General Synod Election Candidates 2026

General Synod Election 2026
Election of lay representatives for the Diocese of Oxford

David Horrocks
1 Clarks Farm Cottages, Farley Hill, Berkshire, RG7 1TW
E-mail: [email protected] Telephone: 07851 719251

Who am I?
Married to Lisa and dad to Imogen (now a military musician). Became a Christian aged
14 (I think). Studied architecture then theology at university. After seven years as a Civil
Servant in the MOD, I joined the staff team at St James’ Church, Barkham. 22 years
later, I’m still here and not really planning to go anywhere else. I read a lot, love
watching cricket, and genuinely enjoy gardening.

In our local church
Member of our PCC for almost 25 years. As a lay member of the church staff team, I
regularly lead worship and preach, lead a midweek small group, work with our 11-14s,
lead on safeguarding with our four church safeguarding officers, and oversee all we do
in our local church school.

In the wider church
I now serve on the Diocesan Safeguarding Panel and have volunteered for many years as
a Diocesan safeguarding trainer, now mainly delivering Leadership training via Zoom.

I’m also a member of the Diocese’s Vacancy-in-See Committee (VISC). It was a genuine
delight, earlier this year, to work so closely with others from across the Diocese to play
our part in the process of finding a new Bishop of Oxford and a huge privilege to chair
the sub-group that was particularly responsible for helping people to pray for the Lord’s
help and leading in this process.

I’ve been a member of Sonning Deanery Synod for nearly 13 years and its Standing
Committee for five. I’m also glad to be part of the Diocesan Evangelical Fellowship.

Further afield
I also serve as Chair of The Keys Academy Trust, which currently runs 13 primary schools
in the Wokingham and Bracknell area and is closely connected to the Diocesan Board of
Education.

Why I am standing for General Synod
I have loved the Church of England ever since I first joined an Anglican Church during my
time at university. I love the CofE’s doctrine (particularly the Thirty-Nine Articles and
the Book of Common Prayer), its remarkable reach into so many areas of our society,
and the way it brings so many different people together. The longer I am around, the
more I find my faith being enriched by others from traditions very different to my own.

I have a particular interest in the following areas:

• Schools. Serving as a trustee of an Academy Trust means that I see regularly what a
gift good Church schools are to their local communities. What a wonderful
opportunity we have to bless people of all kinds of faith (and none)! I long to see
church schools offering the best possible education to everyone who is privileged to
be part of them. And I love seeing them living out Christian values with real
confidence and also giving children the opportunity (obviously in appropriate ways)
to hear and ask questions about the Lord Jesus too.

• Safeguarding. In addition to helping with safeguarding in our churches and in the
Diocese, I recently served as the safeguarding trustee at the Titus Trust, where we
spent a lot of time responding to appalling abuse committed in the 1970s and 80s
and to how badly victims and survivors were treated at the time and in subsequent
years. I have seen both the positive difference it makes when safeguarding is done
well, but also how badly it can go wrong. I am deeply committed to continuing to
learn how to put victims and survivors first and to building healthier, more Christlike
cultures in our churches. Safeguarding should be an integral part of living out our
faith, but I am also very glad that the Church of England is moving towards more
robust and independent scrutiny of how we do this too.

• Young people. Like every youth group leader, I wrestle with how to help young
people treasure the church as the body within which they too will grow in maturity
as followers of Jesus. Youth groups and activities are brilliant and I applaud the
Diocese for encouraging us to think more about this provision. But I am also
increasingly convinced that we need to do more to give parents confidence in raising
their children in Christ and to help our whole churches grow in their love for younger
people (however noisy and unpredictable they can sometimes be!)

• Prayers of love and faith. Like so many of us, I am really saddened by the way Living
in Love and Faith has caused such division within our wider church. I’ve seen the
painful impact these discussions have had on same-sex attracted and gender
questioning people connected to our own church. I am thankful for the House of
Bishops’ recent recognition that proper processes need to be followed when
considering potential changes in these areas. While I am personally very concerned
about any significant changes to the church’s historic doctrine of marriage, I am also
committed to working closely with those who hold different views in ways that
honour consciences and enable all to serve Christ faithfully. I hope that this is
something I have demonstrated on the VISC and in other things I do.

Thank you for reading. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Obviously I would be very grateful if you would consider giving me your first vote, or
another high-preference vote!

Proposed by:

Seconded by:
Anna Pearce

Michael Byrne
(St John’s Crowthorne)

(St James Barkham)

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