THE General Synod voted on the Thursday for hearing and responding to young adults’ voices. A motion on “Growing Younger and More Diverse” expands the commitment — made to the 18-to-25s in July — to all children and young people.
The motion invited the Synod to consider the methodology and the practicalities, including the formation of a group of up to 200 young adults across the dioceses, which would send representatives to each Synod meeting.
Moving the motion, Kenson Li, co-opted three years ago, highlighted the imbalance of ages in the voices being heard in the chamber. The average age of Synod members was 58, he said, “with only five of us under the age of 30, and one under 25. Sixty-five are in their seventies.” In contrast, the average age of MPs was 51, “with as many under 30 as above 70”.
The motion, in effect, created a successor to the Church of England Youth Council (CEYC), disbanded in 2019 in the hope of “a different way of representation at Synod”, and pleas for better funding (News, 18 February 2022).
“We need you,” Mr Li said. “We want to hear your voice. We want to be challenged about the assumptions we make in your absence.” He is to be ordained in June to a curacy at Manchester Cathedral. The Synod had shaped his vocation, he said. He had found it “a place of grace, where Christian discernment is public and held accountable”.
Under the new plans, at least three and up to five representatives would attend the Synod. Mr Li called for inclusivity and diversity. The “prophetically uncomfortable” voices of young adults must become a strong part of deliberations.
This group, he said, needed to be “empowered to set their own priorities in what and how they share their views. The motion is only one step, but an important first step, to enable more young people to see themselves as belonging in this chamber. We will need all your support, Synod, at every level of life.”
The Revd Millie Cork (Leeds) had joined the Synod in 2015 at the age of 23: was she now the youngest clergy member, she wondered. “As a fully fledged, democratically elected lay member, my voice was heard,” she said. “If we want to take young people seriously, we want to give them the power of the vote.” While she was very grateful to all who had helped her to understand the system, “the culture of this place for young people is not great,” she said. “I hope we can actually make General Synod less of an unfriendly beast. Let’s demystify it.”
The Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Revd Jonathan Frost, alluded to this, too: the proposal would enable young adults to be supported, properly safeguarded, and “able to express their views and navigate the complex processes of Synod”.
An amendment from Clive Scowen (London), to specify three representatives on the grounds that “we can have them here without delay”, was lost.
An amendment from Clare Williams (Norwich) wished to prevent the Synod’s “offering tokenistic ways of including young adults”. She wanted these proposals joined with those set up for the under-18s: “If we put the groundwork in before 18, we will see them naturally. Be careful not to perpetuate the narrative that your voice won’t be heard until you’re 18,” she said.
This had Mr Li’s approval: “We do want to ensure a pathway for under-18s to progress,” he said, and calling for bishops and dioceses to think about who those under-18s might be.
Anna De Castro (Sheffield) said that a recent survey had shown that 88 per cent of adults still active in their faith had had first contact with the Church in childhood. She had, in her church, “a cacophony of children who love Jesus. . . They are sponges for discussing faith and growing in discipleship. The motion could be more ambitious. Who are these young adults and where are they being drafted in from? We don’t just want token additions.”
The Bishop of Sheffield, Dr Pete Wilcox, said that a 17-year-old was serving as one of the advisory panel in the process of discernment for the appointment of the next Bishop of Doncaster. “They’ve been asking us to create a protocol if we’re serious about integrating the voices of young adults,” he said.
The amendment was carried.
Resuming debate on the motion, as amended, Jennifer Fellows (Gloucester) said that she had come, aged 28, to the Synod out of “a passionate love for the Church of England” and that the experience had made her “deeply probe” her theology. She want the voice of young adults to be “one that challenges us in our seats. Young people don’t speak or want to be forced to speak with one voice.” she said. She wanted to see see a “widespread cultural change”.
The Archdeacon of Liverpool, the Ven. Dr Miranda Threlfall-Holmes (Liverpool), urged the Synod to take seriously the spirituality of young people. Adults, too, benefited from engaging with them: “It enhances their own spirituality.”
Mary Bucknall (Deaf Anglicans Together) asked the Synod: “In thinking about ways of responding to 18-to-25s, don’t forget deaf children and young people among the group of 200. I want to share a concern that deaf children are falling behind in access to religious education, as well as other subjects. They need to access it through BSL, interpreted videos, transcripts, and podcasts. . . We need to have younger deaf people as Synod representatives as a matter of urgency. Otherwise, a whole generation of young deaf people will be lost to the Church.”
Dr Gracy Crane (Oxford) said that there was a need for deliberately targeted intervention to make all this happen, querying the accessibility of the “pages of dense text” that Synod members received. “When you do get young adults, unbox them,” she said. “Get to know them for who they are.”
The Bishop of Dover, the Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin (Canterbury), told the Synod that, to allow for the next generation to be present, others might have to step aside.
The motion as amended was carried. It read:
- welcome the voice of young adults (aged 18-25) as part of the church of today and commit to intentionally hearing and responding to their voices on a range of items of business in each subsequent group of sessions, employing a range of presentational activities, including surveys, reports, live presentations and videos
- invite the formation of a group of up to 200 young adults drawn from across all dioceses to support the leadership development, faith journey and advocacy of young adults
- request at least three and up to five young adults as representatives of this group at each session of Synod’s under Standing Order 122.1 recognising this group to be the successor to the Church of England Youth Council while ensuring that links are made with the opportunities provided for the voices of active disciples who are under 18 to be heard in a way that feeds into Synod so that the two processes join together
- welcome the work being done across the whole church to become “younger and more diverse” ensuring young adults are at the centre of this mission, through implementing a development and advocacy programme for young adults in each diocese to feed into Synod business, and encourage more young adults to consider standing for election in subsequent quinquennia.
- welcome the voice of young adults (aged 18-25) as part of the church of today and commit to intentionally hearing and responding to their voices on a range of items of business in each subsequent group of sessions, employing a range of presentational activities, including surveys, reports, live presentations and videos
- invite the formation of a group of up to 200 young adults drawn from across all dioceses to support the leadership development, faith journey and advocacy of young adults
- request at least three and up to five young adults as representatives of this group at each session of Synod’s under Standing Order 122.1 recognising this group to be the successor to the Church of England Youth Council while ensuring that links are made with the opportunities provided for the voices of active disciples who are under 18 to be heard in a way that feeds into Synod so that the two processes join together
- welcome the work being done across the whole church to become “younger and more diverse” ensuring young adults are at the centre of this mission, through implementing a development and advocacy programme for young adults in each diocese to feed into Synod business, and encourage more young adults to consider standing for election in subsequent quinquennia.
