The five-yearly elections to the Church of England’s General Synod – effectively its Parliament – are a strange phenomenon.
There are three Houses – one for bishops (most of which are filled ex officio by the diocesan bishops but nine of whom are elected), one for clergy and one for laity. Two hundred clergy and 200 laity were elected over 95 different elections across constituencies comprised of the 42 dioceses and other groupings. Each of these was run by the complex process of the Single Transferable Vote, in which voters number candidates (in some cases over 30 of them!) in order of preference, to elect anything from just one member (but usually three or more) to 13 members to the Synod.
In June this year, seven Church of England ordinands were ordained as Deacons, but not by any CofE bishop. Instead, they were ordained, as a matter of Biblical conscience, by Martin Morrison, a highly respected and much-loved bishop in REACH-SA (The Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa). A similar event took place last year. REACH is thoroughly Biblical and evangelical in approach, but not part of the existing Anglican Communion, being linked instead to Gafcon, the more conservative alternative umbrella organisation.
However, its orders are nonetheless recognised by the CofE, which means the ordinations count as "valid" in official Church of England terms, though this does not necessarily guarantee those ordained official "PTO" (Permission to Officiate) unless the relevant CofE bishop grants it.
James Talarico was not even born the last time Texas elected a Democrat as senator, in 1988. Yet on 3 November 2026, he won 55% of the vote. Sixty-seven per cent of Texans identify as Christian, while 27% are classed as Evangelical Protestants.
Politics is a complicated business, and it would be foolish to reduce an election involving millions of voters to a single cause. But for Christians, there is something about Talarico’s appeal worth noticing.
Reading Revelation 5 with my family last week, I was struck again by how central to the whole Christian worldview is Christ.
Now that might sound like a statement of is-the-sky-blue obviousness. But bear with me; because this is something which we are far more prone to forgetting that we might realise.
In the USA, the Democrat “Blue Wave” has turned out to be a “Blue Tsunami” or “Earthquake” – choose your own extreme geographical metaphor.
While incumbents traditionally lose seats in midterms, these results are of historic proportions. A decade after the start of the Trump phenomenon, in November 2016, the Trump-led Republican Party has experienced a catastrophe.
The temptation to lose heart in gospel service is a temptation that you will battle till you breathe your last breath. The reason for this is so obvious: we cannot climb out of our own skin!
Because we are what we are, “frail children of dust and feeble as frail”, temptation has a natural landing ground within us. We know that sin’s guilt and prevailing power have been removed, but we know only too well that we have not yet been delivered from sin’s remaining, troubling presence. In 2 Corinthians 4 v7 Paul likens gospel ministers, and by extension all Christians, to “jars of clay”, ordinary, easily broken, nondescript. When we take stock and look at ourselves, we can hardly get over how shallow we are, how inconsistent we are, how lacking we are in love and zeal for our Saviour. Is there a day when you do not cry out to the Lord with John Wesley: “Cure me, Lord, of my intermittent piety”? And if we add to our deep sense of personal unfitness for gospel ministry the accusations of Satan, the temptation to lose heart can be almost overwhelming.
In the past couple of weeks, there have been a few stories that make us realise our vulnerability as citizens of the UK these days.
There are regular stories of Russian ships and planes getting close to our shores and in striking distance of our infrastructure. There is the climate, an unpredictable beast, bringing heatwaves, tornadoes and floods with potentially increasing frequency.
It is a great privilege to witness something of the richness and complexity of God’s mission through His church. The local fellowship remains the central focus for most of God’s people. But when we’re encouraged to see what the Lord is doing in other places, imagine ourselves as part of a regional mission network, and contribute to and learn from gospel work and faithful people in faraway lands, we usually find that our local ministry grows in vibrancy and vision.
I have recently returned from a visit to Chiang Mai in Thailand where I spent some days with bishops and their wives from the Anglican Church of the Province of Myanmar (CPM), sponsored by the mission society Crosslinks. My connections through Crosslinks are longstanding. More recent is the developing relationship between the CPM and Gafcon, where I serve on the Global Anglican Council.
If you've been following this year's TheCelebrity Traitors on BBC One, as I very much have, then you'll know about what happened last night – which was, I do believe, a first in The Celebrity Traitors history.
I have never seen an Israeli election so widely reported in the British media before. This tiny strip of land – yes, roughly the size of Wales – seems never far from our television screens, newspapers and political discussions. Its politics, its security and its future appear to occupy an extraordinary amount of attention.
