General Synod Election Candidates 2026

Revd Jenny Bridgman
Candidate for the House of Clergy, General Synod 2026
Director of Ministry and Bishop's Adviser for IME 2 and Clergy Transitions
SSOM priest, Parish of Tarporley
Proposers

Revd Lucy Brewster, Director of Foxhill
House and Woodlands
Revd Dr Andrew Knight, Vicar of Bowdon Parish
Rural Dean, Bowdon Deanery

Why I am standing again
When I stood in 2024, I asked you to trust that my experience of parish ministry, ministerial formation,
safeguarding and diocesan life would enable me to make a substantive contribution to General Synod. Two
years on, I know much more clearly both what Synod can achieve and what I can bring to it. I have greatly
valued the privilege of representing Chester, and I would be grateful for the opportunity to continue that
work through a full term.

I love Jesus and the Church of England, and I want our shared life to be increasingly shaped by God’s grace,
justice and generous welcome. As a “Together” supported candidate, I am 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 have also learned that effective Synodical work rarely happens simply by taking up a position and defending
it. It depends on careful judgement, listening well, understanding how ideas will work in practice, and being
willing to work across theological and ecclesial differences. I am deeply rooted in the Diocese of Chester and
in the ministries I serve here across our theological breadth. General Synod is one place from which I can
help shape better policy and practice: taking the realities of local and diocesan ministry into national
conversations, and bringing national learning and influence back into the life of this diocese.

What I have done with your vote
Since being elected, I have served in a number of national roles, including:
•
the Dioceses Commission, with particular interest in inter-diocesan partnership;
•
the Advisory Group for the Terms and Wellbeing of Ministers;
•
the Lay Conduct Working Group;
•
work revising the Reader Regulations;
•
national work on safeguarding in ordination discernment and spiritual accompaniment,
drawing on work developed in Chester and following recommendations from the Makin Review;
•
appointed assessor to the Prolocutor of the Lower House of the Convocation of York.

One of the things I have most valued is connecting local, diocesan and national work. National work on clergy
terms and wellbeing has informed my work in Chester, while our diocesan experience has contributed to
national work on safeguarding and discernment. My SSOM ministry in Tarporley keeps all of this grounded
in the day-to-day realities of parish life and ministry.

Working across difference
In July 2025, during debate on the Private Member’s Motion concerning Issues in Human Sexuality, I worked
with Together and across the chamber to bring an amendment which replaced the continued use of Issues
in Human Sexuality with the interim use of the Guidelines for the Professional Conduct of the Clergy. This was
an important step for justice and inclusion: Issues in Human Sexuality had caused deep hurt to LGBT+ people
and was not fit for purpose. The amendment helped Synod find a way forward with exceptionally broad
support across very different theological positions. That experience confirmed something I already believed:
we do not need to choose between conviction and collaboration. We can work for substantive change while
listening seriously across difference, without retreating into fixed camps.

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The Work Ahead
These are areas in which I particularly hope to contribute in the next quinquennium.
A safer Church
The next Synod must continue safeguarding
reform, with clearer accountability and processes
that are workable and respond better to those who
have been harmed. I also want to see the Church
become more consistently trauma-responsive in
the
way
it
exercises
power
and
handles
vulnerability.

An inclusive Church
I want the next Synod’s work on Relationships,
Sexuality and Gender to move forward with courage
and clarity, alongside sustained commitment to
racial
justice,
disability
inclusion
and socio-
economic equality. In Chester, I have worked on
From Lament to Action, working-class vocations and
removing barriers to participation.

Clergy and lay wellbeing
The next Synod should return to the commitments
of the Clergy Covenant and ask whether our
structures genuinely enable clergy and lay ministers
to flourish. I want to bring experience from our local
work in Chester, including support for part-time and
SSOM clergy, into that national conversation.

Structures that serve mission
The next Synod must rebuild trust in the Church’s
structures
and
governance,
with
clearer
accountability, better decision-making and systems
that support rather than burden mission. Building
transparency and honest engagement when we
disagree will be vital if we are to strengthen
confidence and further God’s mission.

Children, young people and the future of faith
As a member of the Flourish Project Board, I want
the next Synod to strengthen younger voices in
decision-making and help churches, households
and schools nurture faith more confidently
together, building on what initiatives such as
Flourish are already achieving in Chester.

Climate and the care of creation
I remain committed to Net Zero and the wider care
of creation, while wanting dioceses and parishes to
have realistic, properly resourced ways of turning
those commitments into practice. Earlier this year I
led an initiative to draw Synod representatives into
conversation with the Diocesan Eco Church
Network, in a model of consultation I hope to build
on in the years ahead.

What I hope to bring
If re-elected, I will continue to bring careful judgement, clear inclusive convictions, strong safeguarding
and wellbeing expertise, and an ability to work constructively across difference. Above all, I want to keep
connecting local, diocesan and national work in ways that improve policy, strengthen ministry and help
the Church’s structures serve mission more effectively.

I am grateful for the trust you placed in me in 2024. I feel that I am only just getting started,
and I would value the opportunity to continue this work through a full term.

I want to use the opportunities Synod gives me to help make the Church safer, fairer, more
effective in its mission and more able to share the abundant life of Christ.

“I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly” – John 10:10

I would be very grateful for your first or highest possible preference vote.

Please don’t hesitate to be in touch if you’d like a further conversation before casting your vote:

[email protected] • 07546 304644
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