Diocesan Synod took place on Saturday (16 November), with nearly half of the members newly appointed and attending for the first time. Bishop Michael welcomed all the new members in his presidential address, before addressing the recent Makin Report and resignation of Archbishop Justin.
Responding to the Makin report, and referring to his video message for Safeguarding Sunday (17 November) Bishop Michael said, “While our thoughts and prayers today should be with all those who have suffered through the failings of the past, I do want to acknowledge and thank everyone who is working across our diocese to make our churches a safe place for all today.”Bishop Michael then spoke about the role of Diocesan Synod, saying, “How we do things is just as important as what we do. I invite us all to think about how this synod can be a place that plays a critical role in enabling us to set the culture of our diocese – a place where honest conversations can happen, deep listening take place, the views and understanding of our churches and the communities we serve be heard.”
An update on the diocesan vision and strategy followed, with Bishop Michael sharing some of the good news stories from around the diocese, saying, “God is on the move. It is our role to join in!”
Bishop Michael also paid tribute to the late Ian Theodoreson, Chair of the Diocesan Board of Finance, saying, “I want to pay tribute to all the wisdom and understanding that Ian brought to us, of his Christian character and courage and all the faith that shone from Ian in everything that he did.”
After an extended question and answer session, Diocesan Secretary Jenny Hollingsworth gave an update on the use of Safeguarding Dashboards across the diocese, which over 80 per cent of our parishes have now signed up to.
Next on the agenda was the new Deanery Reviews, introduced by Head of Mission Support and Ministry Development, Julia Hill. After introducing the new review format, Julia handed the floor to Andrew Hemming, Area Dean of Locking, and the Revd Jane Durham, Assistant Area Dean of Glastonbury, who shared their experience of the process.
After hearing a summary of the 2025 budgetary position from Matthew Pinnock, Head of Finance, and proposals to undertake a diocesan consultation on the budget, Diocesan Synod approved the 2025 budget.
The Environment team then presented the Environment Action Plan, which was also approved by Synod. The action plan sets out the diocesan approach to the climate energy over the next three years and details the work needed to progress towards Net Zero in each of the in-scope sections. It also details some key updated and new actions, including exploring partnerships for community energy generation and habitat creation/ enhancement, the plans to try to achieve Silver Eco Diocese by 2026 and expansion of the network of Deanery Eco Champions.
Watch the video below to hear how much progress has been made on environmental matters over the last year and forthcoming actions.