Indeed, I must confess that I was a little surprised to be asked to write about the Israeli election for Evangelicals Now. Does it really matter that much to us? What benefit is there to you, or indeed to me, in discussing the complexities of Israeli politics?
I have a confession to make. When I was asked to write about creating a culture of engaging with Halloween in a church, my first thought was: "I'm not sure I've done that". At least, not intentionally.
What I have tried to do is help cultivate a culture of local mission. Over time, that has led more people in our church to see Halloween as an opportunity rather than simply something to avoid.
John Healey has given his first Budget speech as the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer.
A number of announcements have been made, and there are, of course, many details. For example, money has been found to help around 20 million households with rising energy bills: £100 for each of those households. The Budget is not all talk: it is quite down to Earth! Overall, however, Mr Healey’s Budget could fairly be described as cautious: not much has changed.
People from around the country gathered in Parliament Square on Tuesday 27 October to mark the anniversary of the Abortion Act, passed on 27 October 1967. The tone was sombre, as we lamented the loss of more than 11 million unborn lives since the passing of that act.
Today in Britain, a baby is aborted every two minutes. Babies deemed to have abnormalities can be aborted up to birth. As if that weren’t enough, earlier this year Parliament passed a form of "abortion decriminalisation", so that a woman is now able to kill her unborn baby at any stage of pregnancy without sanction.
I was very struck by the title of Douglas Murray’s recent article in The Spectator, “France is a warning – our civilisation is not immortal.”
Murray is right, of course; civilisations are not immortal. They come and they go. They rise and then they fall. The fall of a civilisation can be sudden or slow. Or even “gradually and then suddenly”, to misuse a famous quote [1].
The start of the 2026/27 football season has seen the Manchester United circus burst back into life, with key players now seemingly in open revolt against the club’s hierarchy.
Things had all seemed a bit rosier (or redder) in the garden; former player Michael Carrick had led the club back to the Champions League following a remarkable run of form under his interim tenure, leaving fans excited for the future under his leadership following his permanent appointment at the end of last season.
What profile does world mission have in your church? Is it something that is mentioned and prayed for regularly on Sundays and at prayer meetings? Or is it something that is only infrequently referenced?
What place, also, does world mission have in your own life? Are there organisations that you support both through your giving and your prayers?
For Halloween this year, would you rather retreat or reach out?
The church has a history of retreating within its walls during All Hallows Eve. Buildings get closed and individuals stay home. A time for precaution and locked doors. Days of eggs being cracked on our doors remain in the memory, and fear of celebrations of evil pervade.
I find it amusing how the national church is so concerned and surprised by the divisions and anxieties highlighted in the Theos report. What I don't find amusing is that, so far, I haven't heard a single Christian leader responding to the report acknowledge the church's own responsibility for its distance from the people it is called to serve, particularly the white working class.
Where is the examination of how our withdrawal from these communities may have contributed to the problems the report describes?
As a broadcaster, there are some programmes that stay with you long after the microphone has been switched off. My recent edition of All Things Considered on Aberfan and Faith was one of them.
Marking the 60th anniversary of the disaster, I wanted to explore not simply what happened on 21 October 1966, but how people had lived with its consequences. The collapse of the coal tip above the village claimed 144 lives, including 116 children, leaving wounds that remain part of Wales' collective memory.
Protests have been in the news a lot recently. From January's murderous putdown of protesters in Iran to simmering turmoil over student protests in France. Violence has erupted in Belgium and Albania. There are clampdowns against protests in Mumbai and, in these green and pleasant lands, there are regular local protests against immigration, accompanied by counter-protests.
Protests are a symptom indicating that something is wrong. When enough people become sufficiently angry to make a fuss by gathering on the streets, with banners and slogans, trouble can spill over. Protests tell those who cause the problem that change is needed, demanded and expected. Protests are often a response to sin and evil, speaking truth to power. Protests can also be a sinful and evil response to truth, resisting what is good and right.
Comment
Newly elected Synod to meet – but who are they?
The five-yearly elections to the Church of England’s General Synod – effectively its Parliament – are a strange phenomenon.
There are three Houses – one for bishops (most of which are filled ex officio by the diocesan bishops but nine of whom are elected), one for clergy and one for laity. Two hundred clergy and 200 laity were elected over 95 different elections across constituencies comprised of the 42 dioceses and other groupings. Each of these was run by the complex process of the Single Transferable Vote, in which voters number candidates (in some cases over 30 of them!) in order of preference, to elect anything from just one member (but usually three or more) to 13 members to the Synod.
