General Synod Election Candidates 2026

Melanie Burnside
Before ordination
15 years in the grain industry, working
with rural and agricultural businesses.
Ministry
Vicar of eight churches; Assistant
Diocesan Director of Ordinands; former
Methodist Authorised Presbyter
alongside Anglican ministry; experience
of supporting curates on placement.
Leadership & mission
Germinate Leadership; Saint Aelred's
Pilgrim Trail; two major National Lottery
Heritage Fund projects.
Children & young people
A strong supporter of children and youth
ministry. Our churches employ a Children
and Youth Worker working across
churches, schools and communities.
Family
Married to Ben, with three adult children
and two grandchildren.
“Mel is a prayerful and practical person
with a deep love and understanding of
the Church of England. As a member of
General Synod, she would work to ensure
that the voices of under-represented
groups are not only heard, but listened to
with respect and compassion.”
Lucy Willshaw, Youth & Children’s
Worker/LLM (Reader)
01439 741282
[email protected]
The Vicarage, Baxtons Road, Helmsley, York, YO62 5HT
WHY I AM STANDING
About Me
Vicar of Helmsley and Upper Ryedale, Cleveland Archdeaconry
Nominated by: The Venerable Dr Amanda Bloor, Archdeacon of Cleveland
Seconded by: The Revd Canon Maggie McLean, Canon Missioner, York Minster
I feel called to stand for General Synod
because I love the Church of England and
believe God is calling us to be a Church in
which everyone can belong, participate and
flourish. At the heart of my faith is the
conviction that every person is made in the
image of God and that the Gospel of Jesus
Christ is good news for everyone.
I come from a working-class background and
was brought up by a single mother in former
mining
communities
in
Derbyshire.
My
childhood was not always settled, and later in
life I experienced periods of unemployment,
reliance on the benefits system and housing
insecurity, including a time when my family
needed emergency accommodation. I also live
with a chronic neurological condition. I was the
first in my family to gain a degree. My life and
ministry have since taken me through market
town and coastal communities to the rural
communities I serve today. Those experiences
have given me a lasting awareness of how
easily circumstances can change, of the
barriers people can face, and of whose voices
can be missing when decisions are made.
I am committed to equality for everyone, at all
levels and roles within the Church, regardless
of disability, economic power, ethnicity, sex,
gender identity, learning disability, mental
health,
neurodiversity
or
sexuality.
I
wholeheartedly support the ordination and
equal ministry of women at every level of the
Church and the full inclusion of LGBTQ+
people.
For me, inclusion means everyone, because
God's love is for everyone.

I care about clergy wellbeing and sustainable parish ministry, but equally about lay
vocation. Lay people are not simply there to fill gaps left by fewer clergy. God calls
lay and ordained people to different and complementary ministries, and both need
to be valued, supported and heard.
My ministry is also deeply ecumenical. Alongside being an Anglican priest, I served
concurrently as an Authorised Presbyter in the Methodist Church. That experience
strengthened my belief that we have much to receive from Christians of different
traditions and that our shared life and witness matter.
Among the continuing work of General Synod, I am particularly interested in
inclusion and racial justice; clergy care and wellbeing; sustainable ministry and
funding; safeguarding and healthy governance; church buildings and mission;
ecumenism; and children and young people.
PARISH, PLACE AND PIONEERING MINISTRY
I serve eight churches across a large rural area
of North Yorkshire. Although our communities
can appear prosperous, rural poverty,
domestic abuse, loneliness and isolation are
often hidden, while poor transport and digital
connectivity create real inequalities of access.
I am strongly committed to the parish system,
but that does not mean resisting change. I am
leading two major National Lottery Heritage
Fund projects bringing together buildings,
heritage, mission and community
engagement.
Through developing the Saint Aelred's Pilgrim Trail I have also discovered how
pilgrimage can open new ways for people to encounter God through our churches,
Christian heritage and landscape.
I believe the Church needs both rootedness and imagination.
MINISTRY TOGETHER
WHAT I WOULD BRING
I would bring convictions, but also a willingness to listen. I would engage seriously
with people whose experience or theology differs from mine, and seek God's
wisdom through prayer, careful listening and thoughtful engagement.
Above all, I would keep asking what decisions made nationally will mean for the
parishes, clergy, lay people and communities who have to live with them.
I would be honoured to represent the clergy of the Diocese of York and would be
grateful for your highest possible preference.

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