General Synod Election Candidates 2026

• To support the archbishops in keeping their pledge to support the parish as
the best means of evangelism.
• To put the “frontline first”, ensuring that resources that properly belong to
and are generated by the parishes remain at parish level, freeing up laity and clergy for
mission.
• To ensure that law and projects which initiate from the centre all support
and enhance the parochial system by integrating the Strategic Development
Fund into the parish and opposing the revision to the Mission & Pastoral Measure
which would make it easier and quicker for dioceses to close churches, make priests
redundant, and evict them from their homes.
•
We believe that effective mission requires the prioritisation of spending on good theological
education as a crucial investment.
•
We will call for a Church-State commission to agree a national plan to protect and preserve historic
parish buildings.
The Reverend Michael Molano
General Synod 2026 Candidate- House of Clergy, Diocese of Salisbury
The parish is at the heart of the Church of England. It informs
every aspect of our mission and our vision of ourselves. It is valued far beyond
those attending church on a Sunday, and is spoken of passionately by
bishops and archbishops. And yet, over many decades, parishes have been
starved of priests and money, their assets used to make good the mistakes of
others. Matters are reaching a critical point and so I have chosen to stand as
part of the Save the Parish movement and pledge to focus my energies on
these commitments. You can read the full manifesto here: www.savetheparish.com
This isn’t a cause for only one part of the church. It’s one which is shared by Evangelicals, Anglo-Catholics,
the High Church, the Middle of the Road… anyone, really, who values the system which has been passed on to
us in trust, in its wonderful diversity of expressions. I pledge to work together with all those of
goodwill, whatever their position on all of the other matters which vex the church, to Save the Parish.
Who am I?
I am the Vicar of St Michael the Archangel, Mere and St Mary the Virgin, West Knoyle,
both beautiful traditional churches set in an urban and a rural parish, in the SW corner of
Wiltshire. Raised in a tiny north Wilts village, I come from a long line of clergy on my
mother's side. As a child, my parents took me to various non-conformist churches, and I
have
experienced worship across
a
variety of denominations. I worked in Historic
building repairs, and it was here, when repairing C of E churches, in their stillness and
sanctity, where I often knelt in prayer at the altar rail, that I felt a strong call to the Church of
England. As I served on Royal Ceremonial and Armoured duties with the Household Cavalry
I often witnessed the power of the church, at national occasions, to unite our
country
under God
and Sovereign and the immense value of effective pastoral care, delivered via committed priestly ministry in
place.
I
am
an Anglican
by conviction, not necessity and
I feel
our structures,
doctrine,
liturgy,
prayer
book
and
historic formularies to be not only an immense safeguard and strength, but also
our godly heritage, passed down for us
to treasure.
As
a
special part
of
our national fabric,
they must be preserved. I
am immensely proud of the work my forebears did at the coalface of
priestly ministry and am frequently humbled by the huge burden taken on today by priests across our
diocese, often with
far
too
many
churches
and
an
impossible workload. I will work
together
across political
dividing
lines
in General Synod to fight for more priests to ensure your ministry is
sustainable. I will also always seek to be a voice for the rural church and the farming community, with
some understanding as a smallholder with sheep myself.
Key Commitments

The problem and a solution
The Church of England, it seems, has in many places tragically lost faith in and appears
embarrassed of its traditions and heritage, seeking numerous new and secular ways to appear
relevant to our nation. Some have joined our structures who have had no appreciation or understanding
of priestly ministry, and as such have sought to alter our DNA and funding to suit models of
church that are not Anglican. I
believe fundamentally that this crisis of identity is wrong- that in
a world of flux and endless change, the evidence is that people are seeking
stability,
truth,
the
timeless
message
of
hope that historic Christianity brings. Young people, particularly, are being
drawn to tradition, many filling Catholic and Orthodox churches. We, as the national church, must
regain confidence
in
who
we are,
in
our roots
and
their
value,
and
look
up
to
see
the
wonderful opportunity
we have
to
use
our
amazing
buildings, liturgy,
prayer
book
and the occasional
offices as
counter-cultural
magnets
for
the
generations who
have
had
no prior experience
of
them,
and to
whom
they
are
new
and
profound.
We can
use
the best
of what
God
has
given
us, missionally,
to
Make
Jesus
Known
through Word
and Sacrament.
But
we must listen to our parishioners and return
funding
to
expand
full
time priestly ministry,
in
parish. I endevour, if elected, to work across
boundaries and positively with our Diocese to seek to enable this, as a part of Save the Parish.
These are some of the issues which will be important over the next five years in shaping the Church of
England. As for the others I will listen to the debates and pray as I try to discern the will of God for our
church. What I can offer you is a strong voice that isn’t afraid to speak up, publicly, on issues, to challenge,
test, and (at times) contest proposals from the central church. Should I be elected, I pledge to do so, representing
you, diligently and vocally.
To Contact me:
[email protected]
07396 979448

archbishops,catholic,dioceses,doctrine,evangelism,farming,formularies,liturgy,middle of the road,mission,orthodox,prayer,sacrament,save the parish,theological education,tradition,traditional,workload,young people