General Synod Elections 2021

The General Synod is the legislative body of the Church of England. It is the place where decisions and policies are made which will determine how the Church of England moves into the future in its service of God’s Kingdom and this nation.

We are seeking prayerful representatives from the diverse range of churches and communities across the Church of England in Birmingham.

Do you see enough people like you in our representation or, if there are a lot of people like you, what groups of people are not represented that you could encourage and support?

What are the big issues for you in our witness to Christ locally and more widely over the next few years and who will represent us best in the national conversation?

The election

This year, most of the election process will be online (with paper alternatives available for those without email addresses). Electors will be emailed login details to the election sites which will enable them to make nominations and to vote when the time comes.

 Timetable

Who can stand?

The General Synod has three Houses: Bishops, Clergy and Laity. Each diocese is allocated a number of seats in the Houses of Clergy and Laity – the number of seats varies according to the size of each diocese. The Diocese of Birmingham have been allocated three seats for the House of Clergy and three seats for the House of Laity.

Any member of clergy who holds ecclesiastical office in a diocese or cathedral or who has permission to officiate can stand for election to the House of Clergy for their diocese. Any communicant lay person who is on one of our church electoral rolls (or cathedral roll) and is 18 or above can stand. There is no need for lay candidates to be on a PCC, deanery synod or diocesan synod.

How do I get nominated?

For clergy and laity, you need two people from your category to nominate you to stand for General Synod; ie clergy will need two clergy people to nominate them, and lay candidates will require two lay members of a Deanery Synod in the diocese to nominate them. 

Invitations to nominate have already been sent to all qualified electors.

If you would like to stand for election but are not an elector (and therefore will not have automatically received an invitation to nominate) please email Nicola Booth to be given access to a nomination form.

More information about the General Synod and the election process can be found on the CofE website.  

You can read the Candidate Addresses for General Synod Elections here.