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Private Members' Motions
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:
Miss Vasantha Gnanadoss (Southwark)
167 signatures
Mr Martin Dales (York)
149 signatures
Mr Paul Eddy (Winchester)
UNIQUENESS OF CHRIST IN MULTI-FAITH BRITAIN
139 signatures
The Revd Richard Moy (Lichfield)
99 signatures
The Revd Gill Henwood (York)
BAN ON WHALING
71 signatures
The Revd Hugh Lee (Oxford)
HR POLICY AND PRACTICE AT THEOLOGICAL COLLEGES AND REGIONAL COURSES
69 signatures
Mr Gavin Oldham (Oxford)
ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN ON DIOCESAN OFFICES
66 signatures
The Revd Andrew Dow (Gloucester)
DATE OF EASTER
44 signatures
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
Miss Vasantha Gnanadoss (Southwark) to move:
‘That this Synod, noting that in 2004 the Association of Chief Police Officers adopted a policy whereby
“no member of the Police Service, whether police officer or police staff, may be a member of an organisation whose constitution, aims, objectives or pronouncements contradict the general duty to promote race equality” and “this specifically includes the British National Party”,
request the House of Bishops to formulate and implement a comparable policy for the Church of England, to apply to clergy, ordinands, and such employed lay persons as have duties that require them to represent or speak on behalf of the Church.’
167 Signatures (July 2007)
Mr Martin Dales (York) to move:
‘That this Synod, concerned about the effect on many parishes of sudden, massive rises in water charges for churches, request HM Government to remind OFWAT of its obligations to ensure that the water companies adhere to the clear guidance given by the Secretary of State for the Environment in 2000, which states that “there are many non-household users who are not businesses … including places of worship … and it would be inappropriate to charge all non-household customers as if they were businesses”. ‘
149 signatures (July 2008)
UNIQUENESS OF CHRIST IN MULTI-FAITH BRITAIN
Mr Paul Eddy (Winchester) to move:
‘That this Synod request the House of Bishops to report to the Synod on their understanding of the uniqueness of Christ in Britain's multi-faith society, and offer examples and commendations of good practice in sharing the gospel of salvation through Christ alone with people of other faiths and of none.’
139 Signatures (February 2007)
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.’
99 signatures (July 2008)
BAN ON WHALING
The Revd Gill Henwood (York) to move:
‘That this Synod, following the evidence of the scale and nature of this season’s Japanese whaling activity provided by Australian and conservation monitors, call on HM Government to work to ensure the enforcement of the worldwide ban on whaling, affirming the beauty, diversity and sanctity of God’s creation and mysterious creatures.’
71 signatures (February 2008)
HR POLICY AND PRACTICE AT THEOLOGICAL COLLEGES AND REGIONAL COURSES
The Revd Hugh Lee (Oxford) to move:
‘That this Synod, believing that the staff disciplinary and grievance procedures and human resources practices of all theological colleges and regional courses approved by the House of Bishops for the training of ordinands should be professional both in their policy framework and in their application, and should conform with the guidelines currently being prepared by DRACSC, request the House of Bishops and Ministry Division:
(a) to initiate an urgent review of the HR policy and practice of all approved training institutions; and
(b) to report back to the House of Bishops and General Synod on the findings of the review, with recommendations as to how and in what circumstances action might be taken to ensure best HR practice. ‘
69 signatures (February 2008)
ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN ON DIOCESAN OFFICES
Mr Gavin Oldham (Oxford) to move:
‘That this Synod, concerned to see the extent of additional administrative work being introduced to Diocesan Offices, request the Archbishops’ Council to conduct a strategic review with the aim of reducing significantly the administrative burden (in terms of both cost and time wasted) throughout the Church, particularly as it impacts on the mission and ministry of diocesan bishops.’
66 signatures (February 2008)
DATE OF EASTER
The Revd Andrew Dow (Gloucester) to move:
‘That this Synod, mindful of the confusion and disruptions caused by the varying date of Easter, request the Archbishops’ Council to work with the Government and relevant ecumenical bodies to fix the date of Easter on a weekend in the Spring appropriate to the Church’s mission to the nation, and local communities, and conducive to the smooth running of the educational system.’
44 signatures (February 2008)
PARITY OF PENSION PROVISION FOR SURVIVING CIVIL PARTNERS
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.
43 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.’
24 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.’
7 signatures (July 2008)
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