Disdain and hostility: What I witnessed at the Church of England’s General Synod

“Every five years (called a quinquennium), the Church of England elects its General Synod, which is essentially the church’s equivalent of the House of Commons.

And as this quinquennium came to an end, it felt as if the sun was setting on the Church of England as a whole.

I am an outsider. I am not a Church of England member.

But I am a Christian, and I believe wholeheartedly in the Christian faith that the Church of England has historically upheld and still claims to do so today.

I attended General Synod for the first time to support Rebecca Bensted from the Christian Legal Centre and our Core Issues Trust/X-Out-Loud allies as we held a fringe event to explore the ramifications of a ‘conversion therapy’ ban, and highlight the importance of the gospel message of change, repentance and regeneration.

And I was astounded by what I saw. …”

– From Christian Concern, Holly Baines reflects on her experience at the Church of England’s General Synod.

Reactions to the Church of England General Synod’s vote on Palestine

Here are two reactions to the vote in the Church of England’s General Synod –

Why the Church of England has got Israel wrong – James Patrick at Premier Christianity.

“Dear Archbishop Sarah,

In light of the controversial motion passed at General Synod yesterday, your five-day pilgrimage in the Holy Land just three weeks ago could appear to be a well-timed advertisement in its support. Even so, your concluding pastoral letter wisely steered clear of the worst excesses of the Kairos Palestine II document commended in the motion. KPII accuses Israel 30 times of ‘genocide’, and claims that the State of Israel is ‘racist’ and colonialist from its origins (1.3; 2.1; 3.3; 4.2), a listed example of antisemitism in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition adopted by the Church of England in 2018. It is no wonder that British Jewish and Christian leaders alike have expressed their deep concerns about this motion, which promotes incendiary accusations rejected by our own government. …”

A Shameful Day for the Church of England – Julian Mann at The Daily Sceptic.

“The atmosphere at the Church of England’s General Synod after it passed its shameful anti-Israel motionwas frighteningly complacent. From where I was sitting in the press gallery on July 13th the members in the chamber seemed to be very pleased with themselves.

But unless these largely middle-class Anglicans had returned home to an enclosed-order monastery after their meeting in the York University central hall, how could they fail to register the impact of the nuclear bomb they had just let off?  …”

Image: Church of England General Synod, 13 July 2026.

See also Ian Paul’s speech during the debate –

CofE General Synod Private Member’s Motion affirming intimate same-sex relationships narrowly defeated

From The Church of England Evangelical Council –

“A Private Member’s Motion seeking to affirm that committed, faithful, intimate same-sex relationships are compatible with Christian discipleship was narrowly defeated at this week’s meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod in York.

The motion, proposed by Professor Helen King and amended by the Very Revd Christopher Dalliston, was debated on Monday 13 July as part of the Church’s continuing dialogue around marriage and sexual ethics. …”

– News from CEEC. Emphasis added.

A Chaplain’s Vindication

Andrea Williams, Director of Christian Concern and the Christian Legal Centre in Great Britain, shines a light on the “institutional self-loathing” of the Church of England and the toll on a minister of the gospel –

“Dr Bernard Randall’s seven-year ordeal is one of the most extraordinary and disturbing cases I and the team at the Christian Legal Centre have ever had the privilege of being involved in.

Here was a Church of England chaplain, preaching in a Church of England chapel, in a school with a Church of England ethos, giving a sermon rooted in Church of England doctrine.

He encouraged pupils to think, to debate, and to love their neighbours. He did not bully. He did not harass. He did not incite hatred. He did what a Christian minister is called to do. …

The Church of England should have defended Bernard immediately. It should have recognised that a chaplain in a Christian school must be free to articulate Christian doctrine.

Instead, it joined the pile-on. It blacklisted him, demanded he submit to a psychological assessment by someone whose work included assessing serious offenders, and left him shut out of ministry for years.…”

– Read it all at The Critic. Photo: Christian Concern.

See also:

Chaplain wins double vindication after sermon on identity – Christian Concern.

“…it was the way the Church of England treated him that beggared belief. He was blacklisted by his church denomination over baseless safeguarding concerns.

