



| Information | Contact us | |
| Media Centre | Home |

| home / about the church / general synod / private members' motions |
Tell us what you think about our website
Debates at General Synod can be triggered in a variety of ways. One of these is for a member of the Synod to table a ‘Private Member’s Motion’ (PMM). In order to ascertain the degree of interest in each motion, the Synod’s Business Committee arranges for the text of a motion to be available, during each group of sessions, together with a list that is open for ‘signature’ by other members of the Synod. By putting their name to particular motions, members are signalling that they think it should be debated.
The list closes at the end of each group of sessions. When putting together the agenda for the next meeting of Synod, the Business Committee has regard to the number of signatures each motion has received in deciding which should be debated (generally there is only space for one or two PMMs to be debated in each group of sessions). While the motion with the most signatures is often the one selected there can be reasons for selecting another that has also attracted considerable support (it might, for example, be more time critical).
Once a motion has been open for signature for three groups of session, it ceases to be eligible for debate if it has not attracted 100 signatures.
Click on the title of the motion to be taken to the full text:
The Revd Richard Moy (Lichfield)
99 signatures
The Revd Mark Bratton (Coventry)
PARITY OF PENSION PROVISION FOR SURVIVING CIVIL PARTNERS
43 signatures
Mr Tom Benyon (Oxford)
24 signatures
Dr Brian Walker (Winchester)
7 signatures
The Revd Sister Rosemary CHN (Religious Communities)
53 signatures
The Revd Richard Moy (Lichfield) to move:
‘That this Synod invite the Fresh Expressions team in consultation with the Liturgical Commission to produce an on-line library of visual and video resources for worship, so that hard-pressed local worship leaders may access and use them in both mission and congregational contexts.’
141 signatures (July 2008)
PARITY OF PENSION PROVISION FOR SURVIVING CIVIL PARTNERS
The Revd Mark Bratton (Coventry) to move:
'That this Synod request the Archbishops’ Council and the Church of England Pensions Board to bring forward changes to the rules governing the clergy pension scheme in order to go beyond the requirements of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 and provide for pension benefits to be paid to the surviving civil partners of deceased clergy on the same basis as they are currently paid to surviving spouses.
92 signatures (July 2008)
Mr Thomas Benyon (Oxford) to move:
‘That this Synod:
(a) express concern about the potentially desensitising and damaging effects upon children and young people of computer games containing gratuitous violent and sexual content;
(b) request changes to the classification system for video games in the United Kingdom to strengthen appropriate age rating and effective enforcement;
(c) call upon H M Government to review the regulatory system for advertising video games to prevent the targeting of children and young people with unsuitable material; and
(d) support programmes of education for both parents and children in managing access to video games.’
74 signatures (July 2008)
Dr Brian Walker (Winchester) to move:
‘That this Synod request the House of Bishops to report to the Synod on their current understanding of what Jesus Christ actually taught us to do, during His ministry here on earth.’
10 signatures (July 2008)
The Revd Sister Rosemary CHN (Religious Communities) to move:
'That this Synod, recognising both the contribution made by deaf people to the life of the Church and the particular difficulties they face in participating in the usual processes leading to elections, request the Business Committee to bring forward legislation under which Deaf Anglicans Together become a special constituency electing three members to General Synod.'
53 Signatures (February 2009)