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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:
The Revd Richard Moy (Lichfield)
176 signatures
Mr Nigel Holmes (Carlisle)
TV COVERAGE OF RELIGIOUS AND ETHICAL ISSUES
171 signatures
Mrs Lorna Ashworth (Chichester)
ANGLICAN CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA
126 signatures
The Revd Mark Bratton (Coventry)
PARITY OF PENSION PROVISION FOR SURVIVING CIVIL PARTNERS
123 signatures
Mr Tom Benyon (Oxford)
103 signatures
The Revd Sister Rosemary CHN (Religious Communities)
87 signatures
Mr Clive Scowen (London)
33 signatures
Mr Jonathan Redden (Sheffield)
ARCIC REPORT ON LIFE IN CHRIST
29 signatures
Mr Tom Sutcliffe (Southwark)
11 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.’
176 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.
123 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.’
103 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.'
87 Signatures (February 2009)
TV COVERAGE OF RELIGIOUS AND ETHICAL ISSUES
Mr Nigel Holmes (Carlisle) to move:
‘That this Synod call upon the BBC and Ofcom to explain why British television, which was once exemplary in its coverage of religious and ethical issues, now marginalizes the few such programmes which remain and completely ignored the Christian significance of Good Friday 2009.’
171 signatures (July 2009)
ANGLICAN CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA
Mrs Lorna Ashworth (Chichester) to move:
‘That this Synod express the desire that the Church of England be in communion with the Anglican Church in North America.’
126 signatures (July 2009)
Mr Clive Scowen (London) to move:
‘That this Synod, recognising the profound importance for Christian faith and experience of the Ascension and Heavenly Rule of our Lord Jesus Christ but noting that relatively few members of the Church of England attend services on Ascension Day, request the House of Bishops to consider how the widespread celebration of Ascensiontide might be encouraged and in particular to consider making provision to permit Ascension Day to be celebrated on the Seventh Sunday of Easter instead of or in addition to the fortieth day after Easter Day.’
33 signatures (July 2009)
ARCIC REPORT ON LIFE IN CHRIST
Mr Jonathan Redden (Sheffield) to move:
‘That this Synod do take note of the report of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission “Life in Christ: Morals, Communion and the Church”.’
29 signatures (July 2009)
Mr Tom Sutcliffe (Southwark) to move:
‘That this Synod, considering how the reformed structure of the national church institutions appears to favour unfettered managerialism in the pursuit of delivery and process and to constrain free-ranging debate and members’ scrutiny of business, invite the Standing Orders Committee:
(a) to examine all the restrictions that have accrued in the wording of Standing Orders which make it harder for ordinary individual members to raise detailed questions and initiate debates, thus fulfilling General Synod’s vital function as a democratic sounding-board in the service of God; and
(b) in the light of its review to bring forward proposals for the removal of such restrictions, and in particular for the revision of Standing Order 105(a) so that matters relating to the national and international leadership of the Church may be raised directly and individually as questions to the Archbishops for their oral or written reply.’
11 signatures (July 2009)
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