Had he preached in a CofE place of worship, he could have faced disciplinary action.”

U.K. clergyman cleared after 7-year legal battle over gender ideology

The latest in a long-running saga –

“The Rev. Bernard Randall, 53, an Anglican clergyman, reached a settlement with his former employer and was cleared in a Church of England safeguarding investigation after seven years of litigation, according to the Christian Legal Centre.

Randall in 2019 preached a sermon regarding gender ideology while working as a chaplain at an Anglican school, Trent College. He taught, in accordance with the Church of England’s official doctrine, that marriage was between one man and one woman. He said students should debate secular teachings on gender ideology, while urging them to respect alternate views.

The school reported Randall to a government counterterrorism agency and eventually fired him, while he simultaneously faced an inquiry from the Church of England and was barred from preaching. …” (emphasis added)

– Report from World News Group.

Statement from Christian Concern.

“… There has been no apology for the remarkable fact that the Church took nearly seven years to reach its conclusion, whereas the secular LADO took just one day to determine that it was not a safeguarding matter but rather an ‘issue regarding the subject’s beliefs which ran contrary to his employers [Trent College].’ The Church of England’s bishops declared in 2021 that Dr Randall’s sermon contained ‘nothing … outside the doctrine and teaching of the Church of England’, making the contrast in treatment even more extraordinary.

The independent investigator also said: ‘It is a matter for the Designated Safeguarding Lead for the Diocese of Derby as to what they feel is an appropriate role for Dr Randall to be considered for. He may choose to apply for a licence, for Permission to Officiate (PtO) or may apply for another role within a school or another educational facility.’

It now remains to be seen how the Derby Diocese and Bishop of Derby will actively help and support Dr Randall back into full time ministry within the CofE.” (emphasis added)

Earlier posts.

Photo: Christian Concern.

What is the Church of England for?

Carl Trueman offers a devastating commentary on too much of the Church of England –

“H. Richard Niebuhr famously denounced the liberal church of his day, summarizing its theology in a single withering sentence: ‘A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.’ What he did not note—but perhaps implied—is that such theology typically manifests in worship that is infantile, offering a pastiche of the wider culture’s predilections that would qualify as kitsch, if its purveyors had the wit to see it as such. The progressive church is always a poor imitation of what the world considered cool the day before yesterday.

Walking through the streets of London in early June, I encountered a first-class example of such third-class theological life…”

– Read it all at First Things.

(Thanks to Julian Mann for the link.)

The importance of a special relationship in a crisis

From The Australian Church Record, an encouraging and enlightening contribution by Robin Sydserff of The Proclamation Trust –

“At the celebration of Dick Lucas’ 100th birthday on 14 September 2025, the overseas contribution was a series of recorded video messages from past and present Christian leaders in Australia, testifying to a special relationship. The relationship, first between conservative evangelicals in the Church of England and Sydney Anglicans, has enlarged over the last fifty years and more to embrace a much wider constituency.

In a special relationship there are times when strong things need to be said. ‘Faithful are the wounds of a friend’ (Prov 27:6). …”

– What is the crisis? Who are the friends? How have they been a blessing to each other? Do take the time to read it all.

First published in the ACR’s Easter 2026 Journal.

Image from an interview with Robin Sydserff and David Cook on The Pastor’s Heart, August 2025.

C of E General Synod committee approves debating Private Members Motion on compatibility of intimate same sex relationships

From The Church of England Evangelical Council –

“In July this year, the Church of England will see the most significant Private Members Motion (PMM) on sex and marriage in the last 40 years being brought to General Synod.

It has been confirmed by the Business Committee that the July General Synod will debate the PMM proposed by Professor Helen King, which seeks to affirm the compatibility of intimate same sex relationships with Christian discipleship.

The controversial motion… is cleverly worded and designed to secure support for a revision of the Church of England’s sexual ethics, while at the same time not explicitly asking for a change to Church of England doctrine.”

– Details at the CEEC. (Emphasis added.)

