General Synod Safeguarding Group
Some members of the General Synod have become very tired of what can at times seem like an adversarial relationship between those who have been entrusted with responsibility for safeguarding in our church and those who are primarily concerned with the safety of all those with whom our church comes into contact.
A long series of appalling failures of safeguarding arrangements within Churches, leading to sexual, mental and physical abuse of faithful disciples are indicative of systemic weaknesses in arrangements to keep everyone safe within an organisation which is supposed to reflect God's love in everything that it does.
Multiple reports by independent safeguarding experts have told the Church that there needs to be greater independence in the way safeguarding is promoted and managed, and if there is one area within the life of our Church where current concerns about lack of trust of those in high office within the Church are most clearly visible, it is the area of Safeguarding.
The recent resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the light of the findings of the Makin Report into the appaliing actions of John Smyth, combined with continuing calls for the resignation of the Archbishop of York (including a public petition for him to resign which has now received more than 37,000 signatures
Some members of General Synod now feel that there needs to be greater accountability, transparency and independence in the management of safeguarding, and have therefore formed themselves into the GSSG.
GSSG membership is confined to current members of the General Synod, although there is an associated group of those with an interest, expertise or experience of Church of England safeguarding who can receive updates about GSSG activities or who can be invited to contribute to the Group's thinking on safeguarding.
In the Church of England, there is a widespread fear of some form of retribution or retaliation against anyone who 'rocks the boat', and for this reason, membership of GSSG is confidential unless individual members consent to be identified.
We are very pleased to be working with The Sheepfold Project, a group dedicated to creating a safe space for victims of church abuse which was founded by our good friend David Lucas who sadly died in 2024. We may publicise videos and publications placed online by the Sheepfold Project.
We are currently drafting our Terms of Reference and will place these online here shortly.
If you are a member of the General Synod who would like to join our group, please send an email from here
If you are not a member of the General Synod but would like to be kept informed about our group and consulted from time to time, please send an email from here
