General Synod Election Candidates 2026

Adam Gaunt
Rector of Loftus-in-Cleveland & Carlin How with Skinningrove
in the Deanery of Guisborough & Archdeaconry of Cleveland
Proposed by: Adam Reed Saltburn-by-the-Sea: Emmanuel
Seconded by: Ross Copley Middlesbrough: All Saints
Thank you for engaging with my election address for General Synod 2026
A
bout Adam… Born in Middlesbrough and raised in the deanery of Guisborough, I read
Theology at Saint John’s College, University of Durham, graduating in 2000 and subsequently
gained a MA by thesis in 2002. After concluding my research degree, I worked as a Pastoral Assistant in
the Parish of Saint Thomas, Brambles Farm, in Middlesbrough, before reading for Holy Orders at Saint
Stephen’s House, University of Oxford 2003-2005. Ordained Deacon by the Bishop of Hull in York
Minster in June 2005 and Priest by the Bishop of Whitby in July 2006, I served my curacy in the Parish of
The Ascension in Middlesbrough. Following my curacy, I was Instituted as Rector of Loftus-in-Cleveland
and Carlin How with Skinningrove by the Bishop of Hull in March 2009 and have served sixteen years
as Parish Priest in this unique, lively, and growing coastal benefice.
A
dam’s Ministry… Alongside this life-giving parochial ministry, I have served as a member of
our Diocesan Synod since 2006. Since 2017 I have served in the diocese as a trustee for Together
Middlesbrough & Cleveland, and in the wider community as a trustee of the Middlesbrough Football Club
Foundation from 2019. In 2014 I was appointed the Bishop of Beverley’s Representative and have positively
assisted with a number of key appointments to Society Parishes in our diocese. I am an active member
of the Faith Workers Branch of Unite the Union and regularly attend meetings with fellow colleagues and
with our Archdeacons, supporting best practice in our shared ministry. I am also a member of the
Deanery Leadership Team and in 2025 I was honoured to be made a non-residentiary canon of our
diocesan cathedral.
A
dam in General Synod… First elected in 2015, I am a member of the Catholic Group on
General Synod and served as Chairman from 2022 to 2025.
Since 2017 I have fully engaged in the Living and Love and Faith (LLF) process and was an active
participant in the LLF Working Groups (Leicester Groups) 2024 – 2026. While never compromising my
own conscience, I have worked pragmatically to help identify possible ways ahead and to seek a lasting
settlement. I have also demonstrated my ability to work with the many different Anglican traditions as
represented in the breadth of The Alliance of which I have became a director in 2024.
In January 2023 I was appointed to the House of Bishops Standing Commission on the House of
Bishops’ Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests (the Five Guiding Principles) which has positively
affirmed my commitment to genuine mutual flourishing across the whole Church of England.
Passionate about Safeguarding, I was pleased to serve as a member of the Legislative Steering
Committee and Revision Committee for the Abuse Redress Measure 2025.
It has also been a great honour to serve as a central member of the Crown Nominations
Commission for the See of Bristol and for the See of Leeds.

Adam Gaunt is standing for re-election to the General Synod to…
Affirm the Parish System
At heart I am first-and-foremost a Parish Priest! I genuinely believe that our greatest asset is
our network of parishes, and while the Church of England always was, is, and will continue to be
a mixed ecology of ministry, the nation still encounters the Church of England and our Christian
ministry primarily through the parish system.
If elected, I will continue to support, affirm, and defend parochial ministry as the backbone of
our Christian mission and ministry to the nation.
Advocate for Disadvantaged Communities
All of my ministry has been joyfully spent in under-resourced and disadvantaged parishes, both in
the Borough of Middlesbrough and in the Borough of Redcar & Cleveland. Many of our coastal
communities (such as my own parishes) are recognised as being disproportionately
disadvantaged and we are a coastal diocese. Measuring from the Humber Bridge north to the
Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough our diocesan coastline is 166 miles in length!
If elected, I will continue to advocate for and support the Lowest Income Communities Funding
while advocating for further investment in our most disadvantaged parishes and communities.
Advance a Settlement Following LLF
I have fully engaged with LLF and will continue to engage positively and pragmatically in the
ongoing discussions and discernment processes that lie ahead. Because there is such genuine
and sincerely held disagreement, I believe a compromise is increasingly unlikely and that some
form of settlement will be required.
If elected, I will continue to work constructively and pragmatically for a lasting settlement while
upholding Holy Matrimony as defined by Canon B30
Assist and Support Genuine Mutual Flourishing
Serving on the House of Bishops Standing Commission on the House of Bishops’ Declaration on the
Ministry of Bishops and Priests (the Five Guiding Principles) has given me a privileged insight into the
costs of the 2014 settlement; nevertheless, it has also been heartening to acknowledge how the
settlement has enabled genuine mutual flourishing.
I continue to uphold the Five Guiding Principles and, if elected, I will work to assist and support
genuine mutual flourishing across the Church of England.
Please vote in the forthcoming election and kindly
consider offering me a high preference vote. Thank You!
The Reverend Canon Adam Gaunt
The Rectory, 11 Micklow Lane, Loftus, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, TS13 4JE
[email protected] (01287) 644047
www.loftusparish.co.uk https://www.facebook.com/loftusparish/

abuse,benefice,catholic,crown nominations,crown nominations commission,curacy,discernment,ecology,farm,guiding principles,house of bishops,llf,mission,redress,safeguarding,the alliance