Exclusive: ‘Alternative ordination’ Anglicans speak out
In June this year, seven Church of England ordinands were ordained as Deacons, but not by any CofE bishop. Instead, they were ordained, as a matter of Biblical conscience, by Martin Morrison, a highly respected and much-loved bishop in REACH-SA (The Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa). A similar event took place last year. REACH is thoroughly Biblical and evangelical in approach, but not part of the existing Anglican Communion, being linked instead to Gafcon, the more conservative alternative umbrella organisation.
However, its orders are nonetheless recognised by the CofE, which means the ordinations count as "valid" in official Church of England terms, though this does not necessarily guarantee those ordained official "PTO" (Permission to Officiate) unless the relevant CofE bishop grants it.
James Talarico & the rise of liberal Christianity
James Talarico was not even born the last time Texas elected a Democrat as senator, in 1988. Yet on 3 November 2026, he won 55% of the vote. Sixty-seven per cent of Texans identify as Christian, while 27% are classed as Evangelical Protestants.
Politics is a complicated business, and it would be foolish to reduce an election involving millions of voters to a single cause. But for Christians, there is something about Talarico’s appeal worth noticing.
Putting the Christ back into Christian?
Reading Revelation 5 with my family last week, I was struck again by how central to the whole Christian worldview is Christ.
Now that might sound like a statement of is-the-sky-blue obviousness. But bear with me; because this is something which we are far more prone to forgetting that we might realise.
Trump's evangelical allies: Is the tide beginning to turn?
In the USA, the Democrat “Blue Wave” has turned out to be a “Blue Tsunami” or “Earthquake” – choose your own extreme geographical metaphor.
While incumbents traditionally lose seats in midterms, these results are of historic proportions. A decade after the start of the Trump phenomenon, in November 2016, the Trump-led Republican Party has experienced a catastrophe.
Tempted to lose heart? Remember gospel hope
The temptation to lose heart in gospel service is a temptation that you will battle till you breathe your last breath. The reason for this is so obvious: we cannot climb out of our own skin!
Because we are what we are, “frail children of dust and feeble as frail”, temptation has a natural landing ground within us. We know that sin’s guilt and prevailing power have been removed, but we know only too well that we have not yet been delivered from sin’s remaining, troubling presence. In 2 Corinthians 4 v7 Paul likens gospel ministers, and by extension all Christians, to “jars of clay”, ordinary, easily broken, nondescript. When we take stock and look at ourselves, we can hardly get over how shallow we are, how inconsistent we are, how lacking we are in love and zeal for our Saviour. Is there a day when you do not cry out to the Lord with John Wesley: “Cure me, Lord, of my intermittent piety”? And if we add to our deep sense of personal unfitness for gospel ministry the accusations of Satan, the temptation to lose heart can be almost overwhelming.
Preparing for disaster? Are you spiritually ready?
In the past couple of weeks, there have been a few stories that make us realise our vulnerability as citizens of the UK these days.
There are regular stories of Russian ships and planes getting close to our shores and in striking distance of our infrastructure. There is the climate, an unpredictable beast, bringing heatwaves, tornadoes and floods with potentially increasing frequency.
From Thailand to Serbia to Uganda – God is at work!
It is a great privilege to witness something of the richness and complexity of God’s mission through His church. The local fellowship remains the central focus for most of God’s people. But when we’re encouraged to see what the Lord is doing in other places, imagine ourselves as part of a regional mission network, and contribute to and learn from gospel work and faithful people in faraway lands, we usually find that our local ministry grows in vibrancy and vision.
I have recently returned from a visit to Chiang Mai in Thailand where I spent some days with bishops and their wives from the Anglican Church of the Province of Myanmar (CPM), sponsored by the mission society Crosslinks. My connections through Crosslinks are longstanding. More recent is the developing relationship between the CPM and Gafcon, where I serve on the Global Anglican Council.
A Traitor's confession, a burden lifted & a Saviour who offers rest
NB: This article contains spoilers!
If you've been following this year's The Celebrity Traitors on BBC One, as I very much have, then you'll know about what happened last night – which was, I do believe, a first in The Celebrity Traitors history.
Israel has voted – but should evangelicals care?
I have never seen an Israeli election so widely reported in the British media before. This tiny strip of land – yes, roughly the size of Wales – seems never far from our television screens, newspapers and political discussions. Its politics, its security and its future appear to occupy an extraordinary amount of attention.
