General Synod Election Candidates 2026

FIONA JACK – Chaplain, All Saints’ Church, Tenerife
A strong and inclusive voice for the Diocese in Europe.
I’m standing for General Synod because I believe in the Church of England. I also believe it can be better.
I have already served for two and a half years on General Synod in the Diocese of London. When I moved to the Diocese in Europe, I had to stand down. I am standing again because I left with a sense of unfinished business, and because I believe my experience, energy and perspective could make a real contribution to the Church at a challenging time.
I know how Synod works. I know that progress is rarely achieved by making the loudest speech in the room. It comes from listening, building relationships, understanding the detail, asking the awkward questions and then keeping at it.
I've taken a slightly unusual route
Before ordination I ran my own strategic consultancy. I spent years helping organisations make sense of complicated problems, think strategically and work out what to do next. I am accustomed to standing in front of a large room and communicating complex ideas, but I also know that the best decisions rarely come from one person having all the answers.
I became a priest because my faith had increasingly shaped the way I saw the world and the people in it. It gave me a conviction that every person is created in the image of God, that justice matters, that we are called to serve rather than simply to succeed, and that the Church should be a place where people discover they are loved by God and have something valuable to contribute.
My life has taken me from business to ministry, from London to Tenerife and from one very different context to another. I think that gives me a useful perspective on both the Church and the world outside it.
I am also mum to two adults, aged 29 and 32, and this brings a great benefit: I am not entirely trapped in the Church of England bubble! My children keep me in touch with a rapidly changing culture, new ways of communicating and the realities facing younger generations. They also keep me humble.
Inclusion is not a niche issue
I identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community and I care about the Church becoming fully inclusive. That includes continuing to work for the possibility of blessings for same-sex couples and for LGBTQIA+ people to be fully recognised and valued within the Church.
Inclusion is much bigger than that. I want to see greater representation of women in important selection processes; serious commitment to racial justice; better inclusion of disabled and neurodiverse people; and genuine opportunities for people from working-class backgrounds to enter both lay and ordained ministry.
I fully support the Inclusive statement from Together for the Church of England.
Europe has something important to say
I am enormously proud to belong to the Diocese in Europe. The Diocese in Europe is not the Church of England's outpost abroad. We are one of the places where its future is already being worked out. I would like to bring that experience and perspective to General Synod.
I currently serve on Diocesan Synod and on the Care for Creation Committee, and I would bring both that and my previous General Synod experience to the national Church.
Creation and justice
Climate justice is of prime importance to me and I care about making care for creation part of the practical life of the Church, not just something we put into our reports and liturgies. This is especially the case in the light of the devastating fires and floods which have affected so many of us last year.
Safeguarding and accountability
I also believe safeguarding remains an area where the Church of England has some way to go. We need to learn from the past, listen properly to survivors, and build a culture in which safeguarding is understood as an essential part of Christian discipleship and good leadership, rather than as a bureaucratic burden.
I have both experience and energy.I have strong views, but I am prepared to listen.
I am not remotely ready to sit on the sidelines.
If elected, I will give General Synod my all.
Please give me your first or high-priority vote.
If you would like to talk to me about any of these issues, or simply want to know more about what I would bring to General Synod, please get in touch:
[email protected]

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