diocesan board,finance,gospel,justice,mission,racial justice,safeguarding,survivors,young adults,young people

Josh Jee | Candidate for General Synod
Newcastle Central Deanery
Currently serving on Bishop’s Council and Diocesan Synod

Proposer: Canon Simon Harper (Corbridge Deanery, Chair of the
Diocesan Board of Finance, Bishop’s Council)
Seconder: Carol Griffiths (Bamburgh & Glendale Deanery, Bishop’s
Council)

I fell in love with Jesus at the age of 4, when I began to
understand his promise to be with me forever. I fell in love
with His Church at the age of 19, when I saw the beauty of
people from every age, stage and walk of life gathering
together to worship Him. Since then I have sought to give
myself to seeing Christ’s church grow in unity, in love and in
its impact on the communities where we all live, work and learn. Now, at age 26, I look forward to a
lifetime as part of the Church of England, and consider that prospect a great privilege and a hugely
exciting opportunity. I am offering myself to serve on General Synod, therefore, to work towards a
united church that will continue to proclaim the gospel of Jesus for the duration of my own lifetime
and well beyond.

About me

As a vicar’s kid, I had for much of my life sworn that I would never stand for Synod - rest assured
that the Lord’s sense of humour in bringing me to this point is not lost on me!
That said, being brought up in a clergy household (in Coventry Diocese) remains one of the great
privileges of my life. From a young age, I saw the ins and outs of parish ministry, and while there
were of course hardships and sorrows, I reflect with great gratitude that I was able to understand
the beauty of the parish system and the Church of England from a young age.
After leaving home, I spent four years in Oxford studying Arabic and Islamic Studies, before very
unexpectedly moving to Walker in Newcastle in 2023, having never set foot in the city or diocese
before - I’d love to tell you the story of how that happened at some point!
When moving to Newcastle, I knew I would love living by the beach and would love being around
Geordies rather than boring southerners (I can say that as one of them!), but I was not prepared for
how quickly and deeply I would fall in love with God’s Church in this region and each community in
this beautiful diocese. Newcastle is full of parishes and worshipping communities deeply
committed to seeing more and different people experience the love of God - I could not write a
better mission statement for my personal life than that.
My personal priority: uniting our Church
Since moving to Newcastle three years ago (to the day, at time of writing!) I have loved throwing
myself into local and diocesan life. Highlights include worshipping at St Thomas the Martyr in
Newcastle, serving on Diocesan Synod and Bishop’s Council, and getting stuck into supporting my
local community in Walker.
In all these things, I have sought to bring unity to our church:

Uniting young and old: At St Thomas’, I have the joy of pastoring a worshipping community of
around 100 students and young adults, alongside faithful older Christians who mentor and invest in
them.
Uniting urban and rural: As a member of Bishop’s Council, I have sought to listen to and champion
those serving in rural areas, recognising that the needs of our rural and urban communities are
often very different. I have also trained and commissioned members of the worshipping
community I lead to move to and serve God in rural Northumberland.
Uniting clergy and laity: At Bishop’s Council and Diocesan Synod, I have contributed to
conversations about clergy stipends and Authorised Lay Minister (ALM) training, reflecting my
desire to champion and equip both clergy and laity.
Uniting parishes and the diocese: I have worked to encourage greater collaboration between
diocesan leadership and parishes, ensuring that strategic decisions are shaped by the unique
contexts and challenges of local communities.

If you vote for me…

I will put the parish first. Newcastle is a wonderfully diverse diocese, but for all of us, the parish is
one of God's greatest vehicles for mission. Having already spoken to this end at Bishop's Council, I
will speak up for greater financial and decision-making power at parish and diocesan level, so that
national structures serve the local church. Rural and urban churches alike should know that they
matter.

I will listen to the whole Church. I want clergy and laity to work as genuine partners, and will
listen to those doing the everyday work of keeping our churches going, and want my door always
to be open particularly to churchwardens, treasurers and ALMs. I have already spoken at Diocesan
Synod (July 2026) about ensuring children and young people’s voices are heard. At Bishop’s
Council, I supported the decision to appoint a Racial Justice Development Officer alongside
recruiting our new diocesan safeguarding team, who are utterly brilliant!

I will take difficult issues seriously. I have spoken at Diocesan Synod (both in working groups and
plenary sessions) on numerous hot topics, seeking to engage with those who hold different views
with grace and respect. I won't arrive at synod with my mind made up on every decision. For
example, on Safeguarding, where there is much work still to be done, I am convinced that we need
longer to learn from and listen to survivors before finalising any safeguarding models. I will not shy
away from challenging synod when it is tempted to make decisions in haste.

I will bring practical experience. Alongside normal ministry (if there is such a thing!), I manage
multiple budget lines, directly line-manage numerous people, work across Christian
denominations and serve as a trustee of a local Christian charity. It is a joy often to be at the
crossroads of mission, ministry, strategy and governance.

I hope this gives you a flavour of who I am, why I love the Church of England and how I would
approach being on General Synod, but please do be in touch if you would like to chat about
anything I have written here!

If you do feel it is right to vote for me, I would be very grateful for your first preference vote.

Josh Jee
[email protected]

07504 639345

14 Carnaby Road, Walker, NE6 3LY