Evangelicals in the Church of England are closely watching how the make-up of the newly-elected General Synod turns out in practice after a crucial vote was completed.
The election for the church’s decision-making body, held every five years, is likely to determine how strongly orthodox the established church remains on issues of sexuality and gender.
Among those elected this time around was Ros Clarke, associate director of Church Society. As the results were still coming in, she said there were ‘encouraging indications’ about how evangelicals had performed. She added: ‘Pray for all who are elected to faithfully serve the church for the glory of God and the good of his people.’
Some initial estimates suggest that evangelicals may have enough votes to block any substantial changes on moral issues – though others have suggested various Synodical procedures might be used to make a change more likely. But there are a significant number of new members whose views are not clear.
As the new Synod was being revealed, a glitch was revealed in Ely Diocese which led to some people being sent ballot information incorrectly.
Civica – formerly known as Electoral Reform Services, which is administering the Synod vote – wrote to those affected saying: ‘On Friday 17th September you were sent a voting email for the clergy constituency for the Diocese of Ely general synod elections. This was issued in error, and should not have been sent to you since you are not entitled to vote in this election, and consequently if you have already cast a vote using the link in your email, your vote will be cancelled and will not be included in the count.’
A spokesperson for the Diocese of Ely said: ‘There was a minor error in the Diocese of Ely eligible voter data which was identified at an early stage and swiftly corrected. The Diocese of Ely has every confidence in the accuracy and robust process used throughout the elections.’
