General Synod Election Candidates 2026

General Synod election address 2026
House of Laity, Chester Diocese, Knutsford Deanery.

Miss Debbie Woods
10 South Downs

Knutsford
Cheshire
WA16 8ND
Age: 59
Email: [email protected]

Nominators:
Ruth Bull: Chadkirk Deanery
Peter Hart: Nantwich Deanery

Thank you very much for reading this election address. After prayer and reflection, I am offering
myself to stand again for election to General Synod. I am writing to ask you to vote in the election
and to consider giving me your first preference vote (or if not, your second or even third preference
would be very much appreciated!)

Who am I?

I came to know the Lord at a University mission event back in 1988, after the death of my father. I
settled into life at St John the Baptist church in Knutsford shortly after and it has been my privilege
to worship the Lord there ever since. At home I care for my elderly mother. In my spare time I enjoy
painting and crafting (when time allows). I also follow my beloved Liverpool FC (when nerves
allow).

I am delighted to be a Trustee of Growing Young Disciples. I am happy to carve out time to serve
this charity as it trains, resources and advises parents, volunteer workers, churches and full-time
church workers, in biblical ministry, to raise the next generation to know Christ.

In work

Having qualified as a solicitor in Manchester, I joined the College (now University) of Law as a
lecturer at Christleton, Chester in 1993, before moving to the Manchester campus in 2009. I am an
Associate Professor, was a Deputy Safeguarding Officer for a number of years and teach
undergraduates as well as graduates taking professional qualifications. I am a skills coach to
solicitor apprentices and sit on a group that looks at ways to achieve widening participation in the
University and legal profession for under-represented groups. General Synod is ultimately a
legislative body, so my work experience is particularly helpful to understanding the legal processes
involved.

Both at Chester and Manchester I have led and supported students and qualified lawyers through
Lawyers Christian Fellowship groups. I believe that my experience in working with students and
young lawyers at this critical time as they enter the workplace allows me to engage with the
church’s strategy for reaching and discipling young people.

I’m also committed to encouraging and supporting Christians in the workplace and am thankful to
be in an online prayer group, meeting weekly to read the bible together and pray for one another in
our workplace challenges and evangelistic opportunities. As the numbers involved in priestly
ministry decline, we will need to make sure our lay folk are equipped and encouraged to be
ambassadors for Christ at home and in work, as well as supporting the local church creatively and
effectively.

In the local church

I have been a member of St John’s Knutsford for 37 years. I co-lead a midweek homegroup and
am an occasional service leader. I have been a churchwarden for 19 of those years and sat on
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PCCs and Standing and Finance Committees for over 30. I have been involved through a major
church re-ordering project, many faculty processes, as well as an interregnum and recruitment of
staff over those years. I have been able to use my experience as a lawyer to assist with the many
legal issues that now affect church life, from employment and safeguarding to health and safety
and risk assessments. Having also served on Deanery and Diocesan Synods for many years, I feel
I understand the pressures felt at parish level across our Diocese.

The Church of England system of having a Christian presence in each parish around the country is
precious. We must look for ways of ensuring that the central church Nationally and at Diocesan
level provides the appropriate level of practical, financial and administrative support, that really can
make our lives easier but is not so bloated that it fails to recognise that the faithful parish is the
best place to make disciples and to serve and reach our nation for Christ.
Synod will need to exercise great discipline to avoid funding every ‘good idea’ centrally, when
income resources are stretched.

I have taught our children in junior church on Sundays, and our youth group in their mid-week bible
study for many years. This will, God willing, remain a priority for me. It’s a great privilege to play a
role in teaching our young people the bible, so that they might know and love Jesus more for
themselves and stand firm in their faith in a very confused and confusing world.
As I approach 60, I am also well aware of how important our age group is to the functioning of the
local church. Ours is the age group that gathers before on Sunday mornings to pray for the
services, the needs of the church and the town and I’m glad to be a part of that group. I am a great
encourager of folk to use their time and gifts in all sorts of ways to help our churches flourish.

In General Synod

I have been a member of General Synod for the last 11 years. I do think it’s important to have
continuity on Synod, so that progress made, and lessons learned from previous sessions are not
lost.
After some painful debates, the House of Bishops has committed to act with greater transparency
and with appropriate regard to due process and the historic formularies of the church. We need to
hold them to account to this commitment. I have been involved in supporting lawyers producing
reports and in asking searching questions to pin down truth, so that we might conduct our business
with the integrity that God demands.

Synod will continue to debate issues of human identity and flourishing in the church and wider
society. Our churches need to be genuinely welcoming to ALL people, who are precious to God,
and confident about their belief in the goodness of God and His Word to reach, save and sanctify
His people. I have appreciated the opportunity to listen well to those with views that differ from my
own and for the personal stories shared at great cost, particularly in small group environments.
However, disagreements are genuine and profound, and we now need to find creative ways to live
under the same roof, whilst honouring our consciences, as the Holy Spirit continues His work of
transformation in us all.
I believe I can contribute to this process of finding solutions to enable churches to get on with their
ministries in these challenging times. I believe that God is really working in the hearts and minds of
many people in our nation, who are disillusioned with the empty promises the world has made
them. Our churches need to be ready, equipped and freed to reach them and disciple them with
the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In conclusion

•
I am passionate about the local church, fully engaged in its life and its role in reaching the
lost and discipling God’s people as we journey together to glory.
•
If elected, I will prayerfully engage with Synod’s agenda in issues legal, financial and
doctrinal, to make as sure as we can that faithful churches are resourced and equipped to
carry out their vital ministry in our nation.

Thank you once again for your time in reading this. I would love to represent Chester Diocese
again on General Synod and would be very appreciative of your vote.
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