General Synod Election Candidates 2026

The Reverend Rachel Wakefield - General Synod address. 2026-2031

Thank you if you elected me to General Synod in 2021. It has been a privilege and an
honour to serve you, and I hope you will elect me again. I have begun various activities
while on General Synod which I would like to continue for myself and for you, and I do
believe this is something which God is calling me to. In case you voted last time and
have forgotten me, I’m the one who was “Just a curate” and used to read the shipping
forecast….aah yes!

Who am I?
I’m the vicar of Redbourn near St Albans. I was ordained in 2020 and spent my earlier life
working in media and communications, for among others the BBC, Greenbelt Festival, Thy
Kingdom Come and The Methodist Church. I was a Lay Reader, also in this diocese. I am
married and have two adult children. I serve on the Bishop’s Council, am Acting Area
Dean, chaired the Drafting Group for the Vacancy in See Committee where we worked
well together across different traditions, and I was elected to the Crown Nominations
Commission who nominated Bishop Andrew. In 2025 I represented the diocese at St
George’s House, Windsor in the Clergy Consultation examining How We Speak about
God. This was a hugely rewarding and challenging two weeks, where we learnt to
embrace our differences so that together we could gather around the God we all serve,
across our traditions and different understandings of scripture. This vision of unity is
something I truly hope to see reflected in the Church of England.

What have I done in my time on General Synod? (selected highlights!)
I was part of the first Deep Dive Group set up by the Business Committee to give a more
helpful space than “Questions” to interrogate elements of the Church of England. Our
focus was on Mixed Ecology, and what we mean by that in practice. We were able to
quiz Archbishop Stephen Cottrell and other senior members of the Church House staff
about their understandings of this.
Proposed by The Reverend Richard Watson, Vicar of St Saviours, St Albans,
Area Dean St Albans.
Seconded by The Reverend Kate Pearson, Vicar of St Mary’s Marshalswick,
Assistant Dean of Women’s Ministry & Vice-chair of the House of Clergy.
We are delighted to support Rachel’s candidacy to General Synod. She has
been a superb member of Synod for the last five years, holding enormous
integrity and great wisdom in the role. Her high-level communication,
organisation and leadership skills have held her in good stead, and she has
been articulate both on the floor of Synod and in the various events and
preparatory work that go on around Synodical sessions. She has worked hard,
with faithful determination, good humour and kindness to achieve the aims of
a church that is safe, flourishing, accessible, and welcoming to all. We do not
doubt that Rachel will continue to build on her great track record and do us
all proud in Synod’s next season.

I have spoken out in support of a variety of disability issues and forced change (with
others) to a paper looking at the lived experiences of those with disabilities, especially
children, in the life of our church.
I used many of my Questions to push on clergy pensions and housing issues.
I was a note taker on the platform to support the PMM at last July’s session of Synod on
same-sex relationships.
I am a trustee of Together for the Church of England and have worked throughout this last
quinquennium to support their goals towards a fully inclusive church.

What do I want to do?
People: I want to continue to work towards an inclusive church which allows everyone to
take part equally and to flourish as God’s children, as he calls them; where our
safeguarding structures mean people can be confident of a safe welcome in our
communities.
Pastoral: I have begun conversations with Synod staff about updating our liturgy so that it
keeps pace with the pastoral needs of our communities as healthcare changes,
particularly with an increase in funerals for pre-term babies.
Parish: I want to see parishes and clergy supported well, both financially and pastorally, so
that they thrive in this changing world especially in areas where village and parish life is
being changed by housing developments and the challenging move to net zero is
necessary. I want to continue to ask questions of the pensions board so that clergy can
be confident that they will be cared for now and in the future.
Mission: I want us to be a church which is confident in how we speak about God and
share the love He has for each one of us, across the generations. To be a Synod which
speaks about God’s love in all we do and not let that message be lost amid the
necessary noise of governance.

What do I bring?
My background in communication gives me strong skills to process lots of information and
distil it into messages which I have been honoured to bring in my reports to deaneries. I
can ask concise and curious questions, while ensuring I listen to others and not pre-judge. I
am a strategic thinker and am quick to see issues and find ways through them to a better
outcome. I am committed to the calling of representing you on General Synod.
You trusted me last time when I was “just a curate”. Thank you. I now understand the
workings of General Synod much more clearly and can see how I can represent you and
our churches, chaplaincies and schools there.
Please give me your first-preference vote and I hope to continue to work to represent you
over the next five years.
[email protected]

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