ABEL AT THE GENERAL SYNOD OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

As ABEL's members are principally members of the Church of England, we strive hard to alert our brothers and sisters in our church about the toxic behaviours which occur in a some (not all) parishes and Dioceses.

 

We are very pleased to note that a Private Members' Motion to Synod, submitted by the Venerable Mark Ireland, Archdeacon of Blackburn, has now surpassed the 100-member threshold to qualify for debate before Synod:

 

‘That this Synod, recognising:

 

that bullying is unacceptable behaviour within the Church of God, whether by clergy or lay people, and where it exists needs to be addressed; and

 

the serious pastoral problems and unfairness that arise while clergy can be subject to penalties for bullying that include prohibition and removal from office but there is no means of disqualifying a churchwarden, PCC member or other lay officer who is guilty of bullying from holding office;        

 

request the Archbishops’ Council to bring forward legislative proposals which would enable a churchwarden, PCC member or other lay officer who was found to have conducted him- or her-self in such a manner to be disqualified from holding office.’

 

Part of our activity is to attend meetings of the General Synod to pass on information about the latest research peformed either by ABEL or others.

 

In 2022, we displayed a poster containing a lot of research information which was well-received by Synod Members.

 

In 2023, we will be at Synod again with a new poster containing a lot of updates. We had also hoped to meet with members of the Independent Safeguarding Board but following recent events this will sadly no longer be possible.

 

Please keep watching the 2023 page for updates. If you are on our mailing list, we will update you automatically.