disability,ecumenical,finance,inclusive,inclusive church,living in love and faith,llf,mission,neurodiversity,sexuality,stipendiary,urc,vocations,working class

I blur lines because I'm convinced God keeps showing up in the liminal spaces,
& because the things we treat as separate are often profoundly connected
When I first stood for General Synod, I didn't really know what I was getting myself into. I only
knew that God had been nudging me towards it for some time. Now, I understand that nudge
better. I know much more about what Synod is; its possibilities, frustrations, politics, privilege
and responsibility, where I fit in and how much I still have to learn.
Synod has taught me more deeply how the Church works and how it can work better. It has
highlighted the need to listen across difference, ask difficult questions, spot connections other
people might miss, and, crucially, to proactively respond with compassion.
Serving on Synod has been an enormous privilege. Thank you to everyone who gave me their
support, whether as a first or second-choice vote, in 2021.
I’m standing again to continue to speak up for the often overlooked.
Rev’d Chantal Noppen for General Synod
Nominated Ven Katherine Bagnall (Archdeacon of Sunderland)
Seconded Fr Kyle McNeil (Area Dean, Easington)
Who am I?
Who am I?
Who am I?
These words don’t tell you everything about me.
Some describe convictions or experiences; some
identities. Some may make you wonder how they
possibly coexist. But that's part of the point.
None of us are just one thing. God doesn't make
people in neat categories and who God has made
me is a key part of what I bring to Synod...
A few footnotes...
D - ‘cos brains are wonderfully diverse
O - little "o": historic Christian faith
Q - identity & creating space
T - hospitality, communion, belonging
X - grace received
Z - Greek: wholehearted devotion
So many things! But the top three are:
Representation matters.
Decisions made at Synod,
affect real people here in the
Diocese of Durham, on
estates and in pit villages,
urban and rural. Their voices
need to be heard in the room.
Real stories, met with
compassion and humility,
lead to better decisions.
Change requires work.
Speaking up matters, but so do
research, evidence, relation-
ships, organisation, persistence
& the willingness to do the
boring bits. When something
needs attention, my instinct is to
ask who needs to be involved,
what we need to understand,
and what we can actually do.
Everything is connected.
Disability, class, gender,
vocation, sexuality, governance,
safe-guarding, finance, ministry
are not separate issues. They’re
different ways of asking the
same questions; who belongs?
Who’s being heard?
Who carries the cost when
systems fail? Who isn’t here?
See Free-range Priest for an audio version of this address
Why Iʼm standing
Why Iʼm standing
Why I’m standing
Synod has taught me
Synod has taught me
Synod has taught me

Why now?
Why now?
I would be grateful for your first-preference vote.
I would be grateful for your first-preference vote.
Why now?
I would be grateful for your first-preference vote.
I’m a priest with PTO, following 11 years’ of stipendiary parish ministry on deprived estates in
Byker and Sunderland. I remain deeply supportive of parish ministry and see my national work
as another way of serving and enabling it. People are the Church and they need to know they
are seen, heard, valued and represented, not just informed.
Decisions made nationally eventually become someone's lived experience in a parish, home,
school or community. Synod must be directly connected to those realities. I want to
help build a Church where decision-making and communication is characterised by
relationship, listening and care. Based on Jesus’ example.
Five years on, I know much more about what Synod can do - and what it takes to
make change happen. My parish experience, my work nationally and ecumenically,
and the relationships I’ve built across the Church give me a perspective I want to
keep bringing to Synod. There’s still much work to do.
I want a Church confident enough to listen with compassion, humble enough to
change where it must and courageous enough to address inequitable
shortcomings. There should be room at the table for all of us.
I build relationships
Much of the important work happens between
meetings, through relationships, listening and
collaboration. Increasingly, I’m invited into
spaces where different perspectives need to
meet, listen and work together.
As a member of the CofE's Mission and Public
Affairs Council, I've contributed to
conversations connecting faith, public life and
Parliament. I've also represented the Church
of England at the URC’s General Assembly
multiple times and now serve on a committee
developing dialogue between our two
denominations. I bring a proven ability to build
relationships across traditions, find common
ground & navigate difficult conversations well

essential in my day job as National

Coordinator of the Inclusive Church Network.
I speak up
I’ve spoken in debates, asked questions and
proposed amendments on a issues including
Living in Love and Faith (LLF), working-class
vocations, estates ministry, women's ministry,
finance and neurodiversity.
I turn concerns into action
Drawing on my own experience of
neurodivergence, I founded Fragmental,
an online support group for neurodivergent
church leaders in 2022. It continues to
grow as a vulnerably honest, encouraging
ecumenical sacred community.
When I saw how inconsistent maternity
provision was for clergy across the Church
of England, I worked with others to
research it, publishing the Clergy Babies
Maternity Audit in 2024, helping turn its
findings into national reform.
I create spaces
Through Fragmental and the Motherhood
and Ministry webinars I helped to plan and
lead with members of the national vocations
team, I've created spaces where people's
previously unheard experiences can be
shared, explored and taken seriously.
Since being elected in 2021, I’ve tried to put those lessons into practice by being an active
and engaged member of Synod, contributing both in the chamber and beyond it.
What I've done
What I've done
What I've done
The parish
The parish
The parish