accountability,asylum,catholic,church commissioners,deployment,diocesan council,disability,discernment,disciples,equality,established church,evangelical,evangelism,fidelity,gender identity,global majority,global majority heritage,gospel,inclusive,inclusive church,justice,lgbt,lgbtq,marriage,mental health,mission,neurodiversity,ordinands,ordination,ordination of women,poverty,prayer,prayers of love and faith,racial justice,refugees,roman catholic,sacramental,safeguarding,same sex,sexuality,stipendiary,survivors,vicarage,victims,vocations,working class

Election Address

Father Antonio Garcia Fuerte

Southwark

House of Clergy

Full Election Address Text

ANTONIO GARCÍA FUERTE

Candidate for General Synod
The Vicarage, 49 Chevening Road, London, SE19 3TD
[email protected]
Nominated by: Canon Roxanne Eversley
Seconded by: Revd Helen Harknett

I came to London from Madrid for a gap year in 2003; it has lasted rather longer than expected. I was brought up in the Roman Catholic Church, and the decisive turn in my journey towards Anglicanism came in 1996, when I spent three months at a mission in Venezuela. Three nuns sustained the Church's presence across a vast and desperately poor region, running the school and offering basic medical care to scattered communities without a resident priest. Familiar European patterns did not fit the lives before me.

That experience did not lead to an abrupt break; it began a journey that developed naturally over time. I sought a home spacious enough to affirm that God's love, gifts and grace are given equally to all, and attentive to the Spirit's work across cultures. I found that home in an Anglicanism of generous orthodoxy, where catholic and evangelical traditions enrich one another, cultural habits are not mistaken for religious identity itself, and people of different histories, cultures and languages belong equally within a communion deeper than complete agreement.

Why I am standing

I am standing because I love the Church of England and believe its breadth, parochial presence and vocation to serve every community are gifts worth strengthening. I feel called to bring parish ministry, cross-cultural mission and theological formation to Synod. I will read carefully, pray, discern, listen across disagreement and vote with courage. Unity is not uniformity; it is sustained by our common life in Christ and the bonds of love between disciples.

The ministry and experience I offer

I was ordained in 2015 in the Diocese of London. I came to Southwark in 2018, serving at St Barnabas, Dulwich, and St Christopher's Hospice, where I remain a volunteer chaplain. In 2019 I moved to St Matthew's at the Elephant to help establish and grow the Spanish Mission. Since 2022 I have been Vicar of All Saints with St Margaret, Upper Norwood. Our English- and Spanish-speaking communities worship as one congregation, working closely with our church primary school and with people seeking asylum housed in a parish hotel.

Alongside parish ministry, I serve as an Area Director of Ordinands, on Diocesan Synod and the Diocesan Council of Trustees. I mentor priests, practise as an Ignatian spiritual director, and belong to the diocesan LGBT+ Clergy Group. I have taught this year alongside a fellow priest, Sacramental Theology and Ministry at St Augustine's and I will tutor on the SPIDIR course, starting September 26. My formation includes a bachelor's degree in Sacred Theology and a master degree in Pastoral Theology, alongside ordination training at Westcott House. Music, walking, photography, local history, bookbinding and woodworking help me slow down, pay attention and remain curious.

What I would bring to Synod

Parish leadership: rooted in local communities and the daily realities of ministry.
Cross-cultural mission: across languages, traditions and social backgrounds.
Theological and pastoral depth: joined to spiritual direction and vocation discernment.
Governance and collaboration: working constructively across disagreement while remaining accountable.

Christ at the centre

The Church is not the object of our faith; Jesus Christ is. Structures and resources are faithful only when they help people to encounter and follow him. Safeguarding is a test of that fidelity. Children and vulnerable adults must be protected; victims and survivors must be heard, believed and supported; and institutional reputation must never come before truth or justice. Transparent accountability and genuinely independent scrutiny are essential. Where the Church has failed, it must name the harm, accept responsibility and change.

A generous and inclusive Church

I am committed to equality for everyone, at every level and in every role, regardless of disability, economic circumstances, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity or sexuality.

I fully support the ordination of women as priests and bishops. Women's access to stipendiary, full-time and senior responsibilities remains uneven. Some causes lie within the Church and others beyond it, but the Church should lead in ensuring equality of opportunity between women and men. Commitments to racial justice and wider inclusion must also become reality in formation, appointments, funding and access.

I support the Prayers of Love and Faith, including standalone services, equal marriage in the Church of England, and the freedom of clergy to enter same-sex civil marriages. This is rooted in the image of God borne by every person and in the fruits of the Spirit I recognise in faithful LGBTQ+ couples and families. We can protect conscience and honest theological disagreement without separate structures or making LGBTQ+ people bear its cost indefinitely.

