General Synod Election Candidates 2026

I grew up in a cultural, rather than a religious Christian household. Whilst. Whilst.
Whilst fully embedded in a working class non church going community retaining a
significant mode of behaviour which was spiritual and contemplative.
These early experiences have culminated in me now being a self-supporting ordained
priest, and curate in the Rural North West Kent Group of churches
It was from my working class and deeply rich childhood and adolescence and through
the prism of the suburban council estates and their communities within which I lived,
that inspired an exciting sense of the numinousness of the everyday experience and a
passionate spiritual awakening within me.
These experiences remain significant in what has inspired me to put myself forward as a
nominee for General Synod; bringing Christianity into the parts of our communities that
are so often overlooked or forgotten. Through learning the fundamentals of a Christian
life at home which led me to explore all manner of associated philosophies and
theologies, and in isolation from the wider community (none of my peers were
Christian) inspires me to the work of bringing Christ to those communities similarly
isolated and disassociated with the Church. I know that it can just take a spark to
switch people on to the salvation found in Christ, and the potential for life to flourish.
As a painter as well as a priest, I am also deeply passionate about the potential for art
to transform lives, spiritually, religiously and practically. Art has been a source of
religious inspiration throughout Christian history, and I am keen to bring art, and
particularly visual art back into the mainstay of our worshipping and learning
experience. I am passionate about the beauty of God being expressed sacramentally,
liturgically and missionally.
The care of and advocacy for creation is high on my missional priorities too; teaching
the value of all of creation in God’s eyes in and of itself irrespective of how we might
value or devalue it. Teaching that creation is sacred not because we can use it or exploit
it for our own purposes, or benefits, but because it is a living expression of our shared
creator Lord.
Priorities for Synod
. Living and worshipping sacramentally
. Recognising and exploring the beauty of God in the everyday and overlooked
. Utilizing and developing the arts as missional tools
. Creation advocacy

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