benefice,mission,pcc,safeguarding,safeguarding officer

Charles Gill i
a
To: Charles GILL

Subject: Candidate statement for Church of England General Synod 18/08/2026

Dear Friends,

My name is Charles Gill and | am standing for General Synod.

| have lived in Chetton in Shropshire for 34 years and have been Churchwarden for 20 years and |am now the
PCC Treasurer. .

St Giles Chetton is a small rural parish of 350 residents and forms part of the wider Brown Clee Benefice in the
Diocese of Hereford .

As a local Churchgoer | act as Benefice Safeguarding Officer .

When in London we regularly attend Great St Barts in Smithfield, as |ama Liveryman of the Worshipful
Company of Butchers and my wife is joining the Founders Company .

Recently | have become involved in Fund Raising for several local Churches as we seek to restore a peal of 6
bells in Chetton to mark the 1827-2027 Bells Bicentenary of the Rudhall of Gloucester bells. Locally , we are
also seeking to replace the defective electrical installation at nearby Neenton and construct an accessible
washroom and toilet at Ditton Priors. We have raised funds to repair the valley gutters in Cleobury North. Whilst
gratefully acknowledging the generous assistance of supporters and donors including the heroic SHCT
Shropshire Historic Churches Trust, it is worth pointing out the devastating impact of the ending of the LPW
Listed Places of Worship VAT recovery scheme. All of our targets increased by 20% and this has meant real
struggles to seek and obtain the financial support to maintain 7 historic parish churches. The Parishes need
support and sustenance, warm words and clever schemes do not make up for the dramatic impact of the 20%
cost increase in attempting serious works to preserve our built heritage. This all comes as a distraction and ata
Cost to the real mission of the Church to reach out to those in need of the infinite love of Jesus wherever the
live. 7
Church tourism is an important way to share the heritage of our Faith and the buildings we all work so hard to
maintain so | am on the committee of the Shropshire Churches Tourism Group and we produce a printed
guidebook every 3 years for over 120 churches and chapels in the county of Shropshire, shared as it is between
the Diocese of Hereford and the northern parts in the Diocese of Lichfield.

Parishes are the bedrock of the Church of England and the need to keep this inheritance available for the
nation is what motivates me to ask for your kind support in the General Synod Elections. This is an opportunity
for the grass roots to express their views and support Parishes.