General Synod Election Candidates 2026

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Millius Palayiwa

Diocese of Oxford
General Synod Elections 2026
An Electoral Address

Why I am standing as a Lay candidate for election to the General Synod 2026.

My background, experience and qualifications would make a positive contribution to the
debates, work, processes, and committees of General Synod.

1. Issues Facing the Church. The Church of England is in crisis. It faces challenging issues

that threaten to tear it apart: Safeguarding following the Makin Review; Living in Love
&Faith (LLF); Vicars becoming an “endangered species” amid recruiting crisis; falling
congregational numbers; lack of sufficient numbers of volunteers; Finances; care of
creation; wars and conflicts; Contested Heritage and Reparation; Equality, Diversity &
Inclusion (EDI); assisted dying, abortion etc. These issues call for transparency and
honest of debate at General synod, debating with courage and compassion, calling us to
disagree “well” and to be a church that listens, heals and loves.; a church of the
beatitudes, and above all to be a conscience to the nation and the world, rather than a
“social engineered” church. A church united in faith, love and purpose, that it may be a
light in the darkness and a beacon of hope to all. I believe and can contribute
constructively without being a “single issue” person to debates on these issues. I belong
to no faction of the church!

1. Membership of the Church. I am an active member of the Church of England, having

worshipped at my current church and on its PCC (on & off) for over 45 years. I am
currently on both the Diocesan Synod and the Cowley Deanery Synod. I am the Lay Chair
of Cowley Deanery and a member of Bishop’s Council, on Partnership in World Mission
Committee (PiWP), on the EDI Committee and a number of other small diocesan,
deanery and parish committees.

1. Safeguarding. I was an “Umbrella Body” while at Christ Church, processing CRB checks

for local charities and voluntary organisations, free of charge. I am currently the
Safeguarding Officer for my Parish church and have been since the establishment of
safeguarding positions.
I have chaired two high profile Child Abuse Inquiries, one involving Child Sexual Abuse in
a large Local Authority and the other involving the “Death of a child”. To that end, I gave
evidence at the Independent Inquiry: Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in 2021.

1. Cathedral work. I was Registrar at Christ Church Cathedral for about 10 years. One of

my achievements there, besides being an “Umbrella Body” was the introduction of the
“free-pass-entry” scheme into Christ Church for members of the Diocese. The scheme
has been greatly appreciated.

1. Community Involvement. For 10 years I was on the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory

Committee for Oxfordshire. To that end I was involved in the interviewing and selection
of magistrates (JPs) in Oxford. I have served as a school governor of the local state
primary school, and of Christ Church Cathedral School. I have been a Trustee of Age UK

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Oxfordshire, Oxford Institute for Christian Counselling, Christian Aid; Oasis of Peace
(Chair), Peace Roots (Chair), International Interfaith Centre at Oxford (current Treasurer)
and Marston Trustees etc.

1. Work Experience. For 15 years I sat on the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal SDT), ending

up as Vice-President of that Court. I retired in 2020. A lawyer by training, I worked for 10
years as a Chief Officer in a large London Borough (Lambeth); then with International
Alert, in international conflict resolution, peace-making and post conflict peacebuilding.
In this regard I facilitated the talks between the Government of Sierra Leone and the
rebel movement, the Revolutionary United Front of Sierra Leone (RUF/SL) that
culminated with the signing of the Abidjan Peace Accord on 30 November 1996.
After that I became International Relations Secretary for Quaker Peace & Service,
managing two offices, one in London and the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) in
Geneva, working with "decision makers and policy shapers" to address issues of peace
making and peace building in areas affected by armed conflict; addressing the systemic
causes of violence at a global level; and trying to create a culture of peace with justice
based on nonviolent change. In my peace-making capacity, I travelled all of Africa, Asia,
the Middle East, Latin America, USA, Canada and made monthly visits to Europe. This
involved operating at very high levels, meeting government leaders, including
Presidents, Prime Ministers, diplomats, armed forces, Rebel Groups church leaders,
women’s groups, and youth groups
For eight years, I was the Registrar at Christ Church, Oxford, from whence I left to
become the Director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation in 2010.
The Fellowship of Reconciliation was founded in 1914 in response to the horrors of war
in Europe.

1. Equality, Diversity & Inclusion. More than ever, it is really time that the church of

England seriously addressed the issues of diversity and inclusion. We go back as far as
Faith in the City (1985) and recently we have had the Report of the Archbishops’ Anti-
Racism Taskforce: From Lament To Action! In all a total of 161 recommendations of
racial justice over the decades!
I have followed in detail debates on Living in Love & Faith and attended all the 5
courses run by our parish on that. Inclusivity, participation and representation at
General Synod level is crucial.

1. Education. I was educated at the Universities of Oxford (Oriel College: MA -Law), Cardiff

(LLM: Canon Law), London (New College & Kings: BD – Divinity) and Rhodesia (BA –
History).

I was born in Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.

Millius Palayiwa
1st September 2026

P/S. I am happy to answer any questions.

abortion,abuse,archbishops,assisted dying,canon law,equality,finances,iicsa,interfaith,justice,llf,makin review,mission,pcc,quaker,racial justice,racism,safeguarding,safeguarding officer,transparency,universities,violence,war,youth,youth groups