General Synod Election Candidates 2026

Diocese of Guildford
2026 General Synod Election Address
House of Laity
Graham Everness
Dear Christian brothers and sisters,
Why am I standing for election to General Synod and asking you to consider giving me your
‘first’ or other ‘high preference’ vote please? Because:

As a member of the Church of England throughout my life, I long to see it flourish in its
mission to advance God’s kingdom and would therefore commit to engaging
constructively in helping it address its significant current challenges;

My God-given interests and gifts, honed over my working lifetime, enable me to present
myself as well-suited to a governance and oversight role such as this;

Through serving over the years in a rich
variety of ways (in my local parish, the
Deanery and the Diocese), I have had the
opportunity to build up a wide understanding
of the Church and its needs; and

As a Licensed Lay Minister (Reader), I have
the privilege of being well-trained to bring a
biblical, theological perspective to
discussions and decisions.

My story
Having grown up in a family attending a (moderately) ‘high’ Anglican church, and a couple
of years after being confirmed, I made an additional personal commitment to Jesus Christ
shortly before going up to University. When I graduated, I took up a job as a trainee
actuary in Dorking, where I have lived ever since.
My career enabled me to develop skills not only in analysis, problem-solving and attention
to detail, but also in the areas of communication (written and oral) and the management of
both people and time. In later years, I sat on various working parties helping Government
departments and regulators to draft new legislation and professional guidance with the aim
of enhancing workplace pensions for the public benefit. I would very much welcome the
opportunity to bring all this experience into the ‘governance’ role of General Synod.
For my entire 40+ years in Dorking, I have been a member of St Paul’s Church, where (at
different times…) I have served in the following ways:
 Leader of the 11s-14s group, and a helper in the creche;
 Leader of a midweek homegroup;
 Churchwarden for 5 years (including during a Vacancy);
 PCC Treasurer (3 separate stints!) and PCC Secretary;
 World Church Team leader (supporting overseas mission partners);
 Care home visitor;
 Preacher and service leader (including taking funerals).
One particular blessing early in my time at St Paul’s was meeting my wife while we were
leading the Pathfinder group together. We now have two grown-up daughters and (so
far…) two delightful grandsons.

The ‘third age’
I went part-time at the age of 55, allowing me to take up a number of new roles, including
becoming increasingly involved in a variety of Deanery and Diocesan matters:
 Training for and being admitted as a Licensed Lay Minister (LLM), and
subsequently becoming responsible for co-ordinating the ministry of all LLMs in the
Diocese by acting as the ‘Registrar of LLMs’;
 Taking on the role of Lay Chair of Dorking Deanery Synod;
 Assisting with the management of a Foodbank being newly set-up by the
ecumenical group Churches Together in Dorking;
 Being elected to Bishop’s Council (where I currently serve on sub-committees
covering Finance, Risk Management, Safeguarding and Remuneration);
 Recently, becoming Vice-Chair of the Guildford Diocesan Board of Finance; and
 Continuing my involvement in the world of pensions (after I had formally retired from
actuarial work) by becoming a member-nominated trustee of four schemes for
employees of the insurance company Aviva.
My ‘key concerns’
 Servant-hearted leadership: the first sermon I preached as a prospective LLM included
Jesus’s words “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45). I
would not claim to be naturally humble, but I pledge to keep reminding myself of this
principle and (if elected) to represent all the laity in the Diocese.
 Making disciples of all nations (and ages, backgrounds etc. – Matthew 28:19-20): we
need to be a mission-minded (and not inward-looking) Church. That doesn’t mean that
‘good internal workings’ are not important (they most certainly are!), but our key
objective must be to be a Transforming Church, Transforming Lives.
 Best use of resources: this covers not just our finances, buildings and other material
resources, but also our ‘people’. Every Christian has Spirit-given gifts to be used for
God (1 Corinthians 12:7), but much still needs to be done to achieve the cultural
change envisaged by the 2017 Synod report Setting God’s People Free.
 The stakes are high: God will build his Church, but as the story of Ephesus warns us
(see Revelation 2:4-5) there is no guarantee of that happening on our own ‘patch’. I
thank God that our two daughters are continuing to grow in their faith after setting up
their own homes and families, but it is a warning sign for us that they are both now
choosing to do so in independent (i.e. not C of E) churches.
Thank you for reading this letter and treating this election with the seriousness it deserves.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all,
Graham Everness
[Address: 23 Glebe Road, Dorking RH4 3DS, and email: [email protected];
or if you would prefer to talk over the ‘phone, I’d be pleased to send you my number]
Proposer: Howard Mason (Lay Chair of Surrey Heath Deanery)
Seconder: Clare Bevan (Lay Chair of Leatherhead Deanery)
“Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far
more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ
Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20)

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