General Synod Election Candidates 2026

Revd Dr Angela Sheard
Anglican Tutor at The Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham

Proposer: Revd Canon Dr Georgina Byrne, The Queen’s Foundation
Seconder: Revd Dr Erica Longfellow, University of Oxford (New College)

I am standing for election for one of the four seats reserved in General Synod to represent the
Universities & Theological Education Institutions sectors. This is my first time standing for election.

My context
I was received into the Church of England in 2018 from the Roman Catholic Church. Although I do not
find labels particularly helpful, I broadly identify as modern Catholic. My time spent at a Jesuit-run
university chaplaincy was important for my own faith development, and Ignatian Spirituality continues
to be important for me today. The Eucharist, the Examen and imaginative contemplation are just some
of the practices that connect my Anglicanism with my Roman Catholic background. These practices
ground me in the creator God, bring me into an encounter with Jesus and open me up to the grace and
guidance of the Holy Spirit.

My first degree was in medicine and after graduating I worked for three years as a junior doctor. I then
trained for ordination residentially at The Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham, and served my curacy at
St Martin-in-the-Fields, London. I then returned to Queen’s where I now serve as Anglican Tutor. My
role involves teaching and pastoral care for Anglican and Methodist ministerial students, on both full-
time (residential and contextual) and part-time pathways. I am married to a Methodist presbyter (who
I met at Queen’s!) who has pastoral responsibility for three churches in Buckinghamshire, where I live.
At Queen’s I trained alongside Methodist colleagues, and I am also part of the Life in Covenant group
working on the Anglican-Methodist Covenant. I also regularly take services in both Church of England
and Methodist churches in my local area. My commitment to working ecumenically at both local and
national level is clear and I would hope to bring a broad ecumenical perspective to Synod.

Why I’m standing for election
I am motivated to stand in relation to three issues affecting the Church of England.
The first is the importance of greater investment in theological education, which relies upon strong
relationships between the Church, TEIs and universities, and which should be an essential part of
formation for ordained and lay ministries. The flourishing of theological education across the different
modes and pathways requires additional investment, both in terms of resources and in strengthening
the essential relationships mentioned above. For me, this must be viewed not as a ‘quick fix’ but as a
long-term commitment to enriching the discipleship, ministry and mission of the whole people of
God.

Secondly, I support greater equity, diversity and inclusion in all its forms in the Church of England.
I am mixed-race and was a founding member of UKME Ordinands and Curates. In my role at Queen’s, I
am also part of a three-year project around anti-racism in theological education, funded by the Racial
Justice Unit. I would advocate for anti-racism teaching and practice to become more deeply
embedded in theological education, including the full implementation of recommendations

in Lament to Action. I support the full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people in the life of the Church and
ongoing work towards further justice in this regard. During my curacy I was also part of the Disability
Advisory Group at St-Martin-in-the-Fields, and was involved in their annual disability conference run in
partnership with Inclusive Church. This gave me valuable insight into the experiences of disabled
people in the Church, and the ongoing need for their greater inclusion. I believe that discrimination
and abuse directed against those who are UKME/GMH, LGBTQIA+, disabled and all other marginalized
groups is a safeguarding issue in its own right. The Church must embed best practice and place the
voices of all survivors at the centre of our safeguarding processes, and there needs to be greater
accountability from Synod for the change in culture that this will entail.

Thirdly, I would advocate for a wider theological conversation around the relationship between
God’s mission, the Church and growth. Numerical church growth is currently framed as a missional
priority within the Vision for the Church of England in the 2020s. However, I believe our missiology has
been insufficiently attentive to the problems associated with a priority on growth and innovation in
both church and wider society. The work of sociologist Hartmut Rosa describes a process of ‘social
acceleration’ which threatens the existence of state institutions, worsens social isolation and
intensifies pressure on individuals to live at an ever-increasing pace. Within the Church, pressure to
grow in the face of diminishing resources and numerical decline places clergy and congregations at
risk of burnout and creates a sense of shame if they are unable to meet institutional targets.
Meanwhile, large sums of money are allocated as time-limited funding for new and innovative
projects, rather than supporting existing churches that are struggling financially. I believe that these
issues should prompt and deepen our theological reflection. These issues are the subject of my
doctoral research, which uses the work of Hartmut Rosa in conversation with emerging theological
voices to explore alternative missiological approaches for the Church of England.

In terms of my own theological position, I believe that the mission of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
extends far beyond the Church, and we need to be braver in our discernment of what God desires for
us as Christ’s Church. I believe that our existential anxiety around the survival of our institution is at
heart a spiritual issue – while wise leadership needs to be exercised in the face of declining resources,
the greater challenge is the steadfast holding of a non-anxious space within which we can discern
God’s voice.

Please do get in touch with me if you have any questions about what I have said, or wish to raise any
further issues. I would be grateful for your first-preference vote.

Angela Sheard, The Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham B15 2QH
[email protected]

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