The shrivelling of synod

I think our Deanery Synod is dying on its feet. I know local synods depend very much on local leadership but I wonder whether this is a symptom of a wider tendency.

All the important decisions are taken in the Deanery Standing Committee which scarcely reports to the Deanery Synod and is scarcely questioned. In fact in the past three Deanery Synods only one of them has conducted any deanery business at all.

Parish ministry is being reduced while money is sidelined into 'fresh expressions'. But what that means is anybody's guess. Or, to be more precise, the Area Dean's guess. But the parishes are still being asked to pay for the privilege.

And most important of all, and again I wonder whether this is just a local version of a wider trend, there is a strong sense of divide between clergy and people. The clergy propose and the people follow. And it is not surprising that the people feel increasingly ignored and sidelined and that nothing they say will make any difference at all.

But I guess this isn't new. It just weighs heavy at the moment.

I believe we are the church, all of us. And all of us should be valued as members, and heard and regarded as important in local decision making - not least when people are members of what should be the local governing body.