General Synod Election Candidates 2026

Kat D’Arcy-Cumber

Standing for re-election to the House of Laity

Nominated by Michelle Obende (General Synod 2015-26 & Hadleigh Deanery)

Seconded by John Tipping (Southend Deanery and Bishop’s Council)

Who Am I?

Hi, I’m Kat. I’m 51 years old and I worship at St Nicholas, South Ockendon, where I’ve been Church Warden
for nearly a decade. It has been a privilege to represent the Diocese of Chelmsford on General Synod for the
last five years and to have seen real progress in areas such as safeguarding, racial justice, working class
ministry, clergy wellbeing and recognising the place of neurodivergent people within the church. I have been
proud to contribute to debates on some of these crucial issues.

Having got to grips with many of the complexities of General Synod in this last quinquennium, I am asking for
your first preference vote so that I can continue to bring a thoughtful, practical and inclusive lay voice to the
table.

My background

I came to faith aged 16 after joining the choir at St Paul’s in Woodford Bridge. That experience shaped my
understanding of the importance of ordinary local parish churches, faithfully sharing the Gospel through
prayer, worship and serving their communities.

I trained in Applied Theology, specialising in Youth & Community Work, before completing a PGCE in
Secondary Religious Studies and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Pastoral Theology at Ridley Hall, going on to
teach Religious Studies, History and PSHE for 24 years. Working with young people has taught me the
importance of listening, creativity and making space for voices that can too easily be overlooked.

My family, life and church experience have also shaped my passion for inclusion and social justice. As a
woman of Global Majority Heritage, married to a priest with complex disability and part of a culturally mixed
British, Caribbean and Irish family, I know well the experience of being the odd one out in many of the spaces
I inhabit and I hold firmly to the idea that my presence also makes room for others who would not believe
they had a place.

Faith and church

My broad experience of church means I can combine a theological approach with a layperson’s perspective,
recognising the value of the breadth of the whole church. In an increasingly polarised society, serving on
General Synod has reinforced the importance of careful listening and disagreeing well while still praying
alongside one another. I have worshipped in new and old places – starting from scratch in an LEP without a
building on a new housing estate to becoming Church Warden of a Grade I listed church that has stood for
900 years. Both bring joys and challenges and both reinforce the importance of the local church as the
foundation stone for sharing God’s love.

I have served at DCC, PCC, Deanery, Diocesan and national levels. I was recently elected as assistant Deanery
Lay Chair and have also been appointed as a governor at Ripon College Cuddesdon, our diocesan training
partner. I oversee and lead online church for our parish, as well as regularly planning and leading Sunday
worship. While it is good to be able to use my training, something we must address as a church is how we
sustain worship, teaching and mission, with fewer and fewer priests.

My faith has been shaped by Greenbelt Festival, which I have attended for over 30 years, including leading
worship with the group nChant and as a founder member of the Goth Eucharist. This has driven my concern
for social justice and inclusion, and for putting that concern into action.

As a result of my belief in a broad church that welcomes all, I serve as a trustee of Together for the Church of
England. It was also my great privilege to deputise as a central member of the Crown Nominations
Commission, working to discern and nominate the next Bishop of St Albans, giving another layer of insight
into the workings of the church

Why am I standing for re-election?

Safeguarding – I am pleased the process of independence has been started but it didn’t go as far as I’d
hoped. In the next Synod we must continue to hold to account all those who are responsible for making
safeguarding as robust and effective as it can be.

Clergy wellbeing – work has been done around clergy discipline, stipends and
pensions but the predicted drop in clergy numbers and those coming forward for
ordination puts increasing pressure on parish priests as well as lay people. There is
work to do to address these issues.

Mission and ministry - Most of us serve in ordinary parishes in ordinary communities.
The model of funding has been to see funding bids go to big, shiny projects while
many of us feel simply overlooked. In the next Synod we must see work done to
ensure grass roots ministry in each place is properly funded, because it is this that is
truly transformative.

LLF – The last few years have been bruising for LGBTQIA+ folk. The long and drawn out LLF process has
resulted in some progress, but the radical inclusion that was spoken of has not materialised and the public
apologies feel hollow. In the next Synod I hope to see further travel towards equal marriage.

Where do I stand?

I have spoken above of the importance of grass-roots, parish-level ministry and mission and I believe that
this cannot be effective unless our churches are a place of welcome to all people. As a result, I
wholeheartedly endorse the following statement from Inclusive Church:

“We are committed to equality for everyone, at all levels and roles within the church, regardless of
disability, economic power, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, learning disability, mental health,
neurodiversity, or sexuality.”

I believe it is important that candidates are clear where they stand on key issues of inclusion, e.g. women’s
ministry or LLF, and would encourage you to contact them, or me, to ask if unclear.

As a broad church, there should be more to unite than divide us; this is the church’s strength. I am
committed to working alongside and worshipping with others, whichever tradition they come from, to see
God’s kingdom served.

Thank you for reading my electoral statement. General Synod is elected by single transferable vote - I hope
you will give me your first preference vote and I would also commend Gill Ball and Robert Hammond for high
preference votes. If you would like to contact me about anything I would be very pleased to hear from you.

With thanks to Michelle and to John for proposing me:

“I served on Synod with Kat for the last five years. During that time I observed her diligence and commitment
to General Synod and the importance of diversity and inclusion in our church across many different areas - not
just the widely obvious ones. Kat took care to produce materials to report back to her linked deanery and also
supported other members in helping them report back to theirs too. I have no doubt that Kat would be a great
asset to the Chelmsford representatives team for the next quinquennial which is why I am more than happy to
propose her. “ Michelle Obende

Kat D’Arcy-Cumber, Trinity House, 5 Nevada Road, Canvey Island, Essex, SS8 8EX
07879 400992
[email protected]

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