of their bases.
The final approval votes were: for Measure, Bishops 21, Clergy 151, Laity 142 nem. con.; and for the Amending Canon, Bishops 23, Clergy 154, Laity 152 nem. con.
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