General Synod Election Candidates 2026

The Reverend Canon Oliver Coss
Rector, All Saints and Holy Sepulchre, Northampton
Rural Dean of Greater Northampton
General
Synod
Election
Address

Proposer
The Reverend Paula Challen
Vicar of Towcester

Seconder
The Reverend Nick Alexander
Vicar of Moulton

Contact details:
Telephone 07917 391017
Email [email protected]
Dear Elector,
Thank you for taking a few moments to read my
election address. I am writing ahead of the General
Synod elections in Autumn 2026 to ask for your
highest preference vote, and to offer myself as a
representative of Peterborough Diocese to the
wider Church of England.
About me
I am 44 years old and married to Eleanor, who is a
member of the Religious Society of Friends and a
teacher in further education. We have two
children, aged 15 and 12. We came to
Northampton nearly a decade ago to minister at
its historic heart, and to reconnect the church with
a mission-field that extends far beyond the
parochial, and across both town and county. In
that time I have helped establish the church as a
serious civic and spiritual presence, and shown
ability to draw people together across religious,
ethnic, and social difference. I am also Rural Dean
of Greater Northampton, a Church of England
nominee to Northamptonshire SACRE, a trustee
of Northampton Interfaith Forum, and County
Padre of Northamptonshire Royal British Legion.
Why send me to Synod?
•
I have a proven ability to make partnerships
across difference: of tradition, faith, prosperity,
and ethnicity. I believe the Church of England
is well placed to initiate this work in our
communities, and to lead this sacrificially and
never for its own gain. I would take to Synod a
passion not only for the place where I minister,
but for all our communities where many faiths
and none are equally respected and valued.
Our presence and engagement should reflect
the sacraments we celebrate, a means to
becoming more fully what we are as members
of the Body of Christ.

•
I am committed to the Church of England’s
vocation to the nation: the outworking of that
is in resisting diffidence about the gifts we have,
and deploying them to proclaim the gospel
afresh, enrich communities, and strengthen
society.

•
As priest of a church where music is an
attractional force that draws and disciples
young and old, I would bring to Synod a
commitment to this ministry and to its proven
capacity to grow churches and form disciples.
The gospel speaks louder when we sing.

•
I believe that building a safe and healthy culture
in our church, with robust and sustainable
safeguarding standards, is intrinsic to the
theology of a healthy church. Local churches
deserve independently accountable oversight
that supports them and sets them free to draw
others into the splendour of God’s love.

•
I will vigorously defend the Seal of the
Confessional, as something deeply embedded
in our historic formularies. Penitents need
reassurance and those who practice as
confessors need rigorous teaching, training,
and oversight, so that ministry of reconciliation
entrusted by Christ to the church is not
impugned.

•
As a Rural Dean, I believe in strengthened
deaneries as places where dioceses can gather,

build, and equip the local church contextually.
I will work for local Synods that share in the
discernment and flourishing of the whole
Church, Chapters that sustain clergy and lay
ministers, and shared purpose and resourcing
as the fruit of that. Decisions should be taken
as close as possible to the communities they
affect.

•
I will encourage the Church to engage in inter-
faith partnership: not conversation for its own
sake, but hospitable, practical collaboration
that can transform our neighbourhoods, bring
people together, and set a peaceful path.

•
I am a traditional catholic with a strong belief
in the mutual flourishing of the whole Church,
strengthened by the Five Guiding Principles
contained
in
the
House
of
Bishops’
Declaration. Recognising my own dissent from
the decision to permit women to be ordained
as bishops, I nevertheless have a track record
of working for the good of the whole Church
and the mutual flourishing of everyone.

•
As one half of an inter-church marriage, I will
take a particular interest in ecumenism as the
Church of England continues to seek the visible
unity for which Jesus prayed.

•
I will be a firm advocate for the Church’s
support of poorer parishes and for Christian
ministry in communities that feel abandoned or
undervalued. I will also work to ensure that
those whose resources underwrite ministry in
fragile areas are properly valued. Parishes
everywhere need proper resourcing, and
clergy and lay leaders need care. Ministry
should be the making, not the breaking, of
ministers and the people of God.

•
I will seek to ensure that the Church of
England’s decision to become a signatory to
the Armed Forces Covenant is honoured,
including by making it possible for parish clergy
to join the reserve forces. Ministry among
those who serve in the military is an essential
contribution to the nation’s moral compass.

• The difficult legacy of Living in Love and Faith
has created hurt and harm across the hardened
divisions that now exist. We have ceased to
seem like the bearers of Good News to far too
many people who had hoped for better.
Whatever our views, we need the opportunity
to speak and be heard, across a myriad of
differences. I do believe in upholding the
doctrine of marriage that we have received,
but in that there should be generous inclusion,
meaningful pastoral care, and the vanquishing
of the prejudice that too often diminishes
human dignity.

• Our church buildings should be an opportunity
and not a burden. I’ll always vote for proposals
that make this a reality, whether through
simplifying the faculty system or helping the
church to use its voice to point to the glory of,
and the challenges that face, our buildings –
both ancient and modern. I will play my part
in lobbying the government of the day to
continue to invest in places of worship (many
of which are listed as national treasures), and
to help realise the abundant spiritual,
economic,
and
social
benefits
they
demonstrably produce.

• I will tell the story of God’s faithfulness to, and
expressed in, our oft-forgotten (and so
frequently overlooked) parts of middle-
England. Knowing that our hopes, aspirations,
and challenges are so often emblematic of the
things that confront our whole nation, I will use
my voice to draw attention to the positive
example we can be to the Church.

• As someone who was ordained deacon aged
24, I’ll always want the church to do more to
nurture ordinands that are young, diverse, well
trained, and well-resourced to work alongside
all their fellow ministers. We need a sacred
ministry that resembles and serves our church.

And finally…
I hope that when the election comes you will
consider giving me the highest voting preference. I
will endeavour to be a big voice for our church,
and our people. If you have questions or queries,
I’d be very glad to hear from you. You can find my
contact details at the beginning of this document.

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