archbishop,archbishop of canterbury,discernment,outreach,reformed,retirement,sunday school,united reformed church,young people,youth

Election Address

I am putting my name forward to be considered as a member of the General
Synod and want to explain my reasons.
I was brought up firstly in the Congregational Church which later became the
United Reformed Church; our whole family was immersed in the life of our
Church (in Sanderstead, now part of South Croydon). We went to Sunday
School in the heady days of about a hundred and fifty young people regularly
attending. My brothers were Scouts and I was a Brownie and Guide. I became
an enthusiastic member of our Youth Church and Club and later a Sunday
School teacher. My parents were good, kind and generous people whose door
was always open to friends, neighbours and to those who needed help, support
or just a bit of love.
After I married my husband and had our three sons we did our best to instil that
sense of duty, caring and service in them. We moved house fairly regularly due
to work and family circumstances including a time in the Middle East and
Rutland (two very different scenarios) where I first became a regular worshipper
at our Parish Church. We later moved back to Surrey and stayed for about 30
years. I was a regular worshipper at our local Anglican Church there. We moved
to Kent 10 years ago and since then I have become a regular and committed
member of our local Church in Benenden. I am on its Parochial Parish Council
and have always assisted at church events. Recently I applied to be on the VISC
in the Diocese of Canterbury and thereafter was elected to serve on the CNC to

assist in the discernment for the new Archbishop of Canterbury – an experience
which was one of the most extraordinary and challenging of my life.
My career, in between bringing up my children and caring for my late parents,
was broad ranging but always engaging and challenging. I ran a small Catering
business when the children were very small and later worked as a newsreader
and presenter in Bahrain where we lived for 2 years. On our return I joined the
BBC World Service where I worked as an Announcer, Presenter and
Newsreader. I also worked at ITN on the Newsdesk which gave me a unique
insight into the wider world of politics. I was a Director of our large and
successful family travel business until we sold it four years ago.
In 2020 I became a local councillor and then a County Councillor where I took
on various roles of serving on and chairing Select Committees (Children and
Young People, Adult Social Care and so on). I took on the huge portfolio for
Adult Social Care, Health and Services for people with Learning Disabilities.
My final role at County Hall was to be Chairman for two years – this was
another opportunity for me to champion the wonderful work that went on to
support the third sector and to mark the success of so many unsung heroes. I
loved listening to people and doing my best over the sixteen years of
representing my local community and to help those who asked for it or needed it
and to set about improving the ‘offer’ of a huge Local Authority.
Since my ‘retirement’ I have spent a great deal of time supporting various Trusts
and charities and being involved in local politics. This seems to be a difficult
thing to say these days, but I have always held to the view that personal and
collective integrity should be at the heart of what we do. I have mentored
aspiring local and national politicians and been an integral part of helping to
choose political candidates at both local and national levels. I believe that my
wide skill set makes me a good listener; an even-handed judge of character and
most importantly a fair and open-minded team player.
My personal circumstances now allow me time to devote to things outside my
home which has some challenges currently; my husband is not in good health
but we are blessed with a wonderful and supportive family and surrounded by
friends and neighbours here in our village and in our Church community.
Our Parish Church is hugely exercised by many problems that many other
churches experience and we have undertaken the enormous task of raising huge
funds to refurbish and restore the building so we can extend the outreach to our
whole village. By opening the doors to others; showing love by example and
offering warmth and welcome to our neighbours we believe we can make a
huge difference to the community. I know this desire is shared by so many other
churches up and down the country, along with the concern and challenge of
bureaucracy and regulatory strictures. I would hope to hold these thoughts at
the centre of any involvement with the Synod - if I am fortunate enough to be
elected onto the General Synod.

I believe that I still have much to offer and would relish the opportunity to serve
our Church of England by being a member of the General Synod.
I humbly ask for your support.

Sally-Ann Marks