General Synod Election Candidates 2026

G E N E R A L S Y N O D E L E C T I O N S 2 0 2 6 · D I O C E S E O F E L Y
Piyush Jani
Candidate for the House of Laity
Currently serving as a co-opted lay member of General Synod
Holy Sepulchre with All Saints · Cambridge North Deanery

A T A G L A N C E
P A R I S H
Holy Sepulchre with All Saints
D E A N E R Y
Cambridge North
O C C U P A T I O N
Consultant Head & Neck Surgeon,
Cambridge University Hospitals; Bye
Fellow, Christ’s College, Cambridge
D A T E O F B I R T H
25 July 1955
H O M E C H U R C H
St Andrew the Great, Cambridge (30
years)
Nominators:
Sue Buttery. St Mary’s Fen, Ditton
Edwina Swann. Holy Trinity,
Cambridge

C H U R C H S E R V I C E
■
Co-opted lay member,
General Synod (2 years)
■
Served on panels for the
appointment of Bishops
■
Churchwarden
■
Parish Safeguarding Officer
■
PCC Trustee
■
Undergraduate Student
Team Leader
■
Men’s Bible Study Group
Leader
■
International Team Leader

C O N T A C T
T E L E P H O N E
07742 118754
E M A I L
[email protected]
Dear Elector, for the past two years I have served on General
Synod as a co-opted lay member. I now ask for your vote to
continue that work – elected by you, and accountable to
you.
Following encouragement from others, advice from family and friends, and after
prayerful reflection, I am glad to be available to serve. My deepest desire is to
follow Jesus Christ in every part of my life, and I long to see our churches filled
with people seeking to follow him, and to be places of love and welcome for all,
particularly those wanting to explore the Christian faith.
The next five years will be decisive for the Church of England. Synod will take
decisions that shape our parishes for a generation. I hope you will conclude that I
have the commitment, outlook and experience to contribute faithfully and with
informed judgement.
My story
I grew up in Yala, a tiny village in Kenya. My family were part of the exodus from
East Africa to England in the early 1970s, when I was thirteen. I was born to Hindu
parents, and, despite significant financial and racial challenges, I am thankful that
I was able to graduate in Dentistry and then in Medicine. In 1998 I was appointed
Consultant Surgeon in Head and Neck Surgery at Cambridge University,
specialising in the treatment of head and neck cancer. It has been a great privilege
to care for patients, often in distressing circumstances. As Bye Fellow at Christ’s
College, Cambridge, I am passionate about teaching undergraduate medical
students.
Faith journey
I grew up in a Hindu family. I first trusted Christ as my Lord and Saviour at the age
of twenty-seven, moved by a line in the hymn Tell Out, My Soul and by a course at
an Anglican church in London. I have been a communicant member of the Church
of England ever since. I know from the inside what it costs to come to faith from
another tradition – and what a welcoming church can mean to someone still
exploring.
Church commitment
Since moving to Cambridge thirty years ago, my wife and I have worshipped at St
Andrew the Great. It is a joy to be part of such a multicultural church family.
There I have served in the roles listed alongside. I am passionate about sharing
the good news of Jesus Christ, and have organised numerous events and courses
for those wishing to explore the Christian faith.
Co-opted to General Synod two years ago, and despite a steep learning curve, I
have served on panels for the appointment of Bishops and have spoken in
debates. If elected, I will seek to serve Synod faithfully.

Piyush Jani
P R I O R I T I E S F O R T H E N E X T F I V E Y E A R S

01
Vision and strategy
Church attendance has fallen by 36% since 2009, despite a
modest rise since Covid. The Church faces real financial
pressure and has fewer paid clergy. Synod must make clear-
sighted, prayerful decisions to realise a Church that is simpler,
humbler and bolder, and revitalised for mission.
02
Backing the parish
The local congregation is the primary physical embodiment of
the body of Christ. Lay leaders are exhausted by red tape and
regulation. I will work diligently in support of the local church,
and press for a lighter administrative burden on those who hold
our parishes together.

03
Equality and diversity
Scripture ends with a vision of a Church drawn from every tribe,
language, people and nation. Ours is a poor reflection of it, in
participation, representation, governance and structures. Forty
years of reports have not shifted this. Synod needs resolute
determination, not another review.
04
Science, faith and safeguarding
Synod will weigh questions of science and faith and of climate
change, where a working knowledge of science and evidence is
of real use. Safeguarding remains a challenge nationally and
locally; as a Parish Safeguarding Officer I know what good
practice asks of a parish.
“Declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
1 P E T E R 2 : 9 · M Y D E S I R E I S T O S E R V E T H E C H U R C H W H O L E H E A R T E D L Y , T H A T I T M I G H T O B E Y T H I S
C A L L I N G

I F E L E C T E D T O G E N E R A L S Y N O D , U N D E R G O D , I C O M M I T T O
1.

Serve the Diocese and the

1. Devote time and effort to fulfil

2. Be available to you by phone

wider Church to the best

  my obligations faithfully,

  email or, where practicable, in

of my abilities.

  prayerfully and knowledgeably.

 person – to listen carefully and

answer your questions.

W H A T I B R I N G
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Two years already served on Synod, including panels for the appointment of Bishops, and speaking in debates.
■
Thirty years of parish service: Warden, Safeguarding Officer, PCC Trustee, small group and student leadership.
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A surgeon’s habits: weighing evidence, taking hard decisions, holding hard conversations with care.
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Lived experience of arriving in England as a migrant child, and of coming to Christian faith as an adult.
■
A working knowledge of science and medicine, of direct use in Synod’s debates on science and faith, and on climate change.

If you believe experience, conviction and availability are what the Diocese of Ely needs in its lay
representation, I would be grateful for your vote.
Piyush Jani
07742 118754
[email protected]

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