General Synod Election Candidates 2026

Professor Leonard Sanderman
PhD, MA (Oxon), MA (Hons, Ebor), FHEA, PGCAP, ARCO

Director of Music, St Peter and St Leonard,
Horbury with St John, Horbury Bridge
Associate Professor of EDI in Historical
Musicology, Leeds Conservatoire
Visiting Lecturer, The University of York
Organ Advisor, Leeds Diocesan Advisory
Committee

Proposer Mrs Debbie Cartwright, Headteacher,
The Elland Academy Alternative Provision School
Seconder Mrs Janet Ramsdale, Horbury

Dear Elector,
Thank you for taking the time to read my election
address. I am writing to ask for your highest
preference vote in the upcoming elections to
General Synod to represent the Diocese of Leeds
in the national assembly of the Church of England.

I am 35 years old, and married to Beatrix, who is
an ordinand at the College of the Resurrection,
Mirfield. I grew up in the Netherlands, and came
to the UK to attend university, and have now
lived in Yorkshire since 2014, working in
academia and church music. My PhD focused on
the way the histories of Victorian church music
have been written, attempting to correct some of
the common biases, such as a
disproportionate focus on London and the
South, the erasure of female composers,
avoidance of discussions of social issues such as
poverty, and a lack of scholarship about parish
music and musicians.

I have worked in church and cathedral music
since I was 16, and currently serve and worship in
Horbury and Horbury Bridge, where the Vicar
and I have built up a new, intergenerational
choral programme over the last two years,
with five choral services per week and more than
thirty singers. The work with our young
choristers is deeply missional, creating paths to
faith through music for people from all
backgrounds without financial or social barriers.
Working closely with our local schools, we draw
in many non-church-going children. After a year
or two, many of the choristers ask to
profess, in baptism and confirmation, the
faith they learned at Evensong.

Community
I will be a voice for the people of the Diocese of
Leeds, especially the poorest communities, the
voiceless, and the marginalised. I am committed
to the mission of the Church of England to be a
Christian presence in every community,
working for the Glory of God, the salvation
of His people, and the common good. I live
and work in areas of considerable deprivation,
and see daily how local churches serve as a
crucial lifeline, offering support, sanctuary,
formation, education, community, faith, hope, and
love. I will work to ensure the church uses its
resources to lift up the poor, and provides
pastoral and sacramental care to every local
community across the nation.

Vocations
To facilitate this, the church must significantly
invest in clergy and clergy training. As the
husband of an ordinand, I strongly believe there
must be considerably more clarity,
accountability, and transparency in the
discernment, vocation, and curacy processes
which are often opaque and complex to navigate.

Clergy support
The first priority of the church must be the
resourcing of parishes with well-trained
clergy to minister to their communities in word
and sacrament. Clergy posts must be of a
manageable scope, and better supported. There
must be security around clergy housing, pay,
pensions, and retirement, if we want to enable
new vocations, and improve clergy well-being.
Our local experience shows that national
investment into lay workers – such as youth
workers and musicians – could build considerable
additional capacity for mission and evangelism in
parishes, providing meaningful support for our
clergy.

Church Buildings
My work on the DAC has shown me that our
church buildings are full of opportunity, and a
great tool in the mission of the Kingdom. I will
vote in favour of proposals that help our
congregations to use our buildings to the
fullest, i.e. by simplifying the faculty system. I will
continue to play my part in lobbying the
government for investment in places of worship
and their fittings, so our built heritage can
continue to serve the community with so many
benefits, socially, economically, culturally, and
spiritually.

Five Guiding Principles
If the Church of England is to be a presence in
every community, it must be a place where all can
flourish. I am committed to preserving the
established pattern of pastoral care for those
who cannot in conscience accept the ministry of
women, upholding the Five Guiding
Principles contained in the House of Bishops’
Declaration.

Living in Love & Faith
The next Synod will need to grapple with the
difficult legacy of the LLF process, which has led
to much disappointment, pain, and upset across
the increasingly entrenched divisions in our
church. I am committed to facilitating spaces
for genuine discussion, and open-minded
listening. The church must provide meaningful
pastoral care and generous inclusion to allow all
of God’s beloved children to flourish in His
house.

Safeguarding
I will support independent, robust, and
transparent oversight in safeguarding to rebuild
trust, protect the vulnerable, and ensure our
churches are safe spaces for all. A healthy
theology of safeguarding goes hand-in-hand with
our sacramental life; thus, I will resist
proposals to remove the Seal of the
Confessional. The sacrament of reconciliation
requires rigorous training and oversight for
confessors alongside clear teaching for the laity –
not the dismantling of an essential pastoral tool.

Unity
At our wedding earlier this summer, Beatrix and I
heard the High Priestly Prayer from John’s
Gospel, in which Jesus prays for the unity of his
followers: “that they may all be one … so that the
world may know that you … loved them even as you
loved me.” I believe that this will be the greatest
opportunity for General Synod in the years
ahead: to heal our internal and external
fractures, be a voice for peace and
reconciliation, and help to create a church and a
society that more fully reflects God’s glorious
purpose for us. A place where all can be fully
themselves. A place where all can be truly one:
unified, yet distinct; bound together in the love of
God and of each other.

Thank you,
I hope that you will consider giving me your first,
or highest available, preference vote in this
election. I will be a voice for the concerns of our
local churches and our communities on the
national stage. I will use my experience and
intellect to help build up our church and our
people in unity and love. If you have any
questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 07960 009061

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