General Synod Election Candidates 2026

Election Address – General Synod 2026
Who am I?
Sarah and I have been married for nearly 25 years and we have 3 boys; 2 at university and 1 about
to start senior school.
We have been part of St Peter’s and St Paul’s church in Ashington (within the parish of
Chanctonbury) for the last 13 years and I have served on the youth, young adults and worship
teams as well as co-leading a home group with my wife, Sarah.
I grew up in a single parent family in London and as a child attended Wealdstone Methodist Church
but stepped away at 12. I came to faith at 16 after I was invited to be a musician for the church
pantomime and met the youth group who introduced me to Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. Having
studied for a Theology degree at Durham University I explored ordination and worked as a church
intern for a year at St Oswald’s, Walkergate (Newcastle upon Tyne) before turning to a 30 year
career in finance. I have recently stepped away from being a partner of PwC, a large global
accounting and consulting firm, to focus my time on various Christian charities and church roles.
In any spare time I enjoy playing music (cello and bass guitar), support Watford FC, watch cricket and
look after our livestock (hens, ducks, alpacas and bees so far), plant hedgerows and invest in a lower
carbon footprint at our smallholding on the Warren Hill estate in the South Downs National Park.
My Experience
I have been a member of the PCC at Chanctonbury since 2019, serving as the Treasurer since 2025
and sit on the deanery synod.
My career as a Chartered Accountant has allowed me to travel the world and work with large
multinational companies and investment funds as they look to invest for growth in businesses. I
specialised in “due diligence” reviews which focused on reviewing financial performance &
business plans and analysing the risks & strategic options facing organisations. I also acted as the
“partner sponsor” for the PwC Christian Network of 700+ people in the UK.
I currently serve as a trustee for 3 national Christian charities:
• New Wine Trust which supports a network of churches and church leaders throughout the
country and holds a large annual festival. The focus is on “local churches, changing nations”;
• Scripture Union which is focused on revealing Jesus to the next generation, supporting “faith
guides” in local churches to work in their schools and communities;
• Restored, a Christian charity working to raise awareness of violence against women / domestic
abuse, support survivors and equip local churches to do the same.
I am also the Chair of Trustees for a local Almshouse charity in my village.
Mark Binney
Chanctonbury Parish, Storrington Deanery
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: 07734 607 464
Address: Warren Hill House, Storrington Road,
Washington, West Sussex, RH20 4AQ
Proposer:
Susan Scholefield, St Mary’s Pulborough, Storrington Deanery
Seconder: Catherine Allen, All Saints Crowborough, Rotherfield Deanery

Why am I standing?
Over the last few years I have been exploring a sense of calling away from my career in finance to
invest my time and experience with Christian charities, Gospel focused businesses and the church.
I believe that my experience of board meetings, leading the risk, commercial ethics & quality function
for my business unit at PwC and working with a diverse global client base has provided me with skills
and wisdom which are highly relevant to the governance issues and challenges facing the Church of
England. I have been able to begin applying my experience within Chanctonbury church and the
Christian charity sector which has started to hone these skills to the faith environment.
The Church of England through the local parish church network has a unique opportunity at the heart
of communities to preach the Gospel, teach about the Kingdom of God and be the presence of
Christ. The structures and leadership should therefore be focused on enabling local parish churches
to focus on evangelism to reach the lost; discipleship so that believers grow to be more like Jesus; and
the worship of God as Father, Son and Spirit.
I have had the privilege of worshipping in a wide variety of contexts within the Church of England: as
an intern in a deprived urban part of Newcastle upon Tyne; suburban West London at St Paul’s in
Ealing; The Point, Burgess Hill, a Fresh Expressions church reaching unchurched families in Sussex; and
currently, at Chanctonbury, a multi-generational community across rural villages.
My particular passions which would guide my role on General Synod are for seeing:
• God at work amongst the children and youth and how we raise up a new generation of Christ
centred leaders for and from this generation
• Local parish churches leading mission outreach and transformation of their communities: the
Monday to Saturday roles are as important as the Sunday role for our churches as God builds His
Kingdom in our parishes
• Those in need of sanctuary (from abuse, crisis, addictions, situations they need to leave behind)
finding love and support amongst God’s people in His church
• Theological integrity of God’s revelation of himself to us as Father, Son and Spirit in the Bible and
his continuing revelation to us by the work of the Holy Spirit today.
Thank you
Thank you for taking time to read my election address and for considering
giving me your support as your first preference within the voting process.
Please do feel free to contact me if you would value discussing any of your
thoughts with me ahead of voting.
With every blessing in Christ Jesus,
Mark Binney
Election Address – General Synod 2026
Mark Binney
Chanctonbury Parish, Storrington Deanery
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: 07734 607 464
Address: Warren Hill House, Storrington Road,
Washington, West Sussex, RH20 4AQ
Proposer:
Susan Scholefield, St Mary’s Pulborough, Storrington Deanery
Seconder: Catherine Allen, All Saints Crowborough, Rotherfield Deanery

abuse,discipleship,environment,evangelism,finance,fresh expressions,gospel,methodist,mission,new wine,next generation,ordination,outreach,pcc,scripture,survivors,violence,young adults,youth,youth group