General Synod Election Candidates 2026

Jonathan Pearson

Diocese of Birmingham
House of Laity, General Synod Election 2026

Parish: Gas Street St Luke’s
Deanery: Handsworth and Central

[email protected]
07894 466262
93 Fitz Roy Avenue, Birmingham, B17 8RG

Dear Elector,

If you choose to vote for me, | will commit to: -

e Being prayerful in my service;

e Listening and learning as | represent all lay
members from Church of England
Birmingham;

e Devoting the time and effort to fulfil my
obligations faithfully and sensitively.

Introduction

Birmingham is my home and with my wife, Becky,
we have lived, worshipped and served in the city
for over thirty years. Our three, now adult,
children were born, raised and schooled in
Birmingham. | am committed to the city,
celebrating its remarkable diversity and talents,
and mourning its challenges and brokenness. |
am committed to Church of England Birmingham
being good news to our city.

After considerable personal reflection and prayer,
and with the encouragement of local Christians
who know me well, | am standing as a candidate
to represent Church of England Birmingham in
General Synod. | am willing to serve and
represent our Diocese and city in this role or, if
others are elected, to continue to serve our
Diocese and support our elected representatives.
At this stage in my career | am not standing for
personal ambition, rather I’m ambitious for the
church in Birmingham to extend the kingdom of
Jesus Christ in our city.

Church Experience

| grew up in a Christian family, attending an
Anglican church and school, and became a
Christian at nineteen. My mum was one of the
first women ordained in the Church of England
and served in parishes in Essex.

My wife and | moved to Birmingham in 1995, and
worshipped and served at St John’s, Harborne, for
~20 years. During this time, | served as PCC
Secretary, as Chair of the church’s mission board
and at a city level as a Trustee of Chaplaincy Plus.

In 2015 we were part of the team that planted
Gas Street St Luke’s church, and | served as
Church Warden and PCC Vice Chair for ~10
years. It has been remarkable to see what God
has done during this time, illustrated by the 13
new worshipping communities that have grown
out of this original plant. As Warden | had
particular focus on governance, finances and
safeguarding. | also co-developed and co-led a
leadership development course for young adults
for many years. Becky and | now worship and
serve at St John’s, Longbridge (Kings Norton,
Moseley and Shirley Deanery) in the mornings
and at Gas Street St Luke’s in the evenings. Over
the past ~25 years it has been a joy to see our
children mature in their faith as active church
members.

Beyond local parishes, | currently serve on the
Diocesan Synod and have taken an active interest
in safeguarding, building on my experiences in
parish churches and the NHS (see below). | also
serve as Bishop Michael’s representative on the
Patronage Boards for the parishes of St Stephen
and St Wulstan, Selly Park, and Christ Church,
Selly Park. At the request of Bishop Anne, |
served as a Bishops’ National Discernment
Advisor involved in the discernment of
candidates for training for ordination. |am
actively involved with the persecuted church in
Asia, and | am a Trustee of The Reuben Trust.

Work Experience
| originally trained as an epidemiologist and have

worked for over 30 years to improve health and
healthcare. My experience includes: -

e Long experience with the NHS in Birmingham
and the West Midlands, with deep expertise
in governance, safeguarding, health
technology and the health needs of our city
and region.

o lamcurrently Chair of Health Innovation
West Midlands and Chair of the National
Health Innovation Network - this is the
innovation arm of the NHS.

o Previously Chair of Birmingham Health
Partners —- the academic health research
partnership in Birmingham.

o Previously Independent Chair of the
Sandwell and West Birmingham Health
System, which is a very deprived,
ethnically diverse population with
significant health needs. In 2021 we won
a Local Government Association award
for our Covid vaccination programme.

e Senior roles in health consulting that required
working with multiple stakeholders to use
evidence and data to solve problems and
make decisions.

e Experience as a serial entrepreneur with
strong financial acumen. | currently Chair a
health technology company.

| trust you can see | have the commitment, skills,
experience and local understanding to represent
the whole Diocese faithfully and with prayer.

Why | Am Standing For General Synod

Having spent most of my adult life growing and
serving in Church of England Birmingham, | feel
passionate about serving on General Synod to
represent the city and to support the shared life
and work of Church of England Birmingham. | am
keen to help ensure the future of the Church of
England continues to be a place where people of
all ages and backgrounds can enter into
relationship with Jesus, whoever they may be,
and that the church is good news for everyone.

If elected, my priority would be prayer. To protect
my time with our Father, to persevere in my
spiritual and character formation, and to hold in
prayer the people, relationships and business of
General Synod. | would hope to contribute
nationally, whilst representing and contending for
Church of England Birmingham. Drawing on my
previous experience the areas | would seek to
contribute to include: -
e Growing churches at the heart of each
community. Building on my experiences in
parish churches and church growth, | support

investing, strengthening and growing the
church in every area, with particular focus on
areas with high deprivation.

e Safeguarding. Building on my experience in
local parishes, the NHS and on Diocesan
Synod | would look to ensure and enable the
Church of England is a safe place for
everyone.

e Governance and finances. Using my
experience in these areas | would look to
contribute to the ongoing National Church
Governance Programme, so that governance
and finance enable the mission of the
church, including local church growth and
safeguarding.

In addition, | would take opportunities to
strengthen relationships between the Church of
England and the persecuted church in other
countries.

On sexuality my understanding of the biblical
themes and the church’s teachings since
Pentecost leads me to hold a ‘traditional’ view. |
believe we have all fallen short of Jesus’
standards on sexuality and yet we are all
welcome into His kingdom. | would contend for
all our churches to be places where all feel
welcomed, loved and cherished; and | would
listen to and respect those whose views differ
from my own.

Thank you

Thank you for reading this, and please feel free to
contact me should you have any questions. |
would be so grateful if you would prayerfully
consider giving me either your first or highest

available preference vote.

With many thanks and every blessing in Christ,

Jonathan

Proposer: Obidike Ukaegbu — Diocesan Synod,
and Warley and Edgbaston Deanery

Seconder: Anesu Muyambi —- Chair of the House
of Laity for Diocesan Synod, and Handsworth and
Central Deanery

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