General Synod Election Candidates 2026

"So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free people, between
men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28
This verse from Paul's letter to the Galatians is how I aim to approach each and every day. I
firmly believe and trust that we are all equal in the eyes of God, one united family in Christ. We
should be totally inclusive, welcoming everyone into our churches, places of worship and
communities and all those who come into our lives with compassion, love and understanding.
Being a parent of three children, a teacher by profession, Head of Department and Year 11 Form
Tutor involved in intervention strategies, inclusion and transition, it has taught me how different
we all are and how background and upbringing affect the way we think and act, all the different
social aspects. Gaining counselling qualifications and an MA in Education underpinned this. On
retirement I wanted to continue being involved in helping within the church and community and
became a member of Mothers' Union (MU) as part of this. I believe in a faith-based and
community-led approach to tackling poverty, injustice and violence, prayer and faith in action,
providing support and love free of judgement. I have been involved with running parenting
groups and helping on courses in prisons and during my time as a Trustee of MU in Manchester
was responsible for all outreach programmes both national and local. I then became Diocesan
President for six years, continuing work with all three of our prisons, Domestic Abuse
organisations, refuges, victims of modern slavery and refugees, as well as our Away From It All
Holiday (AFIA) scheme. I was honoured to receive the Maundy Money.
I am now the York Provincial President for Mothers' Union and was commissioned in York
Minster by the Archbishop of York. This means I am part of the Britain and Ireland Group and
Worldwide Council. I am also on the steering groups for Safeguarding, AFIA, Prisons, Domestic
Abuse and Modern Slavery. As PP I look after all 12 dioceses within York Province and have
travelled quite extensively meeting clergy, chaplains, dignitaries and many MU members at
various events and services. I often have to organise big Provincial events. This year has been
especially busy as it is the 150th year since the founding of MU. I have seen how diverse we all
are as a Province, whether within our communities, our local needs, challenges, or distances to
travel. I have seen how hard our laity work. I have listened and learned. I was at the last General
Synod helping on an MU stand in the Exhibition Hall and met so many interesting people. This
also meant I was able to sit in the Public Gallery to listen to some of the debates and this
encouraged me with my nomination.
The role of our laity is vitally important within the life of our churches and places of worship. We
are needed to support our clergy in the running of our churches however seemingly small our
contribution. "The body is made up of many parts. 1Corinthians12:12." There is so much to do
in the running of a church. I am on my church PCC and Deanery Synod, support my husband
who is church warden, help lead services, arrange community events and contact with local
organisations and have been the Parish Safeguarding Officer for many years. I am passionate
about the importance of Safeguarding as part of a healthy church culture. As a member of the
diocesan PSO network for my Deanery I have been trained to deliver the Basic and Foundation
safeguarding training for parishes. I am the governor responsible for SEND at a local Church of
England Primary School.
We must never underestimate the role of our parishes, the grass roots where so many seeds
are planted and so much hard work and love in the community is shown. Parish opinions, ideas
and questions should always be a big part of how we approach major decision making. There
are many little roles within the church to fulfil apart from the more major ones. Everyone's

contribution counts and their opinions should be valued, appreciated, respected and be seen
to matter. This needs to be recognised at General Synod. Our laity are often the ones people will
confide in. Laity know their local areas and where support is needed. What we do to support our
communities is of tremendous importance. Our churches need to be seen as a prominent and
welcoming part of all that goes on, contributing actively, showing that we care about our
schools, businesses, organisations and charities. We are not just the church down the road.
Life is not as it was. Things change rapidly especially with the influence, good or bad, of social
media. We need to be open to and accept change with all its challenges and new ways of doing
things it presents. Through prayer and faith in God, we can do this. However, we must
remember to learn from and build on the past and the valuable contributions and decisions of
previous generations. So much to value, respect and reflect on in future decision making. Being
able to serve Manchester Diocese at General Synod and a voice for our parishes would be a
tremendous privilege for me.

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