General Synod Election Candidates 2026

Sue Pascoe
Candidate for the House of Laity
General Synod 2026 to 2031, Diocese of York
New Ainsty Deanery Synod and York Diocesan Synod
York Vacancy in See Committee
Parish Safeguarding Officer, Tadcaster Benefice
Proposed by Andrew Severn, New Ainsty Deanery
Seconded by Brenda Christmas, New Ainsty Deanery

I would welcome your first preference vote.

Why I am standing
When Jesus was asked which commandment mattered most, he gave two: love the Lord your God with all
your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself. I am standing because the
Church is at its best when everything it does can be traced back to these two sentences, and at its weakest
when it cannot.
I want a Church that is open, welcoming, inclusive and safe for everyone who comes through the door, and
confident enough in its own tradition to be all four at once. These are not modern additions to the Gospel.
They are what the Gospel asks of us.
A little about me
I am 66 years old from Yorkshire, living on a farm near Tadcaster with my horse, Freddie. I have two sons,
Ben and Tom, and two grandchildren, Evie and Arthur, who I adore. My church at Kirkby Wharfe is a
central part of my life and worship. I serve as Parish Safeguarding Officer for the Tadcaster Benefice.
I trained as a Chartered Accountant and spent part of my professional life as a Consulting Partner with
PwC as their UK head of Outsourcing and Shared Services Consulting. After retiring from PwC, I held the
post of Head of Inclusion at Channel 4 and Director at Yorkshire Cricket Foundation. I now sit on the
Appeal Tribunal of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, advise charitable
organisations and hospitals, and serve on the North Yorkshire Chief Constable's Advisory Panel and on the
Violence Against Women and Girls Whole System Group. Much of my life has been spent in governance,
risk management and efficiency of one kind or another, and I have come to believe that careful,
unglamorous work behind the scenes is how institutions either keep faith with people or quietly fail them.
Treating everyone with respect, dignity, compassion and a little individual kindness on merit goes a long
way to building trust and confidence.
What I would bring to Synod
Scrutiny. Synod approves budgets, legislation and national safeguarding structures. That work needs
members who will read the papers properly, follow the money, and ask intelligent and probing questions
courteously. As a Chartered Accountant, professional business adviser and tribunal member I have the
training, objectivity and independence of thought and diligent mindset to serve Synod and the Church of
England.
Safeguarding at the sharp end. I know from my own traumatic life experiences what happens when
safeguarding goes wrong and I’m passionate to see that our churches are safe places for all. I have held
safeguarding responsibilities as a charity trustee, where the duty rests with the board and cannot be

delegated away and I have advised many organisations on governance, risk management and what makes
an organisation a good place to work. My work as an Appeal Tribunal member of the ICAEW also touches
on the regulatory aspects of professional conduct for Chartered Accountants not just in the UK but around
the world.
Good safeguarding protects people and builds trust at the same time. It is patient, practical work: knowing
who is responsible for what, making sure volunteers are trained and supported rather than left to carry risk
alone, and responding well when someone brings us something difficult.
I also want to see safeguarding properly resourced. Parish officers are volunteers. If we ask them to carry
serious responsibility, we owe them clear guidance, real support and someone to ring.
I wish to see national safeguarding material that is rigorous about practice and rooted in the equal dignity
of every person. Current training teaches us to see one another first as categories of power and privilege
and that puts a barrier between people at exactly the moment when trust is what safeguarding depends on.
A settled view of every person's worth. Whatever else we disagree about, each person we meet is made in
the image of God. That is where I start, and it is where I would keep coming back to.
Open and welcoming
A welcoming church is not a church without convictions. It is a church where nobody has to earn their
place before they are met with kindness, and where the door is genuinely open to the person who arrives
unsure whether they belong.
When I led inclusion at Channel 4 I learned something there that I would bring to Synod: people flourish
when they are valued as unique individuals, not sorted into groups or ranked merely by their protected
characteristics. That is good practice, and I think it is also sound theology. Love your neighbour as yourself
does not come with a list of exceptions.
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.
Synod contains people who disagree profoundly, in good conscience, and it will continue to do so. My
commitment is to listen and be open to other people’s views, whilst also being prepared to communicate
honestly and articulately my considered and respectful perspectives.

In short. I stand for:
● a Church that is open, welcoming, inclusive and safe for all, grounded in the two commandments
Jesus gave us;
● safeguarding protocols that protect people and build trust;
● good governance, effective scrutiny and budgetary control;
● a diligent, professional approach to the papers and processes of Synod, voting by conscience rather
than faction, and reporting back to lay members in an open and collegiate manner.

Thank you for taking the time to read about me. Voting is by single transferable vote, so if you are minded
to support me, please give me your first or highest possible preference. Do contact me before you vote if
there is anything you would like to ask. I would be glad to hear from you.

Sue Pascoe
East Garth Barn, Catterton, Tadcaster, LS24 8DH
[email protected] 07848 110155

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