Renewing the parish for mission

The parochial principle is one of the Church of England's greatest gifts: a Christian presence committed to every community. I will advocate for the maximum sustainable share of Church Commissioners' funds to reach parishes, stipendiary ministry and the least-resourced communities. New mission should complement patient parish ministry and be judged by its durability and fruitfulness.

Asking fewer clergy to carry ever larger collections of churches is unsustainable. Structures, vocations, deployment and funding should be considered together and, through honest consultation and local discernment, adapted with care.

Professional support with administration, compliance, buildings and grants can free clergy and lay leaders for prayer, worship, pastoral care, evangelism and Christian formation. Creative solutions need not reinvent the wheel; renewal may lie in strengthening the spokes that already carry the Gospel into every community.

Vocation, formation and reconciliation

Vocations grow through ministry that is demanding but joyful, prayerful and life-giving. Theological formation should be lifelong, and we must seek vocation beyond familiar networks, working with working-class communities, churches led by people of Global Majority Heritage, disabled and neurodivergent people, and LGBTQ+ groups.

Serious disagreement need not become hostility: reconciliation is part of the Gospel we proclaim.

The stranger becoming a neighbour

Welcoming the stranger and defending the dignity of displaced people are not optional additions to the Gospel. Ministry among people seeking asylum has taught me that accommodation is not enough: people need belonging, continuity and the opportunity to contribute. The Church's parochial presence can help people to become rooted anew.

As the established Church, we have a particular responsibility to speak without fear for those whom voices in public life exclude or turn against: refugees and people seeking asylum, people living in poverty and working-class communities. In the communities I serve, the Church's welcome, kindness and practical solidarity matter deeply. Every person bears God's image; when strangers become neighbours, we offer a sign of the Kingdom.

I have not served on General Synod before and do not imagine easy answers. If elected, I will consult Southwark's clergy, seek wisdom across disagreement, communicate Synod's work clearly and remain accountable to the diocese.

Thank you for reading my election address. I would be grateful for your first or highest possible preference, and would serve in that spirit: listening carefully, speaking honestly and seeking Christ in all things.

Terms used in address

accountability,asylum,catholic,church commissioners,deployment,diocesan council,disability,discernment,disciples,equality,established church,evangelical,evangelism,fidelity,gender identity,global majority,global majority heritage,gospel,inclusive,inclusive church,justice,lgbt,lgbtq,marriage,mental health,mission,neurodiversity,ordinands,ordination,ordination of women,poverty,prayer,prayers of love and faith,racial justice,refugees,roman catholic,sacramental,safeguarding,same sex,sexuality,stipendiary,survivors,vicarage,victims,vocations,working class

Theological Tradition Terms

catholic,evangelical,inclusive,inclusive church

Theological Tradition Sentences

I was brought up in the Roman Catholic Church, and the decisive turn in my journey towards Anglicanism came in 1996, when I spent three months at a mission in Venezuela. ------ I found that home in an Anglicanism of generous orthodoxy, where catholic and evangelical traditions enrich one another, cultural habits are not mistaken for religious identity itself, and people of different histories, cultures and languages belong equally within a communion deeper than complete agreement. ------ A generous and inclusive Church

Sexuality, Marriage & LLF/PLF Terms

fidelity,gender identity,lgbt,lgbtq,marriage,prayers of love and faith,same sex,sexuality

Sexuality, Marriage & LLF/PLF Sentences

I mentor priests, practise as an Ignatian spiritual director, and belong to the diocesan LGBT+ Clergy Group. ------ Safeguarding is a test of that fidelity. ------ I am committed to equality for everyone, at every level and in every role, regardless of disability, economic circumstances, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity or sexuality. ------ I support the Prayers of Love and Faith, including standalone services, equal marriage in the Church of England, and the freedom of clergy to enter same-sex civil marriages. ------ This is rooted in the image of God borne by every person and in the fruits of the Spirit I recognise in faithful LGBTQ+ couples and families. ------ We can protect conscience and honest theological disagreement without separate structures or making LGBTQ+ people bear its cost indefinitely. ------ Theological formation should be lifelong, and we must seek vocation beyond familiar networks, working with working-class communities, churches led by people of Global Majority Heritage, disabled and neurodivergent people, and LGBTQ+ groups.

Safeguarding Terms

safeguarding,survivors,victims

Safeguarding Sentences

Safeguarding is a test of that fidelity. ------ Children and vulnerable adults must be protected; victims and survivors must be heard, believed and supported; and institutional reputation must never come before truth or justice.

Evangelism, Mission & Church Growth Terms

disciples,evangelism,gospel,mission

Evangelism, Mission & Church Growth Sentences

I was brought up in the Roman Catholic Church, and the decisive turn in my journey towards Anglicanism came in 1996, when I spent three months at a mission in Venezuela. ------ I feel called to bring parish ministry, cross-cultural mission and theological formation to Synod. ------ Unity is not uniformity; it is sustained by our common life in Christ and the bonds of love between disciples. ------ In 2019 I moved to St Matthew's at the Elephant to help establish and grow the Spanish Mission. ------ Cross-cultural mission: across languages, traditions and social backgrounds. ------ Renewing the parish for mission ------ New mission should complement patient parish ministry and be judged by its durability and fruitfulness. ------ Professional support with administration, compliance, buildings and grants can free clergy and lay leaders for prayer, worship, pastoral care, evangelism and Christian formation. ------ Creative solutions need not reinvent the wheel; renewal may lie in strengthening the spokes that already carry the Gospel into every community. ------ Serious disagreement need not become hostility: reconciliation is part of the Gospel we proclaim. ------ Welcoming the stranger and defending the dignity of displaced people are not optional additions to the Gospel.

Doctrine & Formularies Terms

discernment,prayer,sacramental

Doctrine & Formularies Sentences

I have taught this year alongside a fellow priest, Sacramental Theology and Ministry at St Augustine's and I will tutor on the SPIDIR course, starting September 26. ------ Theological and pastoral depth: joined to spiritual direction and vocation discernment. ------ Structures, vocations, deployment and funding should be considered together and, through honest consultation and local discernment, adapted with care. ------ Professional support with administration, compliance, buildings and grants can free clergy and lay leaders for prayer, worship, pastoral care, evangelism and Christian formation.

Society, Justice & Inclusion Terms

asylum,disability,equality,global majority,global majority heritage,justice,mental health,neurodiversity,poverty,racial justice,refugees,working class

Society, Justice & Inclusion Sentences

Our English- and Spanish-speaking communities worship as one congregation, working closely with our church primary school and with people seeking asylum housed in a parish hotel. ------ Children and vulnerable adults must be protected; victims and survivors must be heard, believed and supported; and institutional reputation must never come before truth or justice. ------ I am committed to equality for everyone, at every level and in every role, regardless of disability, economic circumstances, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity or sexuality. ------ Some causes lie within the Church and others beyond it, but the Church should lead in ensuring equality of opportunity between women and men. ------ Commitments to racial justice and wider inclusion must also become reality in formation, appointments, funding and access. ------ Theological formation should be lifelong, and we must seek vocation beyond familiar networks, working with working-class communities, churches led by people of Global Majority Heritage, disabled and neurodivergent people, and LGBTQ+ groups. ------ Ministry among people seeking asylum has taught me that accommodation is not enough: people need belonging, continuity and the opportunity to contribute. ------ As the established Church, we have a particular responsibility to speak without fear for those whom voices in public life exclude or turn against: refugees and people seeking asylum, people living in poverty and working-class communities.

Clergy Concerns Terms

deployment,stipendiary,vicarage,vocations

Clergy Concerns Sentences

The Vicarage, 49 Chevening Road, London, SE19 3TD ------ Women's access to stipendiary, full-time and senior responsibilities remains uneven. ------ I will advocate for the maximum sustainable share of Church Commissioners' funds to reach parishes, stipendiary ministry and the least-resourced communities. ------ Structures, vocations, deployment and funding should be considered together and, through honest consultation and local discernment, adapted with care. ------ Vocations grow through ministry that is demanding but joyful, prayerful and life-giving.

Church Structure & Policy Terms

accountability,church commissioners,diocesan council,established church,ordinands,ordination,ordination of women,vocations

Church Structures & Policy Sentences

Alongside parish ministry, I serve as an Area Director of Ordinands, on Diocesan Synod and the Diocesan Council of Trustees. ------ My formation includes a bachelor's degree in Sacred Theology and a master degree in Pastoral Theology, alongside ordination training at Westcott House. ------ Transparent accountability and genuinely independent scrutiny are essential. ------ I fully support the ordination of women as priests and bishops. ------ I will advocate for the maximum sustainable share of Church Commissioners' funds to reach parishes, stipendiary ministry and the least-resourced communities. ------ Structures, vocations, deployment and funding should be considered together and, through honest consultation and local discernment, adapted with care. ------ Vocations grow through ministry that is demanding but joyful, prayerful and life-giving. ------ As the established Church, we have a particular responsibility to speak without fear for those whom voices in public life exclude or turn against: refugees and people seeking asylum, people living in poverty and working-class communities.

Other Churches & Other Faiths Terms

roman catholic

Other Churches & Other Faiths Sentences

I was brought up in the Roman Catholic Church, and the decisive turn in my journey towards Anglicanism came in 1996, when I spent three months at a mission in Venezuela.

Youth & Next Generation Terms

Youth & Next Generation Sentences