In the Church of England we are having General Synod Elections, and I have been reading through the twenty election addresses. Some of the papers I like, and some I don't and this is why:
Ten tips for writing Election Addresses:
1. I'm dyslexic, do me a favour, keep it to one side of A4, use a font like Arial and font size 12. Simple. Oh, and I like pictures.
2. Be open and honest. If you are against Women Bishops, say it, don't make me glean it out of clever phrases.
3. Tell me what five or six issues you feel will come up at the next synod, and which way you are inclined to vote. (Without lots of words as to why, and what a jolly good chap you are).
4. If you want, tell me one legislation that you would like to see come up and why.
5. If you can, give me evidence that you are good at politics and lobbying.
6. Tell me if you are associated with any groups that aid you in your politics and lobbying.
7. Don't give me 25 points of things that are important to you. Just tell me your top three (and make it real rather than bull shitty). I will roll my eyes if you say you are passionate about mission - what does that mean?
8. I don't care whether your hobbies are paragliding or stamp collecting - really - I don't care.
9. I don't care whether you have been a priest 100 years or you are a curate.
10. I don't care whether you are single, divorced, married with 17 children.
16 comments:
I'm passionate about my mission. It's just that I can never quite remember what my mission is.
11. Please, don't use the word "passionate". Everyone claims to be passionate and it makes you sound like a Masterchef contestant.
As someone said at our HoC hustings last night, in this context "gospel" and "mission" are like motherhood and apple pie.
I agree with most of your points, except that I worry that there is too much politics and lobbying at GS - so 5. is not an issue for me. I do think though that membership or association with lobbying groups should be declared (your #6).
#3 is useful but with the emphasis on inclined. I don't want to elect someone who will not be open to persuasion and to voting on the merits of the argument. Perhaps I'm hopelessly naive and living in cloud-cuckoo land?
Hi Gurdur,
it seems we sometimes have the same problem!
#3 - Hoping for a prophet?
#5 - That you're unsure whether they're in favour or not of women bishops is evidence enough, surely?
#7 - Surely there are no bull shitters applying?!
#9 - There must be too many 100+ year old priests there already.
Hi again Lesley.
I'm afraid I haven't done very well on my election address - I think I have scored 5 out of 10 on your tips!
Is there a pass mark (say 50%?) or do I need to seek forgiveness on the 5 where I have fallen short?
My main problem in reading them is that most of us (and I mean 'us') are so boring! Is there no hope for the CofE?
God Bless
Benny
was gonna write a post along these lines myself tomorrow - bugger!
:)
think again, Cloake
It is interesting that you are able to vote who goes onto Synod.
For the Laity, it is not so straight forward - we do not have a vote.
The laity representatives are chosen from those already on Deanery or Diocesan Synod. Joe Bloggs in the pew has little chance of influencing this.
Canterbury has a bit on the website about voting - but nowhere does it provide a place for me to place my individual vote.
It is about time that this monopoly was changed. PPC ACPM's where Deanery Synod members are nominated are in reality poorly attended and I did not know about our one until it was to late to do anything about it, or to offer to stand.
One person - one vote should be the rule, not people being elected from among the cosy elite who are able to get there in time.
I've linked this post to the General Synod blog post on writing synod addresses.
Sadly I fear both posts are too late for this synod - but may be of use at any remaining hustings.
http://gensyn.blogspot.com/2010/08/election-addresses.html
I'm ashamed to say that despite having spent much time in the good old CofE I have no idea what general Synod is all about. (Perhaps in light of recent revelations I had better learn quick...). can someone enlighten me!
Thanks all, some great comments. I'll probably explain the politics and lobbying bit in a separate post.
As for needing to be a prophet - there are some issues that are bound to come up in the next synod. I would hope that anyone standing would know this, some are outlined in the General Synod Blog
I too am worried about the way things work in the House of Laity. It seems like it is more conservative than the laity in general. Perhaps you should stand, anonymous.
Benny - 5 out of 10 is a good pass, Trust me!
Unlike the Bishops and clergy, who can regard GS as "work", members of the House of Laity need to be in a position to spare several days twice a year to attend and take part - more if they get involved with committees etc. This limits membership either to those with dedication and an employer who is prepared to be flexible with leave, or to those who are retired, self-employed or otherwise uninvolved in full-time employment.
In addition, to get elected one needs to be articulate and to have become well-enough known within ones own diocesan structures to attract enough votes to get into GS. I think this explains the tendency for lay members to be drawn from the older, highly educated, articulate, generally more conservative middle-classes.
It is interesting to read these comments. I went to my Diocese website to read the various election notices posted there by the clergy and laity candidates.
From the clergy, there is a spread of 11, some of whom have served on Synod before and others who are trying for the first time. Most of their notices were quite wordy and certainly did not fall into the 10 best here.
Those of the laity were just as wordy, with the exception of one - I believe that he must follow Lesley - as he kept it brief and to the point.
The thing that strikes me is the number who have served on the General Synod for long periods of time and seem to believe that their experience and knowledge of how the system works is to their advantage, in other words, they believe they are there of right.
It seems to me that perhaps we now need a clear out of the longer serving members to bring some fresh perspectives to the General Synod.
I note that Bishop Alan Wilson is standing for the first time - that will be interesting - he brings a unique perspective and I look forward to seeing and hearing him there.
Where do we find a list of all of the candidates? Or do we have to trawl individual diocesan websites for them!
Not all members of the House of Clergy would call it work, RevSimmy. Some of us would call it time off as we are neither paid by the Church nor retired. Which is probably why I can't see any way of standing if I wanted to...
Hi gerrardus. You are, of course right. My apologies. I repent in dust and ashes.
Hi All, I have been asked a question about politics and lobbying. I have posted an explanation here .
Hi UK Viewer, and thanks for your comments. There are some election addresses on the General Synod Blog, but other than that I think it is pretty tricky to get an idea of what is going on.
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