Anglican Heroes: John Stott — Church Society Podcast

From Church Society –

“Mark Meynell talks to Ros Clarke about ‘Uncle John’, his life, ministry and ongoing legacy around the world.”

– Listen here – with links to various resources.

Photo: Langham Partnership.

MISSING: Twelve Primates – The Real Story of the Installation

From Anglican Futures –

“The Anglican Communion is made up of forty-two autonomous provinces who are meant to work together. They are aided in this by four ‘Instruments of Communion’, of which the Archbishop of Canterbury is one. It is no secret that for decades the Anglican Communion has been riven with disagreement over the authority of the Scriptures and the inability of the Instruments of Communion to maintain discipline and uphold Anglican doctrine.

Today, at the Installation of the Most Revd Sarah Mullally as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, the extent and seriousness of that division was laid bare. All the pomp and ceremony could not hide the fact that the leaders of twelve of those forty-two provinces had refused to attend the service.

More importantly, those twelve provinces represented the leadership of the vast majority of Gafcon and the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA) and by any reckoning the majority of the world’s Anglicans. Those who stayed away were…”

– Anglican Futures points out that most of the world’s Anglicans were not represented. Indeed, many of the world’s Anglicans may be unaware of the increasingly irrelevant event in Canterbury.

Related:

All Gafcon and at least most GSFA Primates passed the test of staying away from Archbishop of Canterbury consecration – John Sandeman at The Other Cheek.

Photo: Neil Turner / Lambeth Palace.

Installation Sermon by Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally

Sarah Mullally has been installed as the latest Archbishop of Canterbury. Her sermon has been published on her website –

“‘For nothing will be impossible with God’. (Luke 1.37)

May I speak in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

I am delighted to be with you today. Over the last week I have walked the ancient pilgrim path from St Paul’s Cathedral in London to Canterbury Cathedral. Each day my heart and spirits were lifted immeasurably by the people young and old we encountered, even though my aching feet and limbs tell a different story. …”

– Read it here. Most interesting to see what is not the focus.

And from our Presbyterian friends –

The Essence of Christianity – David Burke.

“Every now and then someone pops up on media and declares the essence of Christianity to be …. (fill in the blanks with your favourite cliché).

We don’t need to guess at the essence of Christianity. The Bible tells us.

Writing to Corinth, Paul reminds readers of the gospel which they had believed and by which they were being saved if they stuck with it:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures … (1 Cor 15:3-4, ESV). …”

See also:

The Installation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, brought to you by… – Anglican Futures.

Photo courtesy Lambeth Palace.

Has God changed his mind over same-sex marriage?

“Despite their setback over gay wedding celebrations, Church of England ‘progressives’ are still hell-bent on replacing Christianity with toxic neo-Marxist identity politics.

The February 2026 General Synod in Westminster saw the end of the Bishops’ Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process which they launched in 2020 to prepare the way for dedicated services of blessing for same-sex couples. …”

– At The Conservative Woman, Julian Mann echoes the alarm bells sounded by Martin Davie over a new move coming to the Church of England’s General Synod.

Anglican Heroes: Hugh Latimer — Church Society podcast

From Church Society –

“James Cary talks about the life and faith of Anglican reformer Hugh Latimer, to Ros Clarke.”

Listen here.

Also at the Church Society link –

Hugh Latimer’s sermons.

James Cary’s documentary on Latimer.
(Image from the documentary, which is worth watching and sharing. 48 minutes..)

As Gafcon meets in Nigeria, the other Anglican communion reverses plans so Archbishop of Canterbury’s role is preserved

“As hundreds of Anglican bishops gather in Abuja, Nigeria to discuss the future shape of the Anglican Communion led by the vision of Gafcon, as the Global Anglican Communion, there’s been a change of plan from the rival establishment led from London. …”

– John Sandeman reports on the latest from what used to be known as the Anglican Communion.

Prayers of blessing STILL commended in the Church of England

From Anglican Futures –

“Don’t believe everything you read in the papers.

The Church of England has not “abandoned proposals to deliver blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples in churches.” If only that were true.

What has happened is much more subtle and much more ‘English’. …”

– Read here.

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