anglo-catholic,catholic,deaneries,equality,liberal,marriage,neurodiversity,retirement

Election to the General Synod for Southwark Diocese –
September 2026

IAN SHAW OBE, St Barnabas Church, Southﬁelds
Wandsworth Deanery

Nominated by Dr Krista Ovist (Southﬁelds) and
Mr Tim Taylor (Southﬁelds)

Dear Deanery Synod Member
I am seeking your support to represent the Southwark Diocese in the General Synod.
About me
I am 64 years old. I have been in a single-sex relationship since 1986 (Civil Partnership in
2006, Civil Partnership converted into marriage September 2026). I am also dyslexic.
I come from a family which has been actively involved in the Anglican Church for many years:
my late maternal grandfather was a lay-reader; I was a choirboy in two Churches in
Caterham. My interest in the Anglican Church deepened since my studies at school of the
Reformation in Europe and in England and Wales in particular. My theology is liberal Anglo-
Catholic. My roles at St Barnabas church include being Churchwarden, organising rotas for
readers and intercessors and being a chalice bearer.
Although I have been a member of the Anglican Church, I have been more proactively
involved in Church life since my retirement in 2020. This proactivity was inspired by my
involvement in the local community, e.g. Secretary to the Southﬁelds Grid Residents’
Association. These joint activities have made me realise the vast importance that the role of
our Parish Church, and by extension the Church of England generally, plays in our local
community/ies.
Prior to my retirement I was a Civil Servant from 1983 to 2020. Starting oﬀ as a Clerical
Oﬃcer I worked my way up the ladder to retire just below senior civil service. In my varied
career, I led on: policy development (equality legislation); project managing two
controversial government bills through Parliament; communications on subjects such as
implications of human reproductive cloning, GM food and crops, implications of oﬀshoring
jobs from UK to other countries, Europe and world trade developments, e.g. Doha talks in
2001; transferring assets and liabilities from the regional development agencies to central
government. These programmes/projects, plus my work on promoting equality of
opportunity, were the reasons for my being awarded an OBE in 2015.
I would bring the following personal attributes to my representative role: good interpersonal
skills (being a good listener and a good communicator); good reputation for being an
eﬀective trouble-shooter, this is aligned to my ability to adopt a strategic way of thinking
about issues/concerns/ideas, work out what needs improving and then assembling a team
to carry out those improvements. Though I do focus mainly on the big picture, I can also

bring forensic skills to pay attention to details. I am also not afraid to speak truth to power,
ensuring when doing so, I do so constructively. Although I like to face challenges, I have
been known to remain calm under pressure.
I believe the skills, experience and personal attributes gained from work, involvement in
local activities and my historical and theological interest in the Anglican Church will be of use
if I am to be your representative for the Southwark Diocese.
What would I like to focus my energies on if sitting in the General Synod
I care deeply about the state of the Church of England and its ability to make a diﬀerence in
peoples’ lives. To do that, I do believe that more could be done to make the Church and the
General Synod, in particular, more relevant to people in today’s society, through:
• improving the way the Church of England responds to criticisms when made public
• ensuring (and updating, if necessary) eﬀective pragmatic governance structures to help
build and maintain trust in the Church of England
• streamlining bureaucracy in the Church of England to ensure that it responds more
ﬂexibly and pragmatically to future challenges
• empowering volunteers assisting their parish churches when serving the community so
that they should feel conﬁdent in pursuing pragmatic courses of action
• ensuring that the Church of England, in its promotion of equality of opportunity, has
processes in place to encourage those who have neurodiversity issues to participate
more fully in Church life.
• ensuring parish churches not only act as focal points of activities in their communities
but also as areas of peace and quiet for those wishing to take a break from today’s
frantic IT/24hours news world.
My commitment to you if elected
Strong and regular engagement (including consultation), with all Southwark Deaneries
between sittings of the Synod.
Strong commitment to equality of opportunity for all in the Church and for those who come
to Church.
When voting on motions etc., I will do so objectively and on the expert advice available and
not guided by peer pressure or trendy thinking.

If you’d like to know more, please contact me at [email protected].
Thank you for reading this. I hope that I can count on your support.
Yours faithfully

Ian Shaw OBE
147 Brookwood Road, Southﬁelds, London SW18 5BD