General Synod Election Candidates 2026

I am standing for election to General Synod because I believe the Church is at its best when
it is willing to listen deeply, speak courageously and act justly. Being at its best also means
being willing to challenge the Church to become more fully the Church God calls us to be.
My ministry, vocation and wider work have been shaped by a deep commitment to justice,
inclusion and ensuring that the voices of those who are too often at the margins are heard
in the places where decisions are made. Both within my ministry and in my professional life,
I have sought to create spaces where people who are too often spoken about can instead
speak for themselves, where power is taken seriously, and where lived experience helps
shape the decisions we make. I want to bring that same commitment to General Synod:
representing the concerns of our communities, asking difficult questions when necessary,
and helping the Church think seriously about how its decisions affect people both within and
beyond our congregations.
For me, representation matters. At the heart of my understanding of the Church is Paul’s
image of the Body of Christ: many members, different gifts, but one body. “If one member
suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together.” This is not
simply an attractive image of diversity; it is an ecclesiology. We need one another in order
to be the Church. Our structures of leadership and decision-making should reflect that body
in its fullness and entirety. That means a Synod in which different races, cultures, ages,
traditions, social backgrounds, and lived experiences are not simply present but can shape
the life and direction of the Church.
That is why representation matters to me. A Synod that looks like the Body of Christ in its
fullness and entirety is not about representation for representation’s sake. It is about
recognising that the wisdom, experience and gifts of the whole Church are necessary for
our common discernment. Race, class, age, disability, gender, sexuality, church tradition and
the different communities and contexts in which we minister all shape what we see and the
questions we bring.
As Anglicans, we know something about living with difference. Our common life has never
depended upon everyone thinking, worshipping or interpreting the world in precisely the
same way. At our best, we hold scripture, tradition and reason together, listen for the
movement of the Holy Spirit, and remain at the table even when agreement is difficult.
I would bring to Synod a commitment to justice alongside a willingness to listen, engage
across difference and seek common ground. I believe we can hold together our diversity
while remaining rooted in our shared calling to follow Christ.
I am standing because I want to help build a Church that can make room for the whole
Body of Christ, that can hold difference faithfully and that is courageous enough to
recognise that justice is not an optional addition to the Gospel, but part of our witness to
the Kingdom of God. And that is attentive to its communities and confident enough to make
space for the breadth of gifts, experiences and voices God has given us.

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