General Synod Election Candidates 2026

Richard Lindop
Personal Statement supporting nomination for
General Synod

I am standing for General Synod because I believe that my skills
and experience equip me to be an effective member of Synod and, as an evangelical,
I want to support the Reformed position of the Church of England, based on Scripture.
I believe that my skills and experience, described below, will enable me to be an
effective member of Synod.
I am a Chartered Mechanical Engineer, with over 50 years experience in the rail industry.
I have been married to Fiona, a physiotherapist, for 47 years, and we have 2 children and
4 grandchildren. I have been a Reader for over 40 years, in three dioceses, and we have
been members of the church family at St Alkmunds, Duffield since 1992.
My professional roles have included locomotive and rolling stock maintenance, sales
and marketing, managing development and design of new infrastructure (stations,
bridges, track, signalling electrification) from feasibility to detained design, project
management of major design and construction works, health and safety, strategic
financial management, and leading and managing teams of up to 200 people. This has
taken me to live in different parts of the country and given me a wide experience of the
Church. I am now mainly retired, but carry out some part-time consultancy work.
I became a Christian at university in Cambridge, and then moved successively to
Sheffield, north London, Doncaster, Hitchin and York, before settling in Duffield in 1992.
We have been members of St Alkmunds, Duffield ever since. I was admitted and
licensed as a Reader in Sheffield diocese in 1983 and have since been licensed in
St Albans and Derby dioceses. Our church in Hitchin (St Albans diocese) was an
Anglican/Methodist LEP, and when we moved to York, we joined the local Methodist
church on York North circuit, where I was accredited as a Local Preacher, preaching
regularly at the 12 chapels on the circuit. This has given me a good understanding of
local ecumenical issues.
As a Reader, I have always supported local churches through preaching and leading
services. Additionally, for a number of years prior to the pandemic, I was a volunteer
speaker for Tearfund, speaking at churches of all denominations to encourage our
supporters. As a result, I have, over the years, led worship and preached in some 33
Anglican churches in Derby diocese, in addition to other churches of various
denominations across Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, and
elsewhere before we moved to Derbyshire. This has given me a wide appreciation of the
variety of our local churches, particularly in the rural communities. I am currently

particularly supporting St Mary’s, Chaddesden and St Peter’s Stapenhill, as well our
ministry team at St Alkmunds, Duffield and St Paul’s, Little Eaton.
Within the wider church context, I have been involved in youth work for many years. My
wife and I met as leaders at Scripture Union camps, and I spent some 15 years as a
volunteer leader on summer and Easter camps. We were youth leaders (Pathfinders) in
our church in north London, and as we moved around the country, found ourselves
called to set up and run youth groups in Doncaster, then Hitchin, then York and finally in
Duffield! I continue to support the youth leaders here by helping at our Sunday evening
Salt Café for 11 – 18 year olds. I am therefore very aware of the challenges facing our
young people in church, and, of course, of the need for transparent and rigorous
management of safeguarding.
I am also chair of Trustees for a small charity linked to our churches in Duffield and
Little Eaton. In addition to providing some funding for parish youth workers, we have
recently raised sufficient money to purchase the former HSBC Bank in Duffield and are
in the process of converting it to a café as part of our outreach to the community. We
see this as a significant opportunity for the church to engage with the people of Duffield.
I am currently leading management of the building works and the Trust will be
employing the staff and have oversight of the café and wider use of the premises.
I am actively engaged with our local community as Chair of Trustees at Ecclesbourne
School, a post I have held for over 10 years, having been a Trustee for nearly 30 years
and also formerly Treasurer of the Parents, Staff and Friends Association (PSFA) for 5
years while our children were at the school. As a bird watcher, I have a keen interest in
the environment and ecology, and I volunteer for the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, surveying
for water voles and otters, as well as supporting our local nature reserve (Millenium
Meadow).
My professional skills of project management, team leadership, strategy and option
evaluation are orientated to working within Synodical structures. My experience of the
church over the last 50 years includes preaching and leading services in many rural and
suburban churches, both Anglican and Methodist, as well as many years of leading
youth groups. My experience across the church and my skills and interests therefore
address many of the issues Synod is facing, including organisational, financial,
safeguarding and environmental challenges. I therefore have a very wide range of
church, managerial and financial experience, as well as a commitment to preaching
and teaching the Bible faithfully, all of which, if elected, I would bring to Synod in order
to play my part in enabling the Church to flourish and grow.

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