General Synod Election Candidates 2026

REVD LAURA LENANDER
Proposed: The Revd Dr Christopher Landau
Seconded: The Revd Stuart Howes
I grew up in St Albans and came to faith in childhood.
Through some difficult seasons growing up with poor
health, I my faith deepened, my love for the Word of
God and dependence on prayer became important
foundations that continue to shape all of who I am
today.
The route to ordained ministry has not been particularly
conventional. I married my husband young and we
became young parents. I studied Fine Art at University
before spending eleven years in Secondary education
as an Art, Photography and Graphics teacher, including
leadership roles, teacher development and team
chaplaincy.
That background in art and education shapes how I
approach ministry. I am naturally curious and creative,
enjoy asking questions and exploring different
perspectives, and care deeply about helping people
learn, grow and discover their gifts. Education
also taught me the importance of listening well,
communicating clearly and recognising that people
do not all think, learn or flourish in the same way. I
trained for ordination at St Mellitus College, where
my dissertation explored creativity within theological
education and Christian formation.
I now serve as Leader of Telford Minster, a growing and
diverse Bishop’s Mission Order church in the centre of
one of England’s largest new towns. Our vision is to
see Lives Renewed, Communities Restored and Church
Alive, in Jesus’ name.
Beyond Telford, I serve within the New Wine leadership
community as Creative Lead for national events
and as a ReSource Minister, supporting its work of
encouraging ‘little, local and ordinary churches’ in
spiritual renewal. These roles bring me alongside a
large variety of Christians in local churches and leaders
from different contexts and continually deepen my
appreciation of the beauty in the breadth of the Church
of England.
I have roots in the evangelical charismatic tradition,
with a deep commitment to Scripture, prayer, mission
and the work of the Holy Spirit. At the same time, I
deeply value the breadth of the Church of England and
the richness of our different traditions. I have learned
much from Christians whose worship, theology and
experience differ from my own, and I long to keep
listening, learning and building relationships across the
Church, especially across difference.
A BIT ABOUT ME
I had not imagined myself standing for General Synod. When others first encouraged me to consider it, my
instinct was to say no. But as people from different parts of the Church continued to encourage me, I began to
pray which has led me to consider this and stand for election.
A verse I have kept returning to around my heart for the Church of England is Ephesians 2:22: “And in him
you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” At the heart of it - my
desire is that the Church lives this out by the power of the Holy Spirit.
WHY I AM STANDING
My experience spans leadership, education, mission and developing people, alongside
the practical realities of leading a growing church: safeguarding, finance, staffing,
governance, pastoral care and mission.
I value careful listening, honest conversation and working constructively with different
perspectives. I am willing to ask difficult questions, but seek to do so with kindness,
curiosity and an openness to learning from others.
Leading within a Bishop’s Mission Order has also given me experience of navigating
local and diocesan structures and asking whether our processes genuinely serve the
people, churches and mission they are intended to support.
Safeguarding and healthy leadership are particularly important to me. I want us to
continue learning from past failures and building cultures in which people are safe,
heard and treated with dignity and respect.
WHAT I HOPE I WOULD BRING

There are many important issues before General Synod
and many things I could reflect on here, but three areas
particularly shape what I would hope to contribute.

1. Recovering our heart for prayer, mission and hope

I believe the Church’s deepest renewal will not
ultimately come through better structures or strategies,
important though both can be. It begins with God:
with prayer, dependence upon the Holy Spirit and
confidence in the good news of Jesus.
At a time when there is so much talk in our society
about the need for hope, the Church has something
distinctive to offer. Christian hope is much more than
an optimistic mindset or the expectation of improved
circumstances. It is rooted in Jesus Christ, crucified and
risen, and in the faithfulness of God...
We are also living through extraordinary change
in the world today. Technologies such as artificial
intelligence are rapidly reshaping how we learn, work,
communicate and create. Alongside the challenges, I
believe this presents new opportunities for Christian
witness as people wrestle with the deep human search
for profound questions about truth, creativity, human
identity, purpose and what it means to be made in the
image of God. The Church should engage thoughtfully
and confidently with these questions, pointing to the
hope, dignity and understanding of human worth that
we ultimately find in Christ.
Week by week I see reasons for that hope: people
exploring faith, encountering Jesus, being baptised
and confirmed and growing as disciples. I long to see
churches renewed, new worshipping communities
planted, vocations released and Christians equipped
to share their faith in everyday life restoring the
communities in which they serve to help build together
the Kingdom of God here whilst we await Christ’s
return.
With my past experience in education I have a
particular passion for children and young people.
Reaching generations growing up with little inherited
Christian faith, and in a world changing at extraordinary
speed, is both a significant missionary challenge and
an extraordinary opportunity. We need to listen to
them, invest in them and help them discover the hope
of Jesus for themselves.

1. Enabling local ministry to flourish

Across our diocese, clergy and lay people faithfully
serve their communities every day: sharing the gospel,
praying with people, discipling new Christians, caring
for those in need, working with schools and being
present through some of the most significant moments
of people’s lives. Some of this happens in large and
growing churches; much of it happens quietly and
faithfully in small local churches and communities.
I am passionate about identifying, equipping and
releasing people for ministry, and about good
theological education, formation and ongoing support.
National and diocesan structures should enable local
ministry rather than unnecessarily burden it. As we
face challenges around finance, ministry, buildings and
governance, we need the courage to ask what could
be simpler and what might need to change.
One question I would keep asking at Synod is:
does this help local churches and their people fulfill
their calling to make Jesus known, faithfully, safely,
creatively within the context and well?

1. Being built together

We live in an increasingly polarised culture, and the
Church is not immune from that!
I hold theological convictions and seek to be faithful
to Scripture, while believing deeply that Christians
are called to listen well, love deeply and resist
turning those with whom we disagree into opponents.
Unity does not mean pretending our differences are
insignificant, and listening does not require us to
surrender conviction. It means seeking to understand
before responding, speaking honestly without
caricaturing others, and remembering that we belong
to Christ and to one another.
This is one reason I value the breadth of the Church
of England. We need the wisdom and experience of
different generations, traditions, cultures, ministries
and communities as we seek God together.
Looking forward
I have genuine hope for the future of the Church, not
because I underestimate the challenges before us, but
because I believe in the faithfulness of God.
If elected, I would seek to serve the clergy of Lichfield
Diocese by listening carefully, praying faithfully,
representing thoughtfully and communicating clearly.
I would bring experience of church leadership,
education, creativity, theological formation, mission and
renewal, alongside a willingness to ask constructive
and sometimes difficult questions.
I hope to contribute not only through what I might
say, but through how I participate: listening, building
relationships, working constructively across difference
and always remaining open to learning.
Above all, I hope to contribute to a Church that
remembers God’s faithfulness, recovers its confidence
in prayer, mission and Christian hope, enables local
churches to flourish, and remains confident in Jesus
Christ as together we seek to make him known.
I would be grateful for your support and your vote.
WHAT I PARTICULARLY CARE ABOUT

artificial intelligence,chaplaincy,charismatic,diocesan structures,disciples,discipling,evangelical,finance,good news,gospel,mission,new wine,new worshipping communities,ordination,prayer,safeguarding,scripture,theological education,tradition,vocations,witness,word of god,young people