‘Very unusual’ steps taken in lead-up to Synod

From The Church Times-

The General Synod meeting in York next month will have something of a morning-after-the-night-before feel to it.

It will be the first group of sessions since last November's narrow vote to reject the Draft Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure ( News, 23 November); and the first since Dr Philip Giddings survived the subsequent no-confidence vote on his chairmanship of the House of Laity at an extraordinary meeting of the House ( News, 18 January).

With this in mind, the Business Committee has taken the "very unusual" step of devoting most of the Saturday to facilitated discussions, led by the Archbishop of Canterbury's new Director for Reconciliation, Dr David Porter; along with a plenary session, the format of which "is still being creatively worked on even as we speak", the Secretary General, William Fittall, said last Friday. Both will be held behind closed doors.

Mr Fittall played down suggestions that the discussions were secret, saying that the "entirely unminuted and entirely informal" discussions were about "preparation, conversation, and exploration". He said that the discussions were "not like the wartime Parliament, when Parliament went into secret session".

More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2013/21-june/news/uk/‘very-unusual’-steps-taken-in-lead-up-to-synod