General Synod Election Candidates 2026

Charlie Baczyk-Bell

Proposer: The Revd Canon Roxanne Eversley, Canon Librarian and Dean of Cultural Diversity, Southwark Cathedral
Seconder: The Revd Sarah Simpson, Vicar, Immanuel and St Andrew, Streatham

[email protected]

About me

| am first and foremost a pastor - I’m the non-stipendiary Associate Vicar of St John the Divine,
Kennington, and am also a volunteer chaplain at St Christopher’s Hospice. In my ‘day job’ I’m a
Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist in a high secure hospital, working with criminal justice involved
people. lam passionate about ministering - in my roles within and without the institutional church

• to those on the edge, who might find themselves forgotten, ignored, vilified, or abandoned by

wider society. | believe ina God who came to bring life in all its fulness, and |am committed to the work
of building a church that embraces, welcomes, delights in, and fights for the dignity of all the beloved
children of God. | am a founding trustee of Together for the Church of England and currently sit on the
Executive, and have been heavily involved in recent work for inclusion in all its forms.

My faith life is enriched through ecumenical encounter, and | am strongly committed to ensuring that
the Church of England continues to commit resources and time to this essential endeavour. | am an
Associate Tutor at St Augustine’s College of Theology, and a Visiting Scholar at Sarum College, and was
a Vocations Adviser in the Diocese of Ely - in these roles, | have seen the crucial and critical need for
serious, determined commitment to the work of vocations, training, and ongoing theological
development of both lay and ordained people. In my interdisciplinary work at Girton College,
Cambridge, | have seen the deep and often unmet need for the church to engage critically, convincingly,
and theologically with issues facing today’s world, and am determined to play a part in bringing this
about. For me, the pastoral impulse that drives my ministry calls us to action beyond the church’s walls.

In Southwark, | sit on the Diocesan Council of Trustees, the Board of Education, the Bishop’s Advisory
Group on Liturgy, and am an Examining Chaplain. | was also a member of the Vacancy in See Committee
and will be part of the Crown Nominations Commission that will elect the next Bishop of Southwark. |
have links across the Anglican Communion, particularly across the Atlantic, and am committed to a
process of listening and decolonisation in the Communion. | have written widely in this area and
continue to be fascinated by what it means to be an Anglican in the twenty-first century world.

What I believe

lam a creedal Anglican. | believe in the saving power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the call to
share our common life and our common faith with all people of good will, and the coming of the
Kingdom of God. | love being a priest and the opportunities it offers to serve the people of God.

| am committed to mission that is lived rather than merely proclaimed, embedded in the
joyfully diverse and creative communities that we are called to serve.

| am convinced that, by God’s grace, we are called to be a more expansive, loving, generous
church, and that this makes demands of us. As such, | long for a church that is more genuinely
inclusive, hospitable, kind, and confident in the power of the Holy Spirit.

It has been a privilege to represent this diocese for the past few years. The last General Synod achieved
some great things but manifestly failed in others, not least in the LLF process. | have a strong track record
in working for the priorities | outline here, across policy, legislation, and pastoral measures. | am
committed to listening to you, learning from you, and representing you in the best way | can, and building
on the experience | have had to work for the church that so many of us long for.

My vision for General Synod 2026-2031

Finances and culture

Decisions by national church bodies, including General Synod, need to be accompanied by accountability, good
communication, and evidence. Our failure to get our house in order in this area has led to significant frustration
across the church. If we are to improve trust, we must improve the visibility of how decisions are made, by whom,
and on what authority. |am committed to supporting moves to recentre the church - and specifically its finances
towards those most in need rather than who are most ‘successful’. | am fundamentally unconvinced that the way
we organise our wider central funding streams is either equitable or effective, particularly the allocation of SMMIB
funding at a national level. | am also unclear whether some new models of ministry are working in the way that
was envisaged or in a way that serves the wider church effectively. | was dismayed, for example, that no plan was
put in place to finance the nationally agreed increase in clergy stipends, despite concerns being raised on the floor
of General Synod, and | am absolutely committed to ensuring that neither parishes nor clergy carry the can for
poor central decision making or bad and unaccountable funding decisions. | have voted consistently in favour of
moves to increase accountability and direct money towards parishes and chaplaincies.

Vocations

There is a clear and critical need for the church to address the vocations crisis if we are to be a Christian presence
in every community. This is not solely the work of General Synod, but the Synod needs to empower those who are
best placed to deliver this in an evidenced and effective manner — and recognise the clear link to clergy wellbeing.

Safeguarding

| was extremely disappointed that the last General Synod failed to vote for full independence for safeguarding and
believe this is the only credible option in the future, one for which | voted. Safeguarding is a fundamental part of
my clinical work, and | am determined to listen to and uplift the voices of survivors in the way we address our
deeply disturbing history - and present -—in this area.

Celebrating GMH voices

| am unambiguously in support of Project Spire. There have been disturbing levels of misinformation about this
project, often the work of bad actors. | am committed not only to listening to the voices of Black clergy and laity
and others from Global Majority Heritage backgrounds that we have far too often ignored but ensuring that these
good intentions are translated into genuine action. We have far more to do here than allow ourselves to endlessly
relitigate a reparative justice initiative which — in my opinion — is the very least we should be doing. | am an active
member of the anti-racism fringe and believe this work is fundamental to our work as a diocese and church.

Intersectionality

| firmly believe that all those historically and currently excluded and othered by the church do better when we work
together, amplifying and privileging the voices of the unheard, and standing alongside one another in solidarity
with allies. | am acutely aware that there are plenty of white middle-class men on General Synod, and | will
continue to do my best to promote the voices and views of those who are too often ignored or unheard — including
those who are concerned that the current operationalisation of the Five Guiding Principles is neither just nor
equitable. The church is the Body of Christ — and it is our duty to ensure all its members, whoever they are, are
genuinely valued and welcomed. | am, therefore, absolutely committed to equality for everyone, at all levels and
roles within the church, regardless of gender, disability, ethnicity, socio-economic status, mental health, or
sexuality, and have consistently voted in favour of greater inclusion in all its forms.

Living together in communion

The previous Synod - and more recently the House of Bishops - failed spectacularly in its mission to offer ‘radical
welcome’ to LGBTQIA/queer people, like me. | was at the forefront of efforts to progress LLF and have worked
constructively at all levels within the church for greater progress in this area. | am determined to play my part to
ensure that the new working groups deliver the freedom for clergy and ordinands to enter marriages to people of
the same sex without penalty, that the current unjust (and unenforceable) restrictions on so-called ‘standalone’
services of blessing be withdrawn, and that the Church of England begins the steps towards equal marriage in
church during this quinquennium. | have no wish to exclude people, and | am also acutely aware of the damage
that ‘structural provision’ can do to the unity of Christ’s church. | am therefore committed to working in good faith
with others from different theological perspectives to find a way to a unified church in which different theological
perspectives are held with integrity. This is a Gospel imperative, and our mission and evangelism rely on our
finding a way to preach a Gospel that can be heard, and to be a church that people can believe in.

Please give me your number 1 or high preference vote! | would be honoured to be your representative on
General Synod and to strive together for the Kingdom of God.

‘Truly | tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these members of my family, you did it to me.’

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