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Tim Nickels
Picking candidates for Synod is hard. I’ve tried to be honest. My
CV is not dazzling. My church congregation is not big and
impressive. I don’t have easy answers. But Synod is a place
for people that think, not just those that do. I’m shaped by
coming from a poor parish, gratefully reliant on the generosity of
you all. That’s why I’m standing.
I believe in the Church of England
We are in a season of change. Vocations are low, income is
declining, and complexity is up. As a Church I feel we are
scared of the future. That fear is causing us to factionalise and fight for churches ‘like us’.
I believe God wants better.
Simpler, Humbler, Bolder has been a great slogan. I want to see more of it on the ground.
We need to learn to trust each other. I think reserving some money for strategic
initiatives is right. But I have seen first hand how we have bathed it in bureaucracy,
creating huge amounts of work (and cost) through the system, and pulling people away
from their priestly callings. Simpler processes, less time, more trust.
More Joined up thinking. Perhaps if we invested in Solar Panels, Heat pumps and EV
points for most vicarages, we could improve clergy welfare and hit our net-zero targets.
Skills I’ll bring:
The world that shapes me.
Skills I’ll bring:
Synod involves processing a lot of
papers.
My career has been in software
development in the private sector. My role
often requires reassessing the past, and
seeing what change can achieve, as well
as looking at the impact on people and
cost of changes, and drilling into the
detail to help get it right.
I’m not afraid to ask difficult questions,
but still look to reach consensus. I’m
also used to setting and reading budgets.
I have postgraduate experience, both full
time doing a masters in AI at 36, and a
Certificate in Theology (part time - BPP)
in my 50s. I am used to processing large
amounts of information, identiying salient
points, suspicious gaps and hidden bias.
The church that shapes me
I believe in the Anglican church. The basic
model of parish where everyone has a priest,
and each church worships and shares God’s
love in it’s Community. In the words of
Archbishop Temple,“The Church is the only
institution that exists primarily for the
benefit of those who are not its members.”.
I believe in unity in diversity, and scripture,
reason and tradition. That stands for the
principle of catholicity despite all our
differences.
I believe in a church for everyone. And to me
that means regardless of disability, ethnicity,
gender, socio-economic status, mental health,
sexuality or neurodiversity.
A church based on God’s love that accepts
people as they are. A Church that believes it is
the Holy Spirit that will guide them into truth.
Like my beard, sometimes change is
necessary

Church Life
In the upper 6th I found myself drawn to God, (or he drew me to him?) and committed to Christ at a
CYFA camp. Since then I have done my best to follow him. My spiritual DNA is Anglican Evangelical
(in that order). From receiving Charismatic gifts while on a retreat at a Catholic Nunnery to seeing
5000 pounds turn into over 100,000 in grants for essential building repairs. God is constantly
surprising.
I’m currently a churchwarden. I have spent most of my life now worshipping in Anglican Churches,
and for most of that, sat on PCC’s, Deanery and Diocesan Synods in 3 dioceses.
I get the system, grit my teeth and get on with it!
I spent time on the edge of of the CofE as a founder member and part of the leadership of an
“alternative worship congregation” – a space to explore faith more widely in a culture of clubbing and
the creative arts.. I found amidst hi-tech presentation, the stripped back simplicity of the desert
fathers spoke more and more. I discovered ritual.
I hold the Bishops permission to preach and BCM worship, and use both regularly,
I carry the scars of endless church reorganisation or the threat of it. I have been in a large church
that shrank by more people than attended the church the Vicar was asked to take over. ,I have been
through losing a full time vicar, being effectively run by curates and a 3 year temporary post.
I’ve been a treasurer leading a church to increase giving to cover a doubled parish share.
Beyond systems and Sundays, to me it means being part of reaching out. To the homeless who eat
lunch (and occasionally reside in the porch). To those who top up their larder with surplus food
collections. The different groups meeting everyday for companionship and community. Seeing seeds
of love sown, responses in finding out more of faith, new commitments to Christ.
The rest of life
We cannot help but be shaped by our surroundings.
I’m 60, white male and middle class and grew up on a village on the edge of a large town. One of
the few people who took Paul seriously when he said it’s good to be unmarried. I have always been
single, celibate and (just for the record) straight.
Since leaving home, I’ve lived in poor inner city communities. I love the vibrancy, and the mix of
cultures. I love that I can see my giving make a direct impact on those struggling in our community.
I’ve experienced the best and worst of people. I find Jesus here.
My life has not been a bed of roses. From a rapidly advancing career, the dotcom crash saw me in
the US, outsourcing the remains of my department and working myself out of a job. Forced back to
the UK by my visa, I spent too long unemployed, and had to take work in a call centre, developing
depression. I had the cushion of savings but most are not so lucky. I understand the challenges of
getting by.
I’ve spent the last 20 years in St Denys in Southampton. To me, It’s a village in the centre of the city.
In the houses around mine, you’ll find the retired, people with lifetime disabilities, yound families,
families where the adult children are still crammed in, unable to afford housing of their own.
Professional single people like me. White vans parked, taxis belonging to Asian families, graduates
cycling to the office. Students crammed in to share the cost.
A place defined not by those from outside who come in and shout abuse at the asylum hostel, or
rioted over the death of a student. But by the joyous refugee Ethiopian Orthodox congregation that
meets in our building, and those who went to clean up the mess. I love my parish.