General Synod Election Candidates 2026

I am standing for re-election to General Synod.
I would very much appreciate your first preference vote.
John 15 is one of my favourite Bible passages. I love the way Jesus uses organic
images to combine stability, spirituality, and fruitfulness. These three things are
often pitted against each other in the life of the Church today, but I feel a strong
sense of call to hold them together.
Miranda
Threlfall-Holmes
Nominated by
Becca Cottrell, West Derby Deanery
Louis Johnson, Sefton South Deanery
I’m Archdeacon of Liverpool, and was previously Team Rector of the St Luke in the
City Team Parish in Liverpool city centre. I live in Toxteth, near Sefton Park, with
my husband Phil (a churchwarden) and our 3 teenage/young adult children. I’ve
been ordained for 23 years; before coming to Liverpool I was a vicar and Area
Dean in Durham, and before that a university chaplain. I’d describe myself as
inhabiting a central, broad churchmanship, with an essentially sacramental
theology and a commitment to inclusion.
I’ve represented you in the Diocese of Liverpool for the last six years, and have
been elected by Synod members to represent them on Archbishops’ Council. I’ve
been a member of General Synod for nearly 20 years now, which means that I am
one of only a few people who hold the corporate memory of the synod. The value
of this became clear in the recent pensions debates, when my memory of the 2011
debate was important in persuading members of the Church Commissioners and
Pensions Board to back the full restoration of the 2/3 clergy pension.
There is a lot of reading on General Synod! Last time I asked for your vote
I promised you, and I commit to you again, that I will read all the papers and
background material thoroughly. I also promise that I will be fully engaged in
considering all the many issues facing the church, not just the ‘hot button’ ones
that grab the headlines. I’m committed to working together across difference for
the building up of the church (1 Corinthians is another favourite).

An inclusive, welcoming church for all
The full inclusion of all in the Church of England is hugely important to me. I was a founder
signatory to Inclusive Church over 20 years ago, and in General Synod was very involved in the
move to open up the episcopate to women. In Synod I’m well known for voting in an inclusive
manner, and I have worked hard to forge good working relationships across the synod, despite
our very real differences on some of these issues. For 3 years I served as a member of the House
of Bishop’s Standing Commission on the Five Guiding Principles.
Here in Liverpool it’s a great privilege to work with the first Open Table congregation, and to see
it become a thriving charity serving LGBTQIA+ congregations across the country. I love this
diocese’s commitment to working for justice, in so many ways, from Together Liverpool to our
ground-breaking Triangle of Hope work with Kumasi in Ghana and Virginia in the US.
This year I have also served nationally as Chair of the Church of England’s Racial Justice Board.
Please feel free to contact me to discuss any of this:
[email protected]
I would very much appreciate your first
preference vote.
Financing our Parish Churches
As a member of Archbishops’ Council, I’m particularly involved in the long term financing of the
Church of England. Parish churches in every place are fundamental to our ministry. The Diocese
of Liverpool has nearly the lowest level of assets of any diocese, so it is hugely important for us
that we agree on an equitable and sustainable funding model. This year I’ve been chairing the
Parish Share Review Group for our Diocesan Synod, and nationally I’m a member of the Triennium
Funding Steering Group, working for a fair allocation of resources both locally and nationally.
We also need to work with government, local authorities and heritage organisations to ensure that
our buildings are funded and in good repair for the whole community, for the long term.
Safeguarding
In 2024/5 I served on the Jay/Wilkinson Review Group which proposed a way forward for more
robustly independent safeguarding structures, proposals currently working their way through
the synodical process. In 2025 I was involved in a lot of engagement with the Charities Commission
over safeguarding, both nationally and in this diocese, and I would very much value the
opportunity to see these developments through.
Theological Education and Vocations
I’ve been a trustee of two theological colleges, and I’m very concerned about the need to increase
vocations to ordained ministry. I’ll work in synod to ensure that the funding of our TEIs is
sustainable and to ensure that our theological education is meeting the needs of today’s church. I
am also particularly interested in the provision of high quality theological training and resources to
all. My own background before ordination is as a historian, and I often bring a long term historical
perspective to Synod debates.

archbishops,archbishops' council,church commissioners,guiding principles,inclusive,inclusive church,independent safeguarding,justice,lgbtqia,ordination,parish share,pension,racial justice,sacramental,safeguarding,teis,theological education,vocations