clergy wellbeing,deployment,environment,inclusive,inclusive church,net zero,pcc,poverty,prayers of love and faith,rural poverty,same sex,same-sex couples,vacancy

DIANA FAVELL

Standing for the role of Lay Member of the General Synod

Proposed by John Hoyland (Diocesan Synod Member)
and Bridget Hugh-Jones (Deanery Synod Member)

Dear Deanery Synod Member,

| hope you will consider voting for me in the upcoming
General Synod election. | have served briefly, since a by-
election last October, and am now keen to serve a full term.

| was born in South Shields but then moved south when my
father, an electrical design engineer, became a late
ordinand. He subsequently had parishes in Birmingham and
the South Wales mining valleys.

As a young adult, | found my way into theatre, and after an
Equity Apprenticeship in Stage Management | spent more
than 10 years stage managing theatres around the country
—the Young Vic in London, the Chichester Festival Theatre,
Manchester’s Royal Exchange and the Bristol Old Vic.

| settled in Bristol, marrying actor/director Andrew Hilton.
We have one son.

My career swerved and | began to stage manage national events. These included the Euro 96 Opening
Ceremony, Pope Benedict’s Service of Beatification of Cardinal Henry Newman at Cofton Park in 2010,
and two years later the Queen’s Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant.

| have always been a regular church goer. While in Bristol | attended the inclusive Cotham Parish
Church, where | was a Church Warden and at different times ran Junior Church, a monthly tea and
activity group for older members, and served on the PCC. My understanding of the challenges of
running a church and the varied aspects of church life | now bring to my new life in Cornwall.

Living in Mousehole, | worship at Paul Church (St Pol de Leon), part of the Penlee Cluster. This has a
strong relationship with Mousehole School where | am involved with Open The Book. | also sing in the
church choir, am on the PCC and Deanery Synod and help run a weekly Julian Group. Being deeply
rooted in church and community is very much part of living my faith.

l appreciate the beauty of Cornwall but am also aware of its many areas of deprivation, so reminiscent
of South Wales in the wake of the pit closures. In the Penlee Cluster our churches support local food
banks, a Holiday Club for local children and St Mary’s, Penzance, operates a night church. St Pol de Leon
is part of the Inclusive Church Network, and was the first Anglican Church in Cornwall to receive this
accreditation. Being a church open for everyone in our community is something | believe passionately.

My working life has been unusual but has prepared me to absorb information quickly, to listen,
and make thoughtful, but firm, decisions.

contd/

1 Commercial Road Mousehole Penzance TR19 6QG [email protected]

Faith and Inspiration

| believe in the inclusivity of God’s invitation, His welcome and love for all. | am inspired by the life of
St Francis of Assisi, the writings of Julian of Norwich and Richard Rohr’s Center for Action and
Contemplation.

I’m also inspired by our landscape and our Celtic Saints, their names
so present in our villages and churches with stone crosses and holy
wells scattered liberally. This is an etching | made of a pre-Norman
cross-head placed in the wall of Paul Churchyard.

The Synod

| was elected to General Synod last October in a casual vacancy and
attended the February and July Synods. It was a fascinating
experience, and although rather like joining a new school mid-term,
it has made me hungry to continue. | found it a forum for difficult

but important conversations, a place to discuss international
subjects as well as national and local, and to make a difference.

| was pleased to be part of a Fringe meeting with the other Truro reps on rural poverty. The meeting
was organised by Revd Andrew Yates and explored Truro Diocese’s Pretty Poverty Report.

| want Synod to support the parish system, to ensure a Christian presence in every community. Local
churches must be given adequate support within the framework of funding and national decisions. This
includes the provision and deployment of clergy, clergy wellbeing, connecting parish churches with
communities and maintaining church buildings.

| believe in a church for everyone, where all feel they belong and are valued for who they are. | support
clergy being able to use the Prayers of Love and Faith with same sex couples, where they think it is
pastorally appropriate. | also support clergy not to have to use these prayers. We need to make space
for us all to worship within our conscience and to respect deeply held views.

| support moves within the Church to respect and safeguard the natural environment. We need to be
responsible to future generations, including moving to be carbon net zero, and to help natural
environments thrive. As a major landowner the Church of England has a special role to play in
protecting nature and supporting tenants on its land to use it responsibly for the long term.

We need to ensure the Church’s place in the
life of the community, that the vital meeting
of sacred and secular, is never overlooked. This
is something we mark annually in Mousehole,
with residents and holidaymakers coming
together for the joyful Blessing of the Penlee
Lifeboat in the Harbour on an August high tide.

Don’t forget to use your vote. Votes must
be in by Tuesday 13*" October

1 Commercial Road Mousehole Penzance TR19 6QG [email protected]