General Synod Election Candidates 2026

General Synod Election Address 2026:
Rev. Jennifer Fellows

Email: [email protected]
Mobile: 07871555687
Please do contact me if you have any questions.

Proposer: Rev. Richard Coombs, Rector St Matthews and the Minster
Seconder: Rev. James White, Pioneer Vicar St Michaels Church Cheltenham and
Area Dean for Cheltenham

After serving as a lay representative for Gloucester on General Synod, from 2021-2025, | am now offering
myself to serve as a representative on the House of Clergy for the coming quinquennium. | am deeply
committed to the Church of England and passionate about its thriving as we seek to, together, share the Good
News of Jesus.

About me
| am 34 and live with my husband, Simon, our four-year-old son, Caleb, and our incredibly lazy dog, Fergus.

Originally from Glasgow, | moved to England in 2014 after studying at the University of St Andrews. | spent

four years as a Children’s and Families Minister in St Albans before becoming Assistant Pastor at St Paul’s,
Cheltenham. During this time, | also completed a Master’s in Theology, specialising in ministry with children,
families and young people.

In 2021, as my husband began his curacy, we moved to the Coopers Edge estate in Gloucester to establish a
new worshipping community. Coopers Edge Community Church launched in 2022 and has been slowly
growing ever since, with over half of our weekly congregation under 16. During this time, | also began training
for ordained ministry and was ordained in June 2025 and now split my curacy between Coopers Edge and St
Matthew’s and the Minster in Cheltenham.

| am a huge extrovert and happiest with a dining-room table full of people. | love baking and exploring
Cotswold pubs, although most weekends are now spent in Gloucester’s play parks and soft plays!

Why am | standing for General Synod?

Serving on General Synod during the last quinquennium was, despite its challenges, a great privilege.
Although definitely edging into my “mid-thirties”, | remain one of the younger clergy in Gloucester Diocese and
would seek to bring the perspective and experience of a younger woman to Synod.

| recognise the significance of the discussions facing Synod. If elected | would particularly seek to champion:

• Miscarriage and Stillbirth Private Members Motion

During the last quinquennium, | worked with Synod members from across different dioceses, beginning a
Private Member’s Motion calling for better pastoral and liturgical provision following miscarriage and baby
loss.Unfortunately, with several members of the group having to resign from Synod, we were unable to take
the motion further.

If re-elected, | would seek to restart this work. In particular, | would like to see the Church of England take the
Miscarriage Association’s Pregnancy Loss Pledge and ask the Liturgical Commission to develop a range of
resources that churches could use for services of remembrance and when accompanying individuals and
families through miscarriage and baby loss.

• Children and Youth Ministries

Having worked in children’s and youth ministry for over a decade, it breaks my heart that the average Church
of England church has just one person under 18. Too often, bold ambitious national strategies make little
difference to the everyday reality of local churches. | will continue to speak up for the practical realities of this

ministry: for properly recruiting, training and supporting children’s and youth ministers; for equipping clergy to
lead churches in which children and young people can flourish; and for ensuring that sufficient resources reach
the local church. Children and young people are not simply the future of the Church, they are a vital part of the
Church today, and their voices, faith and discipleship must be taken seriously.

« Mixed Ecology

Being part of a Bishop’s Mission Order (BMO) for the last four years has shown me first-hand the beauty and
necessity of a mixed ecology. However, my commitment to mixed ecology begins with a deep commitment to
the parish system. Its vision — that the Church of England should have a Christian presence in every
community, there for everyone regardless of whether they attend church — was one of the things that drew me
to ordination.

Alongside this, if we are serious about reaching those with little or no connection to church, we also need the
freedom to think creatively. Church plants, new worshipping communities and other forms of mission can reach
people from different backgrounds while flourishing alongside our parish churches.

Our experience is that the complexity and ambiguity surrounding BMOs can make this harder than it needs to
be. | would advocate for clearer, simpler structures that enable new and inherited forms of church to flourish
alongside one another, each playing their part in sharing the gospel and serving their communities. A healthy
mixed ecology does not diminish parish ministry; it recognises its vital place while making room for new ways
of sharing the gospel and serving our communities.

• Social Transformation

Having grown up in Glasgow and having worked in numerous areas of deprivation, | have seen the effects of
poverty and social injustice first hand. | believe the Church must take Jesus’ words in Luke 4 seriously that, “I
have come to proclaim good news to the poor.”

| believe the Church of England is called to be a Church for everyone and | passionately support “The Estates
Project,” which seeks to see a church on every significant social housing estate of the country. | believe the
Church has a responsibility to be a practical support to those who are in need through programs such as debt
centres and food banks but also to speak to the very heart of injustice in our society. This is a passion | would
take with me to General Synod.

Living in Love and Faith

| believe clarity is kindness, and so | want to be open about where | stand. | hold to an traditional
understanding of Scripture and believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. | also recognise
that these conversations are deeply personal and affect people whom | value and care about.

One of the privileges of Synod has been getting to know people from across
the breadth of the Church of England, including those with whom | disagree.

| want to continue listening well, building friendships and approaching our
differences with both conviction and grace. | believe there is far more that
unites us than divides us, and hope to play my part in creating the trust and
relationships that allow us to have honest, gracious and robust conversations
as we discern the way ahead together.

Good News of Jesus

My favourite verse in Scripture is John 10:10 when Jesus declares, ‘I have
come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” As Christians, | truly
believe we have good news to share with the world around us. It is through
Jesus alone, that light is brought to the hardest situations. It is through Jesus
alone, that hope can be brought to despair. It is through Jesus alone, that life
can be lived to its fullness. It would be such a privilege to serve as a clergy
representative for Diocese of Gloucester at the General Synod. | would seek
to serve the Church to have the fullness that God has called it to be and in
turn the most effective vehicle for the sharing of the Good News of Jesus.

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