General Synod Election Candidates 2026

Ed Shaw

Son, brother, uncle, godfather
Licensed Lay Minister, Emmanuel City Centre, Bristol (Bishop’s Mission Order)
Ministry Director, www.livingout.org
Co-Chair & Trustee, Church of England Evangelical Council
Council Member, The Evangelical Alliance
Governor, Monkton Combe School, Bath
Reader & Writer

Proposer: Julia Childerhouse (St.Paul’s, Chippenham)
Seconder: Julian Rivers (St. Mary’s, Stoke Bishop)

It has been a huge privilege to represent the laity of the Diocese of Bristol on
General Synod, since 2015: thanks to all who have supported me in the past.
I have spoken up most in debates on sexuality and safeguarding. Both are
contexts in which the Church of England has failed to speak the truth in love in
ways that have damaged too many people. This is how the Church Times has
reported some of my contributions to recent debates:

On the Prayers of Love and Faith (I’ve been involved in many of the different working groups):

On Bishop’s Mission Orders (I’m part of one in central Bristol):

But I have also supported efforts to increase clergy pensions, better understand
the needs of those who grow up in care, and improve our digital
communications as we seek to reach younger generations.

The Next General Synod

If re-elected I would hope, amongst other things, to continue to share my passion for:

Jesus Christ. I believe the Church of England has made the biggest impact on our country
when we have talked most about the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of the Lord
Jesus. Our greatest challenge is to do this effectively with the generations under 40 and I
would both like to share my experiences of doing this – and gain from other perspectives too.

Anglican Theology. Our Church’s foundational documents (Book of Common Prayer, 39
Articles and Ordinal) remain the best expressions of biblically balanced theology and practice.
I want us to have the confidence to remain rooted in this historic tradition - at the same time
as finding new ways of engaging contemporary society (and especially young people) with it.

Church Growth. All the churches I have been part of have been growing churches and this
reflects the wider growth that other churches in our Diocese are experiencing. I fully support
efforts to better resource any local churches (both traditional parish churches and “Fresh
Expressions”) that are trailblazing effective ways of being church and doing mission today.

Lay Leadership. The New Testament Epistles set out a vision of churches in which all are
encouraged and equipped to use their God-given gifts to build the church. We need to face
up to the serious crisis of leadership in view of clergy retirement patterns, invest in the best
forms of training for all leaders, and enable clergy to better facilitate this lay involvement.

Biblical Sexuality. The marriage of a man and a woman is the Bible’s greatest unchanging
picture of Christ and his love for the church and is not something we are at liberty to redefine.
But we need to do better at graciously articulating this truth and lovingly caring for the many
gay people (like me) for whom this is a personally painful thing to hear.

Your Concerns. I am standing to be your representative on General Synod. So I want to
listen and learn from your experiences and passions too. Please do e-mail me at:
[email protected]

There are so many challenges for the Church of England around sexuality,
safeguarding, finances and demographics. But there are also so many
opportunities due to our parish system, inherited assets, liturgical tradition and,
most of all, committed people like you. Thank you for all do.

I would be very grateful if you felt able to support me in this election – especially in giving
me your 1st preference vote.

Your friend and brother in Jesus,

Ed

39 articles,biblical,book of common prayer,church growth,evangelical,finances,fresh expressions,gay,liturgical,marriage,mission,prayer,prayers of love and faith,retirement,safeguarding,sexuality,tradition,traditional,young people