General Synod Election Candidates 2026

Emily Hill

Proposer:

Seconder:

Hello, my name is Emily, I am 26 years old and work as a
Registered Nurse at Shrewsbury Hospital. I am a life-long
Christian having been raised in churches in South Shropshire,

twice moving house as my mum undertook clergy training, and
committing to my faith when I was confirmed at age 11. I am currently a
member of the congregation at St. Edward’s Dorrington in Condover Deanery, a
small, rural parish church typical of Hereford Diocese.

My experience
I am a PCC member at my local church and until last year was the editor of my
local benefice magazine, doing this role for 5 years. I served on the last General
Synod quinquennium and was its youngest elected member starting my term at
21 years old. During this time, as part of my role, I was ex-officio on my
Deanery and Diocesan Synods, gaining experience of wider church governance
and actively participating in these meetings to write reports and verbally
feedback General Synod business. I have also served as a member of the
Bishop’s Council since January 2025, working as a sub-committee of Diocesan
Synod to make governance decisions with the bishop’s staff.

Why me?
General Synod this last five years has been a rollercoaster experience -
challenging yet rewarding. I am proud of the differences I have made and of the
discussions I have contributed to in that space, especially as a young, female,
working-class member of the House of Laity from a rural parish, hopefully at
times adding a different viewpoint. I have learnt a lot and have found a bit of a
nerdy love of synodical processes and standing orders – which also means if I
am re-elected I can “hit the ground running”. I have an eye for detail and am not
afraid to challenge ideas that I fear may have unintended consequences or may
unfairly disadvantage people, trying to look at situations from a variety of
perspectives. I still have the energy and passion to make a change in this space,
I don’t yet feel like my work on General Synod is done.

Wendy Coombey – Priory
Church of St Peter and St
Paul, Leominster (General
Synod member 2015-2026)
Judith Bailey – Churchwarden
in the parish of St. Edward’s
Dorrington, Condover

What do I stand for?
My views are liberal, I believe church should be a welcoming place for
everybody, every time and am committed to equality for everyone, at all levels
and roles within the church, regardless of disability, economic power, ethnicity,
sex, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity, or
sexuality. I believe that what makes our church special is the variety of views
held, there should be a place for everyone, and I hope that despite particular
divides in the Church of England over the last few years, we can find a way to
hold together in unity without uniformity.
Giving a voice to the rural church is also important to me. We struggle regularly
to keep our churches open and healthy with old, protected and loved church
buildings that are often difficult to upkeep. Recruiting to vacancies in multi-
parish benefices is becoming increasingly difficult with reduction in clergy
nationally and decreasing ordinand numbers. We also have aging volunteer
workforces and an increasing reliance on them. Some parishes and the diocese
are struggling financially with little hope of central support as national initiatives
often focus on funding urban areas.
Safeguarding is another huge issue facing our church at the moment, especially
with recent inquiries into historic church abuse being published and changes
being made to safeguarding practices nationally. We have made progress but
there is still work to do; we need to be strong in our approach, willing to
acknowledge our mistakes and make smart and effective changes to make our
church a safer place to everyone we encounter. I’m no safeguarding specialist
but my background as a nurse and trustee does help my understanding of the
expectations on us as a church, helping me to make informed decisions.
Personally, I would also love to use my time on General Synod to help encourage
more young people to have a voice in our national church. Having been nurtured
throughout my life by youth initiatives in our Diocese, I would like to use this
opportunity to support other young people in this space too.

Thank you for taking the time to read my address, and generally for your
contributions to the Church of England. If given the opportunity I hope to serve
you well for the next quinquennium.
I would be incredibly grateful if you would consider giving me your first
preference vote, but most importantly please do use your vote, ballots close on
the 13th of October at 5pm.

If you have any questions or would like to contact me to talk this through
further, please don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected] or call
me on 074741 474924 - please be aware I may not be able to answer your call
straight away if I’m on shift, but leave a message and I will get back to you.

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