General Synod Election Candidates 2026

I have been serving as the Vicar of Chelsea Old Church for the last four years and have also recently
begun serving as Area Dean of Chelsea. I care deeply about parish ministry, and the ministry and
welfare of my colleagues in the Deanery, and in the wider Church of England. Should I be elected
to serve on General Synod I would prioritise parish ministry, clergy training and formation, and the
ongoing welfare and support of clergy.
After training residentially at Westcott House, I served my curacy in a rural market town parish,
have worked in higher education chaplaincy, and now am a parish priest in a residential area of
London. I have been in Holy Orders for 10 years, and am married to Alice, a barrister.
At Chelsea Old Church we minister to a wide range of people in our pastoral offices, meeting and
serving folk who have worshiped locally for generations, and whose extended families live and
worship across the country. Being a parish priest is the single greatest privilege I have ever known,
and I am so very grateful for all those Christians up and down the country who support and cherish
their parish churches, volunteering and worshiping faithfully and locally, despite sometimes
receiving little recognition and support.
I have the delight to be training two curates; one non-stipendiary, who came through the Caleb
Stream at St Mellitus, and the other, a full-time stipendiary, through Ridley Hall. Our Associate
Priest is responsible for retired clergy in the Kensington Area. These relationships mean that non-
stipendiary, stipendiary, and the ministries of retired clergy are all cherished, vital parts of the
ministry in which we share.
As an Assistant Director of Ordinands, I am keenly aware of the challenges facing theological
education and formation, as well as those which confront folk who are discerning God’s call to
ministry and considering how they will negotiate an uncertain future.
Before coming to Chelsea I was Chaplain at Queens’ College, Cambridge and served on the
Governing Body as an Official Fellow, and as a Tutor for Post-Graduates. These roles meant that I
regularly dealt with working group papers, considering opposed positions, listening to others,
voting, and living well with difference, as well as being mindful of the implications of change in the
long term as a trustee of a perpetual institution. As the convenor of the Deans & Chaplains of the
University I was used to working with a range of ministers and acting in their best interests.
I have not served on General Synod before, but this does not diminish my willingness to serve
diligently in this capacity. Five years ago, when considering standing under the category for
Universities, I thought it best that I should wait until I had some experience as an incumbent. After
four years in post I am aware that I could use this excuse for a good thirty years, and so have
decided to throw my hat in the ring.
At this time I am standing because I love the Church, and in particular because I love the Church of
England, which has nurtured my faith and given me the gift of theological education and ministerial
formation, the opportunity to minister as part of the established church with its parish system, which
serves every mile of this country, and whose doctrines and formularies are generous and faithful to
the inheritance we have received in Christ, while remaining distinctly Reformed and Catholic.
I would like to prioritise parish ministry, clergy training and formation, and their ongoing welfare
because if we get these things right we can look to future with confidence in Christ knowing that we
have done the best by our inheritance. MTB 5/9/26

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