Indeed, I must confess that I was a little surprised to be asked to write about the Israeli election for Evangelicals Now. Does it really matter that much to us? What benefit is there to you, or indeed to me, in discussing the complexities of Israeli politics?
Halloween: A mission opportunity?
I have a confession to make. When I was asked to write about creating a culture of engaging with Halloween in a church, my first thought was: "I'm not sure I've done that". At least, not intentionally.
What I have tried to do is help cultivate a culture of local mission. Over time, that has led more people in our church to see Halloween as an opportunity rather than simply something to avoid.
UK Budget: 'The prudent see danger'
John Healey has given his first Budget speech as the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer.
A number of announcements have been made, and there are, of course, many details. For example, money has been found to help around 20 million households with rising energy bills: £100 for each of those households. The Budget is not all talk: it is quite down to Earth! Overall, however, Mr Healey’s Budget could fairly be described as cautious: not much has changed.
Lamenting unborn lives lost since the Abortion Act
People from around the country gathered in Parliament Square on Tuesday 27 October to mark the anniversary of the Abortion Act, passed on 27 October 1967. The tone was sombre, as we lamented the loss of more than 11 million unborn lives since the passing of that act.
Today in Britain, a baby is aborted every two minutes. Babies deemed to have abnormalities can be aborted up to birth. As if that weren’t enough, earlier this year Parliament passed a form of "abortion decriminalisation", so that a woman is now able to kill her unborn baby at any stage of pregnancy without sanction.
Will Western civilisation really collapse?
I was very struck by the title of Douglas Murray’s recent article in The Spectator, “France is a warning – our civilisation is not immortal.”
Murray is right, of course; civilisations are not immortal. They come and they go. They rise and then they fall. The fall of a civilisation can be sudden or slow. Or even “gradually and then suddenly”, to misuse a famous quote [1].
Manchester United and the importance of personal responsibility
The start of the 2026/27 football season has seen the Manchester United circus burst back into life, with key players now seemingly in open revolt against the club’s hierarchy.
Things had all seemed a bit rosier (or redder) in the garden; former player Michael Carrick had led the club back to the Champions League following a remarkable run of form under his interim tenure, leaving fans excited for the future under his leadership following his permanent appointment at the end of last season.
Mission matters
What profile does world mission have in your church? Is it something that is mentioned and prayed for regularly on Sundays and at prayer meetings? Or is it something that is only infrequently referenced?
What place, also, does world mission have in your own life? Are there organisations that you support both through your giving and your prayers?
Halloween: Will you retreat, or will you reach out?
For Halloween this year, would you rather retreat or reach out?
The church has a history of retreating within its walls during All Hallows Eve. Buildings get closed and individuals stay home. A time for precaution and locked doors. Days of eggs being cracked on our doors remain in the memory, and fear of celebrations of evil pervade.
Before we condemn the 'Christian nationalists'...
I find it amusing how the national church is so concerned and surprised by the divisions and anxieties highlighted in the Theos report. What I don't find amusing is that, so far, I haven't heard a single Christian leader responding to the report acknowledge the church's own responsibility for its distance from the people it is called to serve, particularly the white working class.
Where is the examination of how our withdrawal from these communities may have contributed to the problems the report describes?
Aberfan: 60 years on – 'God gives us tears to shed'
As a broadcaster, there are some programmes that stay with you long after the microphone has been switched off. My recent edition of All Things Considered on Aberfan and Faith was one of them.
Marking the 60th anniversary of the disaster, I wanted to explore not simply what happened on 21 October 1966, but how people had lived with its consequences. The collapse of the coal tip above the village claimed 144 lives, including 116 children, leaving wounds that remain part of Wales' collective memory.
Protests: Following Jesus in a world of anger
Protests have been in the news a lot recently. From January's murderous putdown of protesters in Iran to simmering turmoil over student protests in France. Violence has erupted in Belgium and Albania. There are clampdowns against protests in Mumbai and, in these green and pleasant lands, there are regular local protests against immigration, accompanied by counter-protests.
Protests are a symptom indicating that something is wrong. When enough people become sufficiently angry to make a fuss by gathering on the streets, with banners and slogans, trouble can spill over. Protests tell those who cause the problem that change is needed, demanded and expected. Protests are often a response to sin and evil, speaking truth to power. Protests can also be a sinful and evil response to truth, resisting